Five decades, crossed “with elegance, sportiness, and Italian flair.” Fiat marks the momentous occasion of the 124 Spider’s 50th anniversary, since the original Sport Spider was introduced at the Turin Motor Show in 1966. At the time, it was lauded as the pinnacle of evolution in its segment, and injected a little of la dolce vita into a post-WWII world.
Designed by Pininfarina, the 124 Spider aimed to thrill and excite, whilst still being accessible for the masses. Ahead of its time, it most certainly was, with the press going as far as to call it a “modern event” rather than just another new car. It had amazing style with incredible road manners, and it innovated in ways that were unimaginable in its day. Intended to be an offshoot product of the 124 sedan, it ended up becoming a motoring darling all on its own.
Through the near two decades it was in production, the Sport Spider saw various little refreshes and the introduction of additional variants, ensuring that every enthusiast had a 124 to fall in love with. There was the memorable 124 Abarth Rally from 1972, the Spider Europa in 1981, and the 1983 “Volumex,” which brought about a turbocharger to boost its power figure up to a (then) dizzying 136HP. Through it all, over 200,000 homes were made a little prettier with a 124 Sport Spider on the driveway, with three quarters of all examples made gracing American roads.
Though we’d like to wax lyrical all day about the original 124 Sport Spider and its history, we have to look to the here and now, with the new Abarth 124 Spider on our shores here in Australia. It brings with it a comprehensive list of performance parts, like a mechanical limited-slip differential, sports suspension, and a Sport Mode selector, all building on an already agile and engaging chassis, with an iconic Abarth soundtrack courtesy of chrome quad-tip exhaust pipes. Motivation comes from a turbocharged 4-pot motor, producing a class-leading 125kW of power and 250Nm of torque, going through either a six speed automatic or manual, before getting pushed through the rear wheels. That front-engine-rear-drive balance maintains a lineage that dates back to the original car introduced in 1966, and it seems like its something that won’t be going away any time soon.
“[The] perfect embodiment of the Abarth spirit,” Fiat says. “The perfect car to carry the iconic brand into the next fifty years.”
50 years of the 124 Spider. Open top motoring never looked so chic.
If you want a little more Fiat flair in your life, check out our Showroom.
