Oh dear, it looks as if someone's mid-2000s Dodge Viper has shrunk in the wash...

Yes, it does look a bit like that, doesn't it? But this is in fact the new Fiat 124 Spider, revealed on the eve of its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Based on the Mazda MX-5, and built by Mazda in Japan, it's powered by a 140hp version of Fiat's 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo petrol engine.

Hang on, built by Mazda?

Yes, this was originally supposed to be a new Alfa Spider, but Fiat decreed that all Alfas would have to be built in Italy, so they had to come up with an alternative arrangement PDQ. The rebirth of the 124 Spider was it. It's longer, slightly, than an MX-5, and thanks to using a turbocharged engine, Fiat claims that it can match the torque of the 2.0-litre MX-5 but keep to the same weight as the 1.5-litre version. No official performance figures yet, but it should be pretty brisk, and if the MX-5 is anything to go by, pretty good fun to drive.

There's more too - while the US market gets a 160hp version of the same 1.4 engine, Europe will eventually get a hot Abarth variant, which harks back to the classic 124 Abarth rally car of the seventies.

Inside, there are hardly any differences between the MX-5 and the Fiat - aside from the badge in the middle of the steering wheel, it's all identical, but you do get a nice infotainment system and there is an optional Bose stereo. On the safety front, there's the usual stability control and traction control systems, and a pop-up bonnet to improve pedestrian safety.

Sales will start in the second half of 2016. Just in time for next winter...

Neil Briscoe - 18 Nov 2015