This year marks the 70th since Carlo Abarth set up his hot-house tuning company, one which is indelibly linked to Fiat. And, to celebrate, you're looking at the Abarth 695 70th Anniversario limited edition. Just 1,949 examples will be built (work out why that would be, then...) and, of the number that comes to the UK, each one will cost from £29,695 when order books open in mid-October. It's powered by the 1.4-litre four-pot petrol turbo motor, here delivering 180hp/250Nm; numbers slightly down on its application in the mental Biposto, but still enough to hurl the 695 70th Anniversario from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds and on to 139mph (where legal and applicable). Beyond that, and the 'Spoiler ad Assetto Variabile' (we'll come back to this), it's mainly a styling exercise: the show car, revealed at the 2019 Abarth Day held in Milan, is finished in Monza 1958 Green with Campovolo Grey contrasting details, but there are another four body colours to choose from; it gains 17-inch SuperSport alloy wheels; a set of four-piston Brembo brakes, with red callipers and 305mm front/240mm rear discs; the noisy Record Monza exhaust; a limited-slip diff; Xenon headlights; LED foglights and DRLs; a chequered roof logo; Scorpion decals on the bonnet and vintage Scorpion logos in the exterior badges; 'Sabelt Tricolore' seats inside; climate control; specific floor mats; the seven-inch, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-compatible Uconnect infotainment system; and a numbered plaque, to tell you which of the 1,949 cars you're sitting in. So, back to that spoiler. It can be manually adjusted between zero degrees, which is what you'll need it set at if you want to go 139mph, and 60 degrees, with 12 steps in total (almost every five degrees between zero and 60, presumably); put it into the maximum setting of attack and the downforce on the rear of the car is increased by up to 42kg at 124mph. Impressive, eh? It also features the 'Abarth' legend on its underside, which is pretty cool. Anyway, the 695 70th Anniversario comes hot on the heels of another Abarth product, the 595 Pista, which is the next step down the performance hatchback ladder if you're after a Scorpion.

Matt Robinson - 7 Oct 2019