If you’ve ever played Gran Turismo, you probably remember that anything even approaching a one-minute time at Tsukuba Circuit is frickin’ fast. To bop around that track in a tiny little Fiat, on street-legal tires no less, in one minute and seven tenths of a second is nigh unbelievable. This little lemon jelly bean is packing some serious fire power, and it sounds like a pétarade shot out of a Howitzer.
From the factory the Abarth 595 Competizione weighs around 2,300 pounds and pushes 180 horsepower to the front wheels. This one is making more like 260 ponies from its little 1.4-liter, which is mega. Just look at that little yellow guy go!
It seems unnatural for something this tall to be cornering so flat, but the huge fender flares and wider track probably help with that immensely. It doesn’t squat, it doesn’t wallow, it barely jiggles, it just zooms right around the track’s tight curves like it’s a warm knife cutting through butter. The car is loud enough that I’m not convinced the driver hasn’t figured out a way for resonant sound waves to make a car faster in a straight line. Maybe the vibration adds a Bernoulli effect to detach the airflow from the bodywork or something? The world may never know.
Everyone knows that the littlest guys are often the angriest, and while most Fiat 500s are cheerful and fun, this one is all business. It’s like a Chihuahua that looks cuddly and fun from a distance, but as soon as you enter its territory, it wants to rend you to pieces from the ankles up. Tsukuba is this car’s territory, and it’s looking for a fight. Watch your back.
