Italy's Fun-Sized Hot Hatch Could Make A Combustion-Powered Comeback

2 days, 16 hours ago - 2 December 2025, carbuzz

Fiat's decision to add gasoline power to the newest generation 500 hatch might have some knock-on benefits for performance car buyers. It might also be the savior of Fiat's performance brand Abarth, which is currently extremely limited in what it can offer from Fiat's current line. The Fiat 500 Hybrid could be about to become a new Fiat 500 Abarth replacement, the head of the company has said.

Abarth Buyers Want Gas, But Not For The Usual Reasons

Gaetano Thorel is the head of Fiat and Abarth in Europe. At the launch of the new gas 500, he told AutoExpress that "Abarth customers want a thermic engine." A thermic engine, of course, being one that runs on gas (or diesel).

Now that Fiat has revamped the new 500 platform to be able to use a gas engine as well as electric power, it has opened up the possibility for performance brand Abarth. Thorel told AE that it wouldn't be as easy as it was for a Fiat, but that's not necessarily going to stop it.

"We are trying, but Abarth is more difficult [than Fiat]," he said. It's not just about the horsepower, because electric motors can deliver that. "Abarth customers buy the car and they modify the car. On the electric one you cannot. That is a limitation. On the electric one [owners] cannot put their hands on the engine and tune. So that’s why the Abarth club are not very happy with us," he said.

Thanks to tweaking the 500e, Fiat has crammed a mild-hybrid 1.0-liter three-cylinder under the short hood. But its horsepower is more on the level of the 1960s Abarth 500s than it is the more modern cars. There's no turbocharger to be found here, just a 48V starter generator, and total output is 63 horsepower and a 0-62 mph time of 16.2 seconds. That could be the slowest modern car in existence.

The origins of the hot hatch are frequently debated, but this car is often mentioned as one of the earliest examples.

Thorel was clear that engine was a non-starter for Abarth. Its current 500e-based EV makes 153 horsepower and does 0-62 in seven seconds. Abarth's most powerful gas model was the 695 70 Anniversario that made 178 horsepower from a 1.4-liter turbo engine.

500's Tiny Engine Bay Is Causing Problems

That old gas engine wouldn't fit, Thorel said. The small engine bay stops him from moving to four-cylinder options like that. Stellantis does have some other more powerful three-cylinder engines in the family. Possibilities include the 1.2-liter turbo-three used on vehicles like the Citroen C4. Its most powerful variant makes 155 horsepower, which is at least in the ballpark. It's not clear how much physically larger that engine is. Stellantis also has a turbocharged version of the 1.0-liter in the 500 Hybrid, but with just 118 horsepower it's not clear that would be enough of an improvement.

It may only have one model in the lineup here in the US, but the brand is doing far better than you think with strong sales and a positive outlook.

Putting more gas power in the new 500 clearly won't be easy, but Thorel seemed insistent that Abarth was going to try. "We are working on it. If we find a way, we’ll do it," he said. If the company manages to pull it off, then good luck to those hands-on buyers. Tuning an engine crammed somewhere it barely fits isn't going to be easy.