Hot new Abarth 600e is the performance outfit’s most powerful car ever

Say hello to the new Abarth 600e, the most powerful car the Italian performance outfit has ever made in its 75-year history, which combines the latest EV technology with a dash of old school hot hatch know-how. 

It’s based on Fiat 600e, meaning it sits on the same eCMP underpinnings as other small electric cars like the Alfa Romeo Junior, Jeep Avenger and Peugeot E-2008. However Abarth has worked with the motorsport division of its parent company Stellantis to develop a sportier version of the platform called ‘Perfo eCMP’. 

One of the changes Abarth made was fitting its own newly developed electric motor that produces up to 278bhp and 345Nm of torque in the limited edition 600e Scorpionissima. That’s enough for 0-62mph in 5.9 seconds – the same as the new Volkswagen Golf GTI – and a top speed of 124mph. 

The standard Abarth 600e is less potent, but with up to 235bhp on tap, it can still hit 62mph in 6.2 seconds. Plus torque and top speed are the same, and both models offer a range of up to 207 miles from a 54kWh battery.

Both versions offer their maximum power in Scorpion Track mode, which also includes an aggressive accelerator pedal calibration, a ‘sport+’ steering setting and ‘fun’ stability control tuning.

The default Turismo setting restricts power output to 148bhp in the standard model and 188bhp in the Scorpionissima, plus torque to 300Nm, and is meant to offer smoother acceleration. Meanwhile Scorpion Street, which is Abarth’s equivalent of Sport mode, allows for 201bhp in the regular 600e and 223bhp in the Scorpionissima, and the full 345Nm of torque.

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The front-mounted e-motor is paired with a Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential, which are often used in front-wheel drive hot hatches, and in the 600e it should improve handling and traction in corners by directing torque to the wheel with the most grip.

Abarth has also made the suspension and anti-roll bars stiffer, widened the car’s track by 30mm up front and 25mm on the rear, and developed a new brake system with specialists Alcon that uses 380mm discs and four-piston monobloc callipers for better fade resistance and heat distribution. Finally, a new cooling system is designed to help maximise performance.

Abarth isn’t one for subtle styling, so the 600e gets a very blocky front bumper, which is meant to emulate the one on the Abarth 850 TC race car from the sixties. There’s a similarly chunky bumper on the rear too, plus a large diffuser and roof spoiler. The 600e’s 20-inch diamond-cut rims are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport EV tyres, and vivid paint options include ‘Acid Green’ and ‘Hypnotic Purple’.

The interior has received a subtly sporty makeover as well, including a new steering wheel wrapped in leather and Alcantara, dedicated seats from Sabelt – with the Scorpionissima getting more aggressive buckets – aluminium pedals, plenty of neon green stitching and Abarth’s own graphics for the seven-inch driver’s display and 10.25-inch touchscreen.

Finally, the 600e Scorpionissima specifically features a ‘sound generator’, like the Abarth 500e hot hatch, which uses speakers to mimic the exhaust note of the brand’s petrol-powered models. But Abarth says it now delivers a deeper sound, and drivers can switch it off using the touchscreen if they want, instead of digging around on the driver’s display menus like you have to in the 500e. 

The Abarth 600e will go on sale in mid-November, with prices starting from £36,975 for the entry-level 600e and £41,975 for the more powerful 600e Scorpionissima. Just 1,949 examples of the latter will be produced, as a nod to the year the company was founded.

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