When we first heard that the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider would be getting the engine out of the 500 Abarth, we were excited, to say the least. But when we first heard its engine note, we were disappointed it wasn’t as, well, Abarthy as we expected. But it turns out that there’s an Abarth version of the Spider, too, and holy hell does it sound good.


You already heard the exhaust of the base-model Fiat 124 Spider when we saw it live, so now listen to the champ.

Fiat had two versions of the Abarth on a little autocross circuit at the press launch for the Spider this week, one with the standard Abarth exhaust (the white car you see) and one with an additional Mopar-tuned exhaust kit and blow-off valve (the red car, and the price on the Mopar pieces is still being determined). Both sound raspy and perfect, but the Mopar version sounds like it’s inhabited by some minor fire-breathing demon.


When I asked some Fiat execs why the Mopar version isn’t just standard equipment, they made some noises about regulatory annoyances that may or may not be surmounted in subsequent model years, but for the time being just sit back and enjoy.

Because this is the baby-making music of the gods. Blow-off valve included.