From the France on Christmas Eve a very interesting rumor reaches us. According to what is reported on the website of the well-known French automotive magazineand The Automobile MagazineFiat would be working on one Fiat Grande Panda Abarth. Despite the recent ones Abarth 600e and 500e have not achieved great successes, the scorpion car manufacturer would be ready to create another version of a Fiat car. As mentioned, the chosen one would be right there Big Panda.
Fiat Grande Panda Abarth would already be in the development phase according to rumors coming from France
The Automobile Magazine does not just launch this rumor but even provides a rendering that we show you in this article in which it imagines what the design of this future and for the moment not yet official Fiat Grande Panda Abarth could be. According to the French it would not be a simple idea but Abarth is already currently working on this version of the Grande Panda which would therefore be added to the future Big Panda 4X4 also in development and arriving next year.
Therefore this project which in truth had already been talked about in recent years would not just be a journalistic fantasy but a real reality already approved also by the managers of Fiat e Abarth. In fact, in the past it was Olivier Francois himself who did not completely rule out this possibility, saying that Fiat was thinking about whether to propose a similar model or not.
Fiat boasts a long tradition of sporting versions applied to its compact models. Without recalling icons such as the Uno Turbo or Tipo Sedici Valvole, it is enough to recall more recent but equally spirited proposals such as the 100 HP Panda HP Pandemonium, as well as the Cinquecento and Seicento Sporting. These are small cars but with a strong character, capable of offering a fun and satisfying driving experience, especially for those who have had the opportunity to drive them for a long time.
In this context, the idea of reviewing a compact Fiat with internal combustion engine and Abarth imprint seemed almost obvious. However, increasingly restrictive regulations on CO₂ emissions have forced a change in strategy, pushing the brand towards the development of an entirely electric solution.
The engine taken into consideration would be the 280 horsepower electric engine already used on models such as Fiat 600, Alpha Romeo Junior Speaker, Hpslon HF and Peugeot e-208 GTIi.e. the high-performance versions of the Stellantis group’s electric models. The main critical issue, however, concerns the platform: the Big Panda adopts the architecture Smart Car, different from that of the cars mentioned, with consequent problems with adaptation of the chassis and powertrain.
According to rumors coming from France, given the limited sales of the Stellantis electric sports cars, the strategy could focus on a more competitive price. A Fiat Grande Panda Abarth proposed around you have 30,000 euros could actually find its place on the market.
The question that many will be asking at this point, however, is what sense would another electric Abarth make given that it was recently made clear that the scorpion brand has decided to return to combustion engines in Europe too? Who knows, maybe even in this case there will be a change of plans. We will see what other rumors emerge in this regard and above all if over the next year some official confirmation will arrive to this rumor coming from France which for the moment we remember has not found any official confirmation from Fiat executives who in truth had spoken of other versions of the Grande Panda on the way but not of an Abarth variant. Who knows, maybe they wanted to surprise us…
