Fiat is reportedly turning to Austrian specialist KTM to provide the bones of its new Abarth two-seater sports car. Sources in Italy told Road & Track magazine in the US that the 2013 mid-engined car would be based on the X-Bow.
The Abarth sports car is due in 2013 and is said to get the chassis from the X-Bow and Fiat’s own inhouse MultiAir 1.8-litre turbo developing around 190bhp.
Abarth sports car: how much?
The proposed Abarth could cost $80,000, reports Road & Track, which points to a low-volume production around 2000 models a year for a short production run of two or three years.
Fiat had originally turned to Lotus to power its Abarth sports car, but the Elise underpinnings were deemed to be too old and expensive, says the report.
The Abarth brand is far from standing still; a 500C speedster is mooted, due to arrive before the mid-engined sports car.