Fiat customizer Abarth will be releasing a series of five retro-themed 1000 SP sports cars inspired by their historical namesake from 1966. Auto Italia claims the project has already passed approval by the management.
The compact spider car with unusual looks debuted in May this year and so far remains the only one in existence. In designing it, the in-house Fiat tuner paid homage to a highly successful model that brought the Italian automaker numerous motorsport victories in the 1960s.
The original 1000 SP (stands for ‘Sport Prototipo’) was only 3.5 meters (137 inches) long and weighed in under 500 kg (1,100 lbs). It used a modified Fiat 600 engine boosted to 105 PS (103 hp / 76 kW) and could accelerate to 230 km/h (143 miles per hour). Its modern reincarnation uses mid-engined Alfa Romeo 4C underpinnings, including its 1.75-liter turbo engine with 240 PS (237 hp / 176 kW). Only the exterior and the cabin are retro.
An Abarth executive said some time ago that the idea of building a lightweight spider on the 4C chassis first came to mind when the company got its hands on the very first Alfa Romeo 4C 12 years ago, and that the construction of that coupe lent itself easily to such a conversion.
However, the 4C went on sale in 2013, while Abarth only managed to complete its ambitious project in the spring of 2021. When it unveiled the new 1000 SP, it insisted that the vehicle would forever remain a one-off show car. Apparently, the plans have changed since then.
According to Autoevolution, each vehicle produced would cost no less than €200,000. It also remains open how the tuner plans to get all the necessary fabrication done, because the Alfa Romeo 4C left the assembly lines for good in 2020.