Currently reading: 2016 Fiat 124 Spider pricing and specification revealed

New rear-wheel-drive, two-seat convertible priced from £19,545 and returns the Fiat 124 Spider name to showrooms almost 50 years after the original

The new Fiat 124 Spider is available to order now in the UK, priced from £19,545 to £23,295, with first deliveries expected in August.

It comes in three trim levels - CLassica, Lusso and Lusso Plus - and standard kit includes air-con, an infotainment system and 16in alloys. Its starting price pitches it above the Mazda MX-5, which starts at around £18,495.

Read our review of the Fiat 124 Spider

The rear-wheel-drive, two-seat convertible returns the Fiat 124 Spider name to showrooms almost 50 years after the original model was introduced. The new edition is the product of a joint project between Fiat and Mazda, and it shares the same platform as the latest generation of the Mazda MX-5.

Read our review of a prototype Abarth 124 Spider

Fiat’s offering does not use the Japanese car’s normally aspirated engines, however. The sole engine at launch in the UK will be a 138bhp version of Fiat’s 1.4-litre MultiAir II petrol motor, offering 177lb ft and paired with a six-speed manual transmission.

US-market cars will get a 158bhp version of the 1.4 MultiAir but there’s no indication yet on whether it will be offered in Europe. Fiat is also likely to offer the car with an automatic transmission in the US - as Mazda does with the MX-5 - but it’s unclear if the 124 will be offered in auto form in Europe.

Fiat 124 a 0111

The 124 Spider is slightly longer than the MX-5, but this is entirely due to slight increases in the front and rear overhangs; the wheelbase of the car remains the same. All of the main body panels have been changed, but the windscreen, header rail, manually operated fabric roof and the rollover protection are carried over from the Mazda.

The same can be said for the cabin; much more than the exterior, it is clearly derived from the MX-5’s with a very similar architecture that even incorporates a reskinned version of Mazda’s 7in touchscreen infotainment system on higher-end editions.

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Read our review

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Fiat looks to its rebodied MX-5 for a much-needed image boost, but does it do enough to stand out on its own, or would you be better off with the Mazda?

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Fiat has tried to mix elements of the original 124 Spider’s styling with the new car’s looks, without it becoming overtly retro. The end result is a car that looks a little more style-focused and sophisticated than the needle-nosed MX-5. There’s a bluffer front end, incorporating a hexagonal grille and three-piece LED rings designed to echo the original car’s round headlights. The bonnet has a pair of ‘power domes’ - again, a nod to the later versions of the original 124 Spider.

The flanks have one of the biggest shifts away from the MX-5; instead of that car’s crease, which falls away towards the back wheels, there’s a pronounced kick up over the rear wheelarch. The rear gets rectangular tail-lights which incorporate reversing lights in their centre - another recent Fiat styling trend - and in another neat reference to the original car, the Fiat badge is mounted on the top of the boot instead of hanging from its vertical edge.

Fiat 124 a 0110

The 124 Spider line-up is bolstered by an Abarth version. It gets more aggressive front and rear bumpers, possible blisters on the wheelarches and a more powerful version of the MultiAir II engine, with around 170bhp. Following Abarth’s desire to produce more ‘extreme’ vehicles, the hot 124 Spider also gets the MX-5’s limited-slip differential as standard, as well as revised spring and damper settings that will prioritise agility and cornering stability over cruising comfort.

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Fiat 124 a 0116

Q&A with Fiat brand director Olivier Francois

These are US-market cars. When will we see European versions of the 124 Spider and will they be much different?

You’ll see them at Geneva motor show in 2016. And yes, they will be tailored a bit more towards the European market. There are some differences, but I don’t want to get into details just now.

Why did you choose to bring back the 124 Spider? You could just as easily have chosen the X1/9, couldn’t you?

That’s funny, because we did indeed consider the X1/9. It’s another classic Fiat, and it offers the open-top experience as well, of course. But we decided that the brand equity was a bit stronger with the 124.

The launch cars in the US and Europe have relatively modest power outputs. Will you consider encouraging tuning of 124s? Are we going to see extreme versions of this car at SEMA next year, for example?

We already know there’s appetite for that. About one in five 500s sold here is an Abarth version, so we know the customer base is there. We might well look at doing a tuned version of the 124, therefore.

Would that have an Abarth badge?

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It might have an Abarth badge, yes.

How have you tried to differ the driving experience of this car from the MX-5’s?

I’ll leave the details down to the engineers but believe me, the experience is very similar to what made the original 124 Spider so popular. By that I mean it’s fun to drive and has a perfect power-to-weight ratio.

What about pricing - will it match the Mazda’s prices?

It will be in the ballpark for the sector, for sure.

Blog - Why is Fiat bringing back the 124 Spider?

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A short history of the Fiat 124 Spider

124 Spider 2

1966 The 124 Spider makes its debut at the Turin motor show. Designed by Pininfarina stylist Tom Tjaarda, who worked on the Ferrari 275, the car goes into production with a 1.4-litre twin-cam motor producing 89bhp. It reaches the US market in 1968.

1969 79 Sport spider 0006

1970 The first major upgrade to the Spider brings a 1.6-litre engine producing a heady 109bhp - pretty decent for a car that didn’t weigh much over 900kg.

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1973 Poland 1st place

1973 An Abarth-tuned, 1.8-litre motorsport version of the Spider (backed by a homologation-special production version) wins the Polish and Acropolis Rallies as Fiat gears up the car for a full World Rally Championship campaign. It never quite fulfils its potential, though - and within three years it’s dropped in favour of the 131 Abarth.

1975 Us spec 0001

1975 Fiat tweaks the Spider to comply with American crash regulations - and decides that it’s not worth making it similarly compatible with European rules, so a decade after launch, the car becomes a US-only model.

1979 2000 Spider 0008

1979 The Spider’s transformation to an American model is complete; Fiat does a deal with GM to offer the firm’s three-speed automatic transmission. It also increases the engine size to 2.0 litres and changes the name to Spider 2000.

1980 Fiat switches the 2.0-litre engine over to Bosch fuel injection and introduces a catalytic converter. This set-up, with 102bhp, is designed for the Californian market but it’s offered as an option across the rest of the US.

1981 A turbocharged version of the Spider is sold as a joint development between Fiat USA and Legend Industries. It brings 120bhp and a 0-60mph time of under nine seconds, but many owners subsequently revert to normally aspirated specification after Fiat’s US dealer network is wound down in 1983.

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1982 Pininfarina spidereuropa 0

1983 As part of its withdrawal from the American market, Fiat drops the Spider and hands production over to Pininfarina. The Italian design house brings the car back to Europe, as well as continuing to sell it in the US as the Spider Azzura.

1983 Pininfarina spidereuropa volumex 0

1984/1985 The final couple of years' production at Pininfarina add just 4000-odd cars to the total number (taking it to nearly 200,000 units) but bring the most powerful edition of the Spider Azzura yet, with a supercharged version of the 2.0-litre engine producing 133bhp. The car’s engine would live on in other classic Italian cars, though; a further turbocharged development of the unit was used in the Lancia Delta Integrale.

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Comments
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AndyWolves 8 June 2016

oh dear

what makes matters worse for the look of this car, is Autocar showing pix of the original Spiders...
Svein 23 November 2015

A Nice Fiat

I'm Sorry , but I disagree with most of you. This looks like A realy Nice CAR . IT looks like A modern Fiat 124 Spider...and The combination designed in Italy and made in Japan sounds great to me. This could be A hit and I think it's just The CAR Fiat needs. I want One!
graleman 21 November 2015

Modern designs

Recent designs from many companies have been awful.
Yes, the 124 looks a bit like a Honda S2000. Thats not a bad thing. This will, with the right engine, sell like hotcakes.
The Alfa 4C, was originally going to Be an Abarth, and not an Alfa. But greedy bosses saw the demand for it, at private showings, so changed badges, and added £15000 to the price! Still sold out!
I do love all the so called experts on here, who have condemned the car, before anyone has actually got behind the wheel.
Think about crash tests. Reason for the slight thicker pillàrs, and side protection. Amazed that they have kept the weight so little.