Abarth 500e

Does Abarth succeed in its bid to crack the EV hot-hatch sector?

- Jordan Katsianis

FIAT made a great job of reinventing its 500 city car for the electric era. But when it comes to the sporty Abarth version, with no terrier-like turbocharged four-cylinder engine under the bonnet, the question of how to mimic the regular 500e's success is a tricky one.

Noise - or rather, the lack of it - is a major part of this, so Abarth decided to tap into the model's playful nature and just fake it. As a result, the hot 500e features a sound generator with one speaker inside and one out to try to replicate the sometimes flatulent sounds of a petrol-powered Abarth.

After turning the car on, the initial response is surprise - not at the sound itself, rather its quite unruly volume. Straight away, you can tell Abarth is not taking itself too seriously, a positive point despite the potential for teeth-grinding embarrassment, depending on the driver's circumstances. The good news is that this playful side is backed up with bespoke tuning, applied to both the powertrain and the chassis, in order to give the hot EV more charisma.