Drive Wire: Fiat’s New 124 is Positively Miata-esque

Remember when Mazda was going to work with Alfa Romeo to make a new Spider? Didn’t happen. But now an Alfa subsidiary, Fiat, has put its own look to the Miata. Meet the new Fiat 124. Under the hood, the Miata’s 2 liter has been replaced by the 1.4 liter turbo engine from the growling, peppy Abarth 500. The 124 only makes five horsepower more than the Miata, but it has 184 foot-pounds of torque -- a significant bump over Mazda’s power plant. Fiat wisely kept the perfectly balanced Mazda suspension and chassis. As for the look, it does recall a classic ‘70’s Fiat convertible, and we like it. But opinions are split on whether the “Fiata” is better-looking than its Mazda sibling. Either way, we’re excited to see a how the 124 stacks up against the Miata on the road and the race track.