Watch the Fiat 124 Abarth Rally Car Happily Rip Up Some Tarmac
Conclusion: The world needs more rear-wheel-drive rally cars.
We have a saying here at The Drive: Why simply drive something when you can rally it? After watching a video of the new race-spec Fiat 124 Abarth rally car doing its thing on some backroad asphalt, we now declare wholehearted approval of the Fiata.
We first saw the 124 Spider Rally at the Geneva Motor Show in March, but this is first time we've gotten to see the little Italian coupe do its thing. The rally car is spec'd with a 300-horsepower, 1.8-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder motor and a sequential six-speed transmission. It has a hard top, a roll cage, and a full asphalt-tuned rally suspension. There's also a rally scoop. Because it's a rally car. And rally cars are damn awesome.
In the video, we see the 124 Rally being finessed around corners in massive power slides. Though it looks at home on asphalt, we would imagine the rear-wheel-drive coupe might be something more of a handful on a rally stage with looser terrain. But that's the fun of it. The 124 Rally was primarily designed for use in the FIA's tarmac-based R-GT Cup series.
If watching the 124 Rally absolutely own these tarmac stages doesn't put a smile on your face, you're either blind or stupid. If you're blind, sit back and listen to the menacing yet happiness-inducing sounds generated by the rally car's turbo-four.