Sound On: Listen to the New 2019 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth
Fiat’s 124 Spider Abarth gets a new exhaust sound for the 2019 model year, and you can take a listen in the video above. The new optional “Record Monza” exhaust system — named after the speed records Carlo Abarth set at the famous Italian racetrack in 1965 — addresses one of our chief complaints about the Abarth version of the sporty little convertible: It’s too quiet.
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After 1,000 miles of driving a 2017 124 Spider Abarth, Cars.com reviewer Aaron Bragman despaired that the signature Abarth sound was missing from the convertible, noting, “[t]he 500 Abarth will wake your neighbors; the 124 Spider Abarth doesn’t announce your arrival at all.”
Well, ask and ye shall receive — if you pay the $995 cost to add the exhaust system to your 2019 124 Spider Abarth. We’ll have to hear it in person, but Fiat Chrysler Automobiles told us the exhaust note has a louder growl for 2019, similar to that of the 500 Abarth. That means it may not work for everyone: Other Cars.com staffers have noted that the exhaust in Fiat’s 500 Abarth hatchback is, well, “farty,” and that sound appears to spread with the 2019 124 Spider Abarth. Personally, I’m a fan, although I haven’t had to live with it for more than a day.
Also new for the 2019 124 Spider Abarth is a new appearance package that paints the lip of the front bumper, mirror caps and tow hook red, and also adds a more stylish dead pedal and Abarth scorpion-branded floormats. A rear backup camera and 7-inch multimedia screen are now standard across the entire 124 Spider lineup.
Other goodies that still come with the 124 Spider Abarth include a Bilstein sport suspension, a mechanical limited-slip differential, and unique wheels and front and rear bumpers, all as standard equipment. Brembo brakes and Recaro seats are optional, as is a hand-painted hood stripe.
All this is well and good, but for my (purely hypothetical) money, nothing beats the Fiat 124 Abarth R-GT. The 2019 124 Spider Abarth hits dealers by the end of this year. Pricing for the entire lineup starts around $25,000, and Fiat says the Abarth will come in at less than $30,000; both prices are before a $1,295 destination fee.
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