New 247bhp Fiat 500

Published Date: 17th Aug 2014

A Californian tuning company decides that Fiat 500 needs 247bhp and ridiculously aggressive carbon fibre styling

 

Road Race Motorsports has become the latest tuning company to join the crazy tuning club by releasing this pocket rocket take on the Fiat 500.  It is called the M1 Turbo Tallini Competizione, and the good news for fans is that the car will be entering production – though numbers are very limited to 50. Prices range up to £59,000, which is a huge amount of cheddar for this little mouse.

The car takes a very similar approach to the Severn Valley Motorsport Nissan Qashqai R that had over 1150bhp, RRM’s effort sees power from Fiat’s 1.4-litre turbocharged engine boosted up to 247bhp, with torque now hitting 339Nm. That’s an increase of 112bhp and 133Nm over the UK-spec Abarth 500, which the Californian-based tuner reckons will help see its M1 Turbo hit 0-62mph in just a shade under six seconds.

This new Fiat 500 has 20% better brakes, an all-new suspension set-up, and carbon-kevlar clutch, Road Race Motorsports claimed its Fiat 500 “will prove fully competitive with trackday specials like the Lotus Exige”.

To improve the Fiat’s high-speed handling and stability was apparently central to this aim, so along with a wider, lower stance, there are many aerodynamic modifications in the form of rear spoilers, front air dams, side skirts and even hood vents.

To help the RRM 500 M1 Turbo Tallini Competizione stand out, there’s a carbon fibre body kit, including prominent wheel arches to accommodate the 16-inch rims and Tokyo Proxes tyres. Inside there are Ricaro bucket race seats, a roll cage, 5-point safety harnesses and custom controls, all of which help achieve a 54kg lighter kerb weight.