Abarth Celebrates Historic 131 Rally Car With $40k Special Edition

In 1976, Fiat built 400 Fiat 131 Abarth homologation cars so it could go rallying. It was pretty successful, winning 18 international rallies and three world constructors' championships. In 1982, Fiat retired the rally car and is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its retirement by introducing a new Abarth 500 inspired by the 131.

It's called the Abarth 695 Tributo 131 Rally special series, and just 695 units will be made available globally.

The Abarth 695 Tributo 131 Rally has a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-pot under the hood, producing 180 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque. This is slightly more than the now-defunct 160 hp Abarth 500 sold in the USA.

Oddly, the actual rally car never used turbocharging for more power. The homologation cars were equipped with a 2.0-liter NA four-pot with dual Weber carburetors. The result was 138 hp. The racing vehicles used mechanical fuel injection and produced 230-odd hp.

But back to the present, where the Abarth's impressive torque figure is available from just 3,000 rpm. It takes 6.7 seconds to hit 62 mph and tops out at 140 mph.

To increase grip and improve the handling, it also comes standard with Koni FSD shock absorbers on both axles and a model-specific braking system which includes aluminum Brembo calipers with four pistons on the front and ventilated front and rear discs up to 305mm in diameter on the front axle. That's a lot of braking power for a car that weighs roughly 2,500 lbs.

The exterior design is enhanced by black 17-inch alloy wheels with a diamond-cut finish and the Record Monza Sovrapposto exhaust system. Abarth says the rear spoiler is 12-way adjustable, with an inclination from 0 degrees to 60 degrees. This allows the driver to play around with the aerodynamics a bit, but at the 60-degree angle, it only provides 92 pounds of downforce.

As a tribute car, some of the design choices reference the historic racing car. The bicolor three-layer Blue Rally gloss livery is a contemporary take on the racing car's original livery.

Abarth is also proud that this is its first car with hidden easter eggs. The Italian brand did not say how many there were but mentioned the silhouette of the 131 Rally engraved on the lower part of the car door, on the Alcantara dashboard, and on the headrests of the new seats.

On the inside, it comes standard with Sabelt cloth seats with blue inserts and stitching, which is another reimagining of the design found in the historic car.

In the UK, the Abarth 695 Tributo 131 Rally will retail for the equivalent of $40,000, which means you could buy this, or a top-spec Volkswagen Golf GTI. Sadly, it won't come to the US.