The new Fiat 124 Spider is available to order now in the UK, priced from £19,545 to £23,295, with first deliveries expected in August.
It comes in three trim levels - CLassica, Lusso and Lusso Plus - and standard kit includes air-con, an infotainment system and 16in alloys. Its starting price pitches it above the Mazda MX-5, which starts at around £18,495.
Read our review of the Fiat 124 Spider
The rear-wheel-drive, two-seat convertible returns the Fiat 124 Spider name to showrooms almost 50 years after the original model was introduced. The new edition is the product of a joint project between Fiat and Mazda, and it shares the same platform as the latest generation of the Mazda MX-5.
Read our review of a prototype Abarth 124 Spider
Fiat’s offering does not use the Japanese car’s normally aspirated engines, however. The sole engine at launch in the UK will be a 138bhp version of Fiat’s 1.4-litre MultiAir II petrol motor, offering 177lb ft and paired with a six-speed manual transmission.
US-market cars will get a 158bhp version of the 1.4 MultiAir but there’s no indication yet on whether it will be offered in Europe. Fiat is also likely to offer the car with an automatic transmission in the US - as Mazda does with the MX-5 - but it’s unclear if the 124 will be offered in auto form in Europe.
The 124 Spider is slightly longer than the MX-5, but this is entirely due to slight increases in the front and rear overhangs; the wheelbase of the car remains the same. All of the main body panels have been changed, but the windscreen, header rail, manually operated fabric roof and the rollover protection are carried over from the Mazda.
