The cat’s out of the bag, or rather the scorpion is.
Abarth’s first electric vehicle, set to be revealed on November 22, has been spied during a commercial shoot.
Photographs and video of the Abarth 500 EV, as its numberplate reads, have been published on Instagram account Carzturbo.
The front-end of the electric pocket rocket had already been leaked late last month, and Abarth subsequently published a teaser image and the reveal date just yesterday.
We’ve now gotten a better look at the rear, which receives some subtle design tweaks compared to the Fiat 500e it’s based on.
As already seen in the leaked image, the Abarth 500 EV features a slightly different front-end design to its Fiat-badged coutnerpart, with a honeycomb pattern on the bumper, an oversized Abarth wordmark, and a front splitter.
While Abarth won’t be able to surprise us with the 500 EV’s looks, it can still surprise us with its specifications.
As of yet, we don’t yet know how much power and torque the hot EV will produce.
Up-spec 500es feature an electric motor with 87kW of power and 220Nm of torque, mated with a 42kWh lithium-ion battery.
WLTP range is 320km, it can be topped up at a DC fast charger at up to 85kW, and it does the 0-100km/h sprint in 9.0 seconds.
In contrast, the Abarth 595/695 in Australia features a turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 132kW of power and 250Nm of torque and a claimed 0-100km/h time of either 6.7 or 6.9 seconds depending on the transmission.
The Abarth EV will be quite unique as there’s little in the way of sporty EVs this size. Alpine has a small, sporty electric hatchback in the works, but it’s understood to be a size larger.
The Fiat 500e was revealed all the way back in 2020 but will finally be introduced in Australia during the first half of 2023.
Fiat 500e
It’s available as a hatchback, convertible, or an unusual four-door hatchback body style with two doors on one side à la the defunct Hyundai Veloster.
Available features include full LED headlights, 15- to 17-inch alloy wheels, “eco” leather trim, electric front seat adjustment, self-dimming rear-view mirror, a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, JBL Premium sound system, and a wireless phone charger.
There’s also a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system running Uconnect 5 and featuring wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.
Current Abarth 595 
Safety features extend to adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, lane centring assist, traffic sign recognition, and ‘Level 2’ self-driving capability.
Abarth’s global line-up now consists solely of fettled versions of the dated combustion-powered 500 following the demise of the Mazda MX-5-derived 124 Spider.
In Australia, the 595 Competizione will be replaced by the almost identical 695 Competizione in the fourth quarter of this year. The few changes comprise a new seat assembly and roof antenna and revised colour palette.
