Abarth went all-in on electric. Noble move, wrong timing, or at least that’s what the sales numbers seem to be whispering into Stellantis’ boardrooms. With a European lineup reduced to the 500e and 600e, and EV demand stubbornly refusing to match the hype, the Scorpion badge is now reportedly eyeing a return to combustion-powered territory. Quietly. Carefully.
The candidate? A performance version of the Fiat Grande Panda. The affordable compact crossover, currently available in mild-hybrid and fully electric flavors, riding on Smart’s architecture, would get the full Abarth treatment. More power, sharper suspension tuning, and an aggressive exterior that trades bamboo trim inserts for Alcantara and carbon fiber. Larger alloy wheels, a sportier bumper with additional LED elements, a front splitter, Scorpion badging.
According to Autocar, the model is in development but hasn’t yet received the green light for production. When pressed on the subject, Gaetano Thorel, the man steering both Abarth and Fiat in Europe, offered this carefully non-committal gem: “We will certainly leverage Abarth’s heritage for something else. That’s all we can say for now”.
On the powertrain front, the stock 1.2-liter three-cylinder turbo wouldn’t cut it in Abarth trim. The more plausible route involves a dual-motor hybrid setup. The same architecture being considered for a future Grande Panda 4×4. It wouldn’t match the 278 HP punch of the electric Abarth 600e or the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce, but that’s almost beside the point.
What it would offer is something increasingly rare in the performance car world: a recognizable exhaust note, actual tuning potential, and a price tag that doesn’t require a mortgage negotiation.
Thorel himself has acknowledged that Abarth enthusiasts miss the “workability” and sonic character of combustion engines. It still might be. But in the meantime, the Grande Panda could serve as Abarth’s entry-level performance offer, slotting beneath the 500e and 600e while injecting some much-needed variety into a lineup that currently feels more like a footnote than a statement.
