Abarth 600e Scorpionissima, the Queen of Flamboyance

This famous Abarth “the most powerful of all time” has been teased so much that it no longer surprises, but does it astonish?

In case you didn’t know yet, the Abarth 600e Scorpionissima is the “most powerful Abarth of all time.” Did we mention that already? Excuse us, but when the brand reminds us of this four times in its press release before even beginning the model presentation, it seems to be really important.

Here it is, this purple scorpion accompanied by its 280 excited horses. A small 100% electric dynamo with a sporty DNA clearly visible in its muscular exterior lines, its large wheels, and its rear wing. The whole thing is quite appealing, somewhat reminiscent of a MINI John Cooper Works. And it’s not the only characteristic it shares with the English car; we will come back to that. We are told that its electric motor has been tested on the cousin DS’s Formula E test bench, using a real track simulator. Was it really necessary to achieve only 280 horsepower? Sorry, but for a sports car, that’s a bit light, even if it’s better than an Alpine A290. Wind tunnel work for the body, high-capacity cooling system to push the limits of battery cooling, Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires, Alcon brakes, Torsen differential,… let’s not go on, we understand it’s sporty. And even the “most powerful Abarth of all time”!

There isn’t much to criticize it for, and we appreciate all these efforts, but there is one problem. Let’s be honest, this Abarth fails to make us forget that it is merely an enhanced Fiat 600e. Alpine pulled off this magic trick with the A290, which certainly retains the lines of the Renault 5 but has its own identity. A MINI remains a MINI, whether it is sporty or not. Conversely, the MG4 XPOWER looks exactly like the mid-range model but with four-wheel drive and 435 horsepower. And the MG costs 36,000 euros whereas it will likely take nearly 45,000 euros for this limited edition Scorpionissima of which only 1949 units will be made. The same price as the MINI JCW, with which it has a lot to share.

So there is no wow factor, but no disappointment either. A pity for a car expected to mark the history of a sports icon, the brand Abarth, which really didn’t need it.

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