The Italians are planning a racing version for the World Rally
Championship. If this proves to be true, the modern-day 124 Spider will follow
in the exact footsteps of its predecessor, which also spawned a rally car,
despite Fiat not offering a production coupe model. But, as exciting as it may
sound, Abarth’ s return to rallying is still a rumor as of December 2015.
It’s not because the Italian brand wouldn’t be able
to turn the roadster into a tarmac-eating machine. The main problem is that a
WRC-spec 124 Abarth currently has no class to race in, as the World Rally
Championship has become a competition for superminis only.
In November 2015, Piston Heads reported — quoting
sources close to Abarth — that the FIA is considering a new sports car category
for the WRC. The class will be designed "to restore some petrolhead
credibility to the series" and will allow larger vehicles, such as the
Fiat 124 Spider, to race.
We won’t find out whether FIA will indeed create a
new class anytime soon, but the thought that Abarth Abarth might return to
rallying is exciting to say the least. With that in mind, we decided to create
a rendering of the Abarth 124 WRC and talk about as to what it might bring to
the table.