The performance details have been revealed for the 2017 Abarth 124 Spider ahead of its arrival Down Under in October.

FCA AUSTRALIA has confirmed the performance details for the Abarth 124 Spider which will arrive Down Under in October.

Under the bonnet the Abarth 124 Spider will run a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine producing 125kW at 5500rpm and 250Nm of torque at 2500rpm, paired with a choice of a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox with paddle shifters. Keen-eyed readers will notice this is different to the engine in either the Mazda MX-5 2.0L or 1.5L models (the Abarth 124 Spider is a virtual twin-under-the-skin) and is more powerful than both those cars.

The Abarth 124 Spider will get a Sport Mode which allows drivers to tweak the automatic transmission shift pattern, the weight of the electric power steering and loosen up the stability control “to ensure a sporty, responsive and performance-oriented drive experience”.

In addition to the electro-trickery the Abarth 124 Spider gets a mechanical limited-slip differential, sport suspension featuring mono-tube Bilstein front and rear shock absorbers, and Brembo brakes with monoblock aluminium calipers with four pistons, “allowing for unparalleled braking performance”.

The Abarth 124 Spider weighs 1060 kilograms, which results in a weight-to-power ratio of 6.2kg/HP. Weight distribution is 50:50 which some claim is the holy grail of weight distribution, but it isn’t… we explore that here.

The Abarth roadster arrives with leather-and-Alcantara sports seats, chrome quad-tip sports exhaust. It will be in Australia dealerships from Friday the 7th of October.