Driven by history and passion, the new Abarth 600e is the purest expression of Abarth’s new design language, a visual translation of performance. Not by chance, some of the design choices made on this vehicle reflect past intuitions that gave birth to some of the brand’s most successful cars, paying homage to this legacy while setting its sights firmly on the future.
Design Details, a blend of heritage and innovation
Abarth’s legacy is prominent in the exterior design of the new Abarth 600e, thanks to a blend of modern design weaved into early choices. Two worlds are combined here, representing both the origins of the Scorpion Brand and the gaming world with the reinterpretation of the striped theme and scorpion that already made its debut on the Abarth 500e, as a brand identifier, and contributed to expressing its electric switch toward the electric era. Indeed, the electrified Scorpion still is the undisputed protagonist of the brand’s vehicles together with the striped pattern, enriching some of the external spots around the car: in addition to the logos on the fenders and the Abarth badge on the bonnet, the beloved but threatening symbol appears on the centerline, engraved on the black surfaces of the front and rear bumpers and spoiler.
Another leap into the past is the reinterpretation in a contemporary key of the large, brutally squared-off volume of the Abarth 850 TC’s front radiator, the so-called “cassettone”. The Abarth 850 TC is the first car under the “Turismo Competizione” Scorpion badge, a serene family car transformed into an agile, lightweight, and fast racing vehicle that clinched numerous European competitions, with an astounding record of 51 victories out of 53 races. Square and slightly brutal, the Abarth 600e’s bumper helps give the car a sporty look and a strong emotional impact.
Tribute also to Carlo Abarth
The New Abarth 600e also pays homage to Carlo Abarth’s intuition who foresaw the double functionality of the open trunk, which improved, dissipating heat, performance in cooling and aerodynamics. Carlo Abarth’s visionary resin spoiler gave birth to the Abarth “wing”, a feature now prominent on many of Abarth’s successful vehicles. The Abarth 600e’s spoiler was developed separating the airflow in two to improve the drag of the car, and , to always provide excellent performance, Abarth’s designers studied and tested several times the squared shapes of the aero spoiler and the extractor in the bumper in the special wind tunnel.
In addition to past influences, a second theme steps in to enrich the new design language of the Abarth 600e. Inspired by the digital and gaming world, square geometry is reinforced by strong graphics featuring inclined lines, engraved on the surfaces that become a grille in the air intake. To exalt the resulting effect, Abarth designers made this logic of form and processing appear on the rear bumper as well.
The exterior bold design
For the exterior bold design, the Scorpion brand focused on four main elements that make the new Abarth 600e the representation of Abarth’s performance attainment: the front and rear bumpers, the spoiler, and the wheels. On the front, aerodynamic and cooling performance is enhanced by pushing forward the profile, resulting in the “shark nose effect” that gives additional spice, while the volume stands out thanks to a unique bumper and the three-dimensional Abarth inscription. In addition, together with the Motorsport team, designers provided the car with a low setup and a large track with an additional 30mm on the front and an additional 25mm on the back, reinforcing the external look.
The last of the main elements, the 20-inch diamond-alloy wheels, is mainly built around three parts: a solid but lightweight internal structure that calls back to the car body; the sting representing an aerodynamic function and inspiring the external graphics and, finally, the mono-bolt effect that recalls the racing world.
An attention-grabbing design
Altogether, the car sports a bold design with elements that emphasize its aggressiveness, such as the specific rear lamp bezel, the coffered-inspired shape, and the black mirror caps and handles contrasting with the exciting colors of the Scorpionissima: the Acid Green, as a reference to the antidote’s color, and the exclusive Hypnotic Purple which was inspired by the post-puncture hypnotic effect.