Fiat 124 Spider Fixed-Roof Variant Coming Next Year

The Abarth/Fiat 124 Spider could be joined by a fixed-roof coupe variant in as little a year’s time, according to a new report out of the UK.

A coupe version of Fiat’s 124 is a somewhat similar idea to Mazda’s upcoming MX-5 RF, a new retractable hard-top version of the sports auto.

Autocar reports that a coupe version of the recently-revealed MX-5-based convertible is understood to be under development and will be built at Mazda’s Hiroshima facility.

In regards to how the Fiat 124 will look with a fixed coupe roof, it could look a lot like the Abarth 124 rally vehicle concept which was shown at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show back in March. There’s a good chance that the production 124 Coupe will utilize a very similar roof design or potentially, adopt a slightly extended roofline which would result in a shorter decklid. The decision to separate it from the MX-5 is believed to have been made in order to create greater space between the two models in the minds of potential buyers and to allow Fiat to push its performance credentials to a greater extent.

The coupe version of the 124 will likely use the same 1.4-litre turbo petrol found in the Spider model. It’s likely that the new 124 Coupe would carry over nearly all the Spider’s lines intact, for sake of simpler manufacturing, and might even share the Miata RF’s roofline-minus the cutlines, of course.

This auto will have more space and in order to attract customers Fiat will have to push the performance in terms of new technology as well.