HERE’SSOMETHINGSLIGHTLYLAWLESS
aboutdrivinginTurin.Wheel-spinning
getawaysfromtraffic lights?Creating
yourownlanes?Divingouttobraaaaaappast
dawdlers?Eezfi ne.Ifyoudon’tdoityourselfthen
theswarthyblokeinthebatteredPuntobehindyou
will,andifhe’snotalreadycomingpastthenthe
teenagegirlinadecade-oldLanciaYpsilonwillsoon
makemincemeatofbothofyou.Everyonejustgets
onwiththeirlives,usuallyrapidly,inItaly’sMotown,
wherecarsareingrainedinthecultureandcitycars
arejustthat.DrivingandparkinganSUVherewould
behellishand,yoususpect,seenasabituncoolina
placewherewell-wornclassic500sstillroam.
ThisenvironmentalsomakesthenewAbarth
595Esseesse–successortothe500Esseesseof
2009–oneofthemostexoticcarsontheroads,
andgivesyouanextrafewmillisecondsoftolerance
beforetheobligatoryhorn-leanfromnearbytraffic.
Cladingo-fasterstripesandwearingwhite-painted
17-inchalloywheels,it’sanaestheticwe’refamiliar
withafteradecadeofAbarth500sales,butone
that’sstillpugnaciouslyappealing.
MostoftheEsseesse’spartshavebeenseeninone
formoranotheronother595s,butthere’snodoubt
theygivethecaraspecialfeelandhelptohidethe
factthebasicdesignisgettingonabitthesedays.
Somethingsdobetraythe595’sage,though.The
slightlytinnyfeeltothedoorsisjusttherightside
ofcharming,butbeingunabletoadjusttheSabelts’
backrestswiththedoorsclosedisadifferent
matter,andadjustingtheseatinsuchawaythat
resultsinadecentdrivingpositionisevenharder.
It’llsuitsomeshapesbetterthanothers–asanex-
Panda100HPowneritdoesn’tbotherme–butlack
ofadjustmentinthewheel,alongwithpendulous
pedalsandtheultra-firm paddingintheseatsall
contributetotheVenndiagramofdiscomfort.
Youstartthe178bhpturbocharged1.4(good
for62mphin6.7secanda140mphtopspeed)by
twistingsomethingcalleda‘key’inan‘ignition
barrel’,buttheexhaustgrowlthatresultsfrom
thisarchaicactgoessomewaytomitigating
anyposterialdiscomfort.Distractingyouwith
briefmomentsofbrillianceissomethingofa595
specialityinfact,andobjectivefailingscaneasily
JustifyingtheEsseesse’splaceatopthe595
range(abovethebasic595,theTurismoandthe
Competizione)areothernoveltiessuchasBrembo
frontbrakes,alimited-slipdifferentialforthe
fi ve-speedtransmission,andadevilishAkrapovic
exhaustsystemthatnowrunsjustalittlequieter
whenyou’renotinSportmode,soyourneighbours
won’tgetadoseofTurinesetraffic everymorning.
InsideyougetSabelt‘70’carbonfibr e-backed
buckets,alongwithapart-leather,part-Alcantara
steeringwheel,asetofmetalpedalsandan
oversizedmetalknobforthehigh-mountedshifter.
T
Abarth595Esseesse
Ifyoucanforgiveitsshortcomings,Abarth’s pocketrocketisstillriotousfun
Driven
‘Distracting you
with brief moments
of brilliance is
something of a 595
speciality’