1 best of : Fiat 124 Spider Teased Ahead of L.A. Debut

The Mazda Miata-based Fiat 124 Spider has been caught testing before, and now the Italian brand is teasing the upcoming roadster on social media. In two posts on Facebook, a whimsical sketch showing the top half of the new drop-top was teased.

The car looks like the prototypes we’ve spied, wearing ND-generation Miata body lines but with longer overhangs and rounded headlights. The taillights also match up with what we’ve seen before, being more rectangular-shaped and slanted inward. The teasers show the Fiat 124 in London and Madrid, and in the last post Fiat says, “It’s time to take our precious cargo across the Atlantic.” We know the Fiat 124 Spider will make its global debut at the L.A. Auto Show next week.

Other details on the Fiat 124 are slim, but we expect the car to arrive with a drivetrain other than the MX-5 Miata’s 155-hp 2.0-liter Skyactiv I-4. The Fiat-badged roadster will most likely be offered with a version of FCA’s turbocharged 1.4-liter MultiAir I-4 producing around 180 hp in base form. An Abarth variant could offer the turbocharged 1.7-liter I-4 out of the Alfa Romeo 4C tuned to 240 hp. Both six-speed manual and six-speed dual-clutch transmissions are expected to be available.

We’ll have to wait until the 124 Spider is fully revealed in L.A. Until then, stay tuned for more teasers.

Source: Fiat via Facebook