This limited-edition Abarth 695 is dedicated to... a yacht

As somewhat spurious homages go, Fiat might have the market cornered – the people’s car of Italy, made during circumstances of extreme privation and uncertainty after the Second World War, now alludes to perhaps the best-known purveyor of pricey powerboats, Riva.

Yes, it’s already been going on with the regular Fiat 500 for a while now. But, as the late-night informercials say, but wait, there’s more. Fiat’s in-house fastification outfit (hey, that’s what they do) Abarth has now jumped on the money train – first class, of course – releasing their own mashup between the automotive and the nautical. 

So, expect to find Riva’s “trademark Riva two-tone Sera Blue and Shark Grey colour scheme with Aquamarine double-stripe beauty line,” which represents the “thin line of sea on the horizon”, as well as a blue leather interior and the option of a real mahogany dashboard, steering wheel and gear lever inserts. 

Of course, you can’t have a luxury yacht without chromed winches, rails and cleats, so the Abarth Rivale has similarly chromed appurtenances, such as the door handles and tailgate. To complete the package, one could always spring for the optional name plate that’s affixed with “the same screws used on a Riva yacht.” And that seems important. 

On to the more mundane, mechanical side of things, and you’ll find that Akrapovic has supplied carbon tailpipes, Brembo’s taken care of the brakes and Abarth’s sorted the 1.4-litre, 180bhp engine. The results of this international cooperation include a top speed of 139mph and a 0-62 dash of 6.7 seconds. And that’s pretty brisk for a training shoe painted to look like a yacht.