The Abarth 695 Biposto is a proper race car built to order, and is the only production car featuring a genuine racing gearbox.
It’s no surprise then that there are only 10 in South Africa.
What is surprising, however, is that there’s one for sale for R699,900.
More than your standard Abarth
The Abarth 695 Biposto is more than a tribute car like the Tributo Ferrari, and it’s much more bespoke than a tuned Abarth 500.
Widely known in collectors’ circles as the smallest of the supercars, the few that arrived in South Africa sport the highest specification possible.
A 1.4-litre turbocharged engine puts out 141kW in a package weighing less than 1,000kg, which helps the hot hatch get to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds.
But, the Abarth Biposto stands for more than straight-line performance.
The wider stance and swathes of carbon fibre makes sure you know this is something special, and that it can slice its way around a track.
If that wasn’t enough, a price of R880,000 when new made sure it wasn’t confused for a “normal” Abarth 500.
Biposto in South Africa
With such a unique car on sale in South Africa, there had to be a backstory – so I reached out to Bradley Scorer, MD of Arnold Chatz Cars, to find out more.
“After unveiling the Biposto at the Geneva Motor Show, order books opened in parts of the world and we had a couple of queries from collectors in South Africa,” said Scorer.
“International owners were able to select options to accompany the race-bred engine enhancements – however, all 10 cars brought into South Africa left nothing off of the options list.”
“These make the cars sold in South Africa some of the most comprehensively-equipped Bipostos ever sold to customers, and highly collectable future classics,” he said.
The options list reads as follows:
- Brembo brakes
- 18-inch OZ Racing alloy wheels
- Carbon fibre BMC induction kit
- Dual-stage Akrapovic titanium exhaust
- Sabelt carbon bucket seats with four-point harnesses
It gets shock absorbers from Extreme Shox – which feature hydraulic height adjustment – and in place of the factory radio is an MLX data-logger straight out of the Assetto Corsa race cars.
Less is also more in this Biposto, as the rear seat is gone – while the regular door cards, arm rests, and handles are replaced by carbon fibre components.
In place of the standard five-speed manual transmission is then an exposed H-pattern, dog-ring gearbox that demands expert changes from the driver.
The gearbox alone was a R170,000 option.
The Biposto, said Scorer, is a “true race-derived car for the road”.
However, he said these typically enter prestigious collections rather than becoming daily drivers.
If you’re looking to add something unique to your collection, the Biposto remains one of the very few “affordable” modern classics.
Abarth 695 Biposto
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