Abarth Invites New Zealand on a Tour of Its Factory in Italy

Abarth Invites Everyone in New Zealand on a Tour of Its Factory in Italy

Abarth is inviting everyone in New Zealand to visit its factory in Italy, to see where the ultimate pocket rocket, the Abarth 500 and Abarth 500C, are made … well, virtually everyone in New Zealand ….

This is because Abarth has become the first car maker in Europe to throw open its doors to Google Street View.

The result is the "Abarth Virtual Tour" which is open to anyone with a computer and an internet link. It is a unique and immersive experience that discovers the Officine Abarth HQ in Turin, where passion and know-how have given rise to a range of unique cars with unprecedented performance levels and in unusually compact dimensions.

Created by the copy agency, xister, and accessible from the official website Abarth.com or from Google Maps, this fascinating tour allows users to visit every nook and cranny of the Abarth HQ.

It starts off in the showroom – which displays historic models, Racing cars and the new Abarth range – and then travels along corridors, amongst the heritage and the history of the brand, ending up in a charming reproduction of company founder Karl Abarth's office. The exploration continues to the heart of the factory, the workshop: where, virtual visitors will see the ramps with cars on which mechanics are at work, the various technical departments where the cars are assembled, along with the spray booth.

This is an innovative tool to discover the entire Abarth range, with the possibility of "browsing" through all the cars with a 360° view inside the passenger compartment. One of the most interesting places to visit is without a doubt the space dedicated to the Abarth 695 Biposto, a genuine "virtual atelier" where it can be admired from all angles, both inside and out, and find out all its exclusive high-tech contents thanks to the technical drawings and videos.

The Abarth virtual tour therefore provides a unique exploration to discover the world and the values of the Abarth car brand. There are also multiple useful Hotspots, which can be found in every navigation overview, which correspond to a detailed focus where visitors can consult multimedia content of the utmost interest. In addition, a customised Abarth graphic interface along with intuitive navigation controls make the on-line experience on Street View of the tour even more exciting and appealing, thanks to the zoom, automatic 360°, help functions and many other tools.

New Zealanders wishing to have a real world insight into Abarth may visit their local Fiat dealer, where they will find the Abarth 500 EsseEsse and Abarth 500C EsseEsse, both of which boast a power-packed 1.4 litre turbocharged engine punching out 118 kW of power and 230 Nm of torque. This sends the Abarth 500 EsseEsse to 100 kmh in just 7.4 seconds and on, where the law or the race track permits, on to a top speed of 210 kmh. But all the while just sipping fuel at the rate of 6.5 litres per 100 km on the combined test cycle.

Needless to say the Abarth 500 EsseEsse and Abarth 500C EsseEsse can handle this performance with its race bred chassis and advanced electronics that combine to provide the driver with dynamic performance experience.

It also has to be said that, coming from Italy, the Abarth 500 EsseEsse and Abarth 500C EsseEsse look the part inside and out from the 17 inch alloy wheels, the front and rear spoilers to the sports seats and leather bound steering wheel just part of the style-driven equipment package. The Abarth 500C EsseEsse adds the visceral pleasure of open top motoring at the press of a button.

For the real world Abarth experience, the recommended retail price of the Abarth 500 EsseEsse is $42,990 and the open top Abarth 500C EsseEsse has a recommended price of $46,990, both including GST but excluding dealer costs and delivery charges.

The "Abarth Virtual Tour" project was presented in a world preview at the recent Paris Motor Show using Oculus Rift, a head-mounted display placed over the eyes and which covers the user's field of vision entirely, reproducing everyday environments in 3D, in this case the Officine Abarth HQ in Turin. In detail, the technology used in Oculus Rift makes it possible to shift the view of the virtual world simply by moving one's head, exactly as we do in reality.

ENDS

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