Fiat 124 Spider, an ND MX 5-bodied Italian sports car

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_124_Spider_(2016)

Ah, the revival of a classic moniker, that captivates car enthusiasts from 1966-85. The Fiat 124 Sport Spider was a roadster that appealed to the enthusiasts looking for a basic top-down sports car during that juncture. Fast forward to 2016, Fiat Chrysler Automobile (FCA) has brought back the 124 nameplate, christened as the 124 Spider. 

Unlike the Pininfarina-designed 124 Sport Spider, the modern 124 Spider is not a result of Fiat and Pininfarina's collaboration, but rather a joint venture with a Hiroshima-based manufacturer who subscribes to the Jinba Ittai philosophy in sports car design. If you can guess what I am alluding to, kudos to you. But in case if you don't, the manufacturer in reference is Mazda. 

The 124 Spider is underpinned by the fourth generation ND Mazda MX-5 (MX-5 Miata in the US). Thanks to findings by Top Gear, the chassis is built in Mazda's Hiroshima factory. The engine, however, is not built by Mazda, but by Fiat instead. In a nutshell, lurking under the 124's bonnet is Fiat's proprietary 1.4 liter turbocharged MultiAir four banger rather than Mazda's 2.0 litre Skyactiv-G naturally aspirated four banger. Result? The 124 Spider makes more power than the MX-5, 160 for the 124 Spider vs 155 for the MX-5. Does not sound much, but every ponies count. Upon completion, the engine is then shipped to Hiroshima where Mazda's engineers marry the engine to the chassis. 

Fiat engineers then applied their own Jinba Ittai to the suspension tuning, with retuned dampers, stiffer springs and anti-roll bar to embarrass the donor car in the twisty bit. 

Taking advantage of the extra low-end torque, Fiat lengthen the gear ratio. The extra grunt at low rev is more than enough to compensate for the longer gearing. 

All these retuning sounds like a recipe for a more unadulterated driving experience. With more power and an uprated suspension, this little pocket rocket may have what it takes to make MX-5 owners clamouring for the 124 Spider.   

Source: Top Gear