2017 Fiat 124 Spider, or Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ ambition

The Mazda MX-5, a much-loved little roadster, is almost perfect, at least in its role.

For a reasonable lump of money, we get one of the best-balanced chassis’ in the industry, a perfectly calibrated engine and a brilliant manual gearbox. It’s as sporty for amateur pilots as it is accessible for novice drivers.

This Mazda earned the World Car of the Year title at the most recent New York Auto Show, an award handed out by a conglomerate of journalists from around the world.

On The Car Guide, the MX-5 is also one of the highest-ranked cars, right alongside the Tesla Model S.

In other words, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, by launching a roadster based on the MX-5, thinks it can improve what is already one of the best cars on the market.

To accomplish that, it replaced the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine by an Abarth-massaged, turbocharged 1.4-litre four. It also revised the car’s suspension in order to “improve handling.”

While the cockpit remains essentially unchanged, the car boasts different bodywork, with a shape that isn’t to everyone’s tastes (to stay polite)…

The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider has its work cut out for it. We’re driving it this week, so stay tuned for our complete report on FCA’s new roadster.

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