VIDEO: IED's Abarth SCORP-ION Sports Coupe Concept at the Geneva Motor Show

If the rumors are true, Fiat's Abarth division may soon get its own version of the Alfa Romeo 4C mid-engined coupe, but for now, fans will have to make do with the SCORP-ION sports coupe study that was unwrapped at this week's Geneva Motor Show.

The SCORP-ION is a conceptual proposal for an environment-friendly sports car designed by the students of the Master of Arts in Transportation Design at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) and constructed in cooperation with Abarth. The strictly two-seater study measures 4.01 meters long and is powered by four electric motors, one on each wheel. Check out the video from the Geneva Show presentation after the break.

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Abarth Scorp-Ion Sports Coupe Concept by IED Turin Students to Debut at Geneva Motor Show

Even though Fiat executives have been coy on a stand-alone sports car for the Abarth brand, the Italian firm went ahead and collaborated with the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED) for the creation of design study that will receive its grand premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in about a week's time.

The sports coupe is named Abarth Scorp-Ion and it was designed by seven IED students who worked under the supervision of designers Luca Borgogno from Pininfarina, and Luigi Giampaolo from Maserati.

The goal was to design a bespoke compact-sized sports car with lines that evoke the scorpion (the official symbol of Abarth) without any references to the Fiat brand, with which Abarth is often identified.

The result is a futuristic looking two-seater coupe that measures 4,010 mm in length, 1,905 mm in width, 1,192 mm in height, and rides on a 2,350 mm long wheelbase.

The Scorp-Ion is motivated by four electric motors, one on each wheel, but that's about all Abarth had to share with us for now. Further details are to be released at the Geneva Motor Show.

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Fiat Abarth 500 Gulf Limited Edition: The Real Photos

This here is the actual, factual Fiat Abarth 500 Gulf Limited Edition special in the flesh, photographed at the Autopolis Fiat dealership in Luxembourg. We say this because yesterday, we reported on the limited run special and Fiat's photoshoped picture that made the internet rounds. While our friends from Auto55 and Autofans verified the story with the official press release, we were left wondering what the Italian mini with the classic racing-livery would look like in real life.

Today, our pondering came to an end as the Marketing and Communications director of Autopolis Luxembourg dropped the first real life shots of the car in our mailbox. We believe Fiat should have released these photos instead of the 'chop from the beginning, but we'll give them props for keeping a close eye on the web-o-sphere and swiftly reacting to our post.

As for the car itself, it was created by the Italian brand's official importer for Luxembourg, Autopolis, in association with Gulf Petroleum, to celebrate the latter's 10th anniversary in the country.

Only ten examples of the Fiat Abarth 500 Gulf Limited Edition will be built, each priced at €25,000 (not including VAT) a piece, which is about US$34,000. Aside from the iconic Gulf Racing livery, the special edition 500s also get the 'esseesse' performance kit that pushes the 1.4-liter turbo engine's output to 160-ponies, a Monza sport exhaust and Corse-Sabelt racing buckets with the seatbacks finished in Gulf-blue.

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Fiat Preparing Limited Run Abarth 500 in Gulf Livery [Updated]

We've received several e-mails tipping us off on a new limited edition version of the Fiat Abarth 500 Essesse dressed in the Gulf racing livery, which will reportedly be offered exclusively in Luxembourg in a limited run of 10 cars priced at €25,000 (plus VAT) a piece. While we appreciate all tips sent in, that doesn't mean we aren't going to -or at least try our best to- perform a background check and either confirm or debunk a story.

In this case, we didn't find a press announcement, but that doesn't necessarily mean the story is not true. However, the picture that has been floating around on several websites has definitely been doctored, and we say this not only because the colors are off, but mainly because we found the original image. Hoax or not, we must say that the 500 Abarth looks awesomely cool in those traditional racing colors.

*Update 1: Un point to the folks at Auto55 for sending in the official press release from Fiat Belgium (added after the jump) confirming the Gulf model - but not the photo, as we've already proved.

*Update 2: The guys from Autofan e-mailed the press photo in its original compression. Apparently, Fiat mastered the photoshoped image...

Source: Auto55 & Autofans & Vroom

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