The rehearsal for the most venomous of scorpions came by chance, and I wasn't expecting it. I still have the brand message saved with invitation.
do you want take the Biposto? Is ready.
It was like asking a blind man if he wants to see. I confess that I had to read the message two or three times. Upon my reply “That was perfect”, I received confirmation of the pickup time.
With a lot of anticipation and the smile of a kid who is promised the most desirable of toys, there I went to get the Abarth 695 Biposto.
Why so much excitement?
Anyone who loves cars knows that the Biposto is the purest of scorpions, the one that most exuberantly displays the DNA of the competition that has defined Abarth's long history since 1949. Everything in this car is maxed out. Driving experience, weight reduction, power, traction, braking, and much more.
If my anxiety was already too much, everything evolved to a higher level when I saw my dream come true: be a pilot! If only for one day.
That's how we feel behind the wheel of the Abarth 695 Biposto, whatever the tempo we print. We might even be just doing the recon loop, driving inside the paddock, or cooling down the engine, brakes and tyres. Everything about this car is sensory.
Aggressive and challenging.
In fact, the 695 Biposto is in its essence a real race car that someone mistakenly fitted a number plate to. But let's move forward, point by point, to see why.
Abarth
Today with brand status, Abarth began its activity as a preparer. Founded in 1949 by Carlo Abarth, the “house of the scorpion” has always had a special predilection for sports models, especially the Fiat brand and Group. In 2009 Abarth took on the successful Fiat 500 with the aim of creating a “spicy” version of the Italian city. Thus were born the Abarth versions of the 500. The Biposto is the ultimate exponent.
Maximum weight reduction
To put you, with all the weight reduction options, the Biposto only weighs a few 997 kg . Like? Weight reduction has been taken to the extreme. There are no rear seats, and instead we have a titanium rear rollbar that serves as structural reinforcement. Forget any kind of modern car stewardship — the experience is so extreme that there's no air conditioning or radio. Cruise control and driving assistance systems are not for racing either, of course.
I said it was a competition car, didn't I?
The weight reduction is extended to the OZ wheels, weighing just 7.0 kg each, and the titanium alloy wheel studs. Also on the interior we have titanium and carbon for a reduction in weight, as the case grip and the handbrake, both in titanium. At the doors there is… nothing! Sorry, there's a red ribbon that serves as a pull, and a ridiculous and almost useless net, in addition to the door opening handle, the rest is just and only… carbon fiber.
These are part of a kit — carbon kit — which puts the same material on the dashboard and console, and on the backs of the superb Sabelt drumsticks.
Carbon and more carbon.
Not enough, there are still the polycarbonate windows — plus an optional kit — with just a small opening to pass… the control license in a test or the driving license to the authorities. For more than that, it's already complicated.
Being able to put your arm out to pay a toll is… a challenge. It's hilarious, but so unique that in itself it's worth the experience.
After all, let's not forget that I'm the one who's in bad shape, driving a racing car on the public road.
No, that's all. THE special kit 124 put an aluminum bonnet on it, and a titanium fuel and engine oil cap. These are optional…
Gear box
Well… how am I supposed to say this to you… There is no other way to say it. The gearbox (optional) of this Biposto costs appreciably 10 thousand euros. Yes, 10 thousand euros . Shocked? I can tell you it's worth every penny.
It is a Bacci Romano gearbox, with front gears — dog ring — without synchronizers and that does not require a clutch to change gears. That's not all… this box adds a mechanical auto-lock that makes the front axle manage to put power to the ground in a simple absurd way.
That gearbox...
What an experience! The gearbox demands precision and decision at the command, it doesn't have the slightest slack, and on reductions the ideal is to hit the rail, once again… pilot stuff. Still, you have to get the hang of it, and sometimes after the 1st — which reaches 60 km/h — we get hung up with a 2nd one that didn't go in, and we lose our pace. Lack of precision, or of habit? I don't know, but it feels like part of the experience.
By the way, the experience, and courage, of lifting the right foot and, without a clutch, engaging a relationship, whether in acceleration or in reduction is… memorable. However, we are not left with the idea that we are saving time, as the clutch is very fast and the shifts are very short.
And the constant metallic screeching of gears between all the gears? Superb!
brakes
Brembo brakes scrupulously fulfill their mission. At the front we have 305 x 28 mm perforated discs. The four-piston jaws are made of aluminum, which contributes to the reduction of unsprung masses and, naturally, to the clarity of the information that reaches us through the steering wheel.
Can I compare the Abarth 695 Bistation to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS?
I can. There are two different formulas designed to achieve the same purpose: to offer those who drive the experience of a real competition car.
The efficiency of the system means that the four turn signals are constantly on, such is the deceleration. It makes perfect sense in everyday cars, but in a car like the Biposto, tailored for the track and with such a huge deceleration potential, it doesn't make sense. Something that those responsible forgot to "fine tune" in this version of Abarth.
On track, the four turn signals light up on the first brake and hardly go out again until entering the pits.
Chassis and suspension
Chassis control and suspension damping with Extreme Shox shock absorbers — adjustable — are at the level of a competition car , as well as traction, for which the mechanical self-blocking works miracles.
The suspension is hard, very hard, as it has to be, but after a day we pay the bill directly to our backs. A gap of a few centimeters is enough for this scorpion to have the "sting in the air".
intense experience
The absence of rear seats further projects the sound of the Akrapovic exhaust, as do the polycarbonate windows, which filter out both open and closed noise. The titanium rollbar also serves to mount the optional four-point seat belt. Only these were missing for the experience to be 100% real.
Runway Kit
The peak of the experience is reached with the Pista Kit. Includes four-point belts, telemetry system and full carbon fiber drumsticks. It was not present in the unit tested.
You point to the front and that's where we're going to enter. There is not the slightest understeer because the mechanical locking differential is impressive, faultless, almost frightening in a car with such a short wheelbase.
The 695 Biposto is for men with thick beards, pilots. It's always to be driven in Sport mode — it doesn't even make sense to have any mode anymore. It takes strength of arms for the steering wheel, because it is a very restless scorpion. The power-to-weight ratio is fantastic. It's only 5.2 kg per horse. The 100 km/h is reached in 5.9 seconds — since the 2nd relationship between right.
For a pilot, all I need is the fact.
The maximum turbo pressure — 2.0 bar — is reached between 3000 and 5000 rpm, at which time the Abarth 695 Biposto fires explosively. Between 5500 and 6000 is the ideal gearshift height, confirmed by the gear change light on the panel, but we can even go just beyond 6500 rpm.
Bipost. So special
It's the most selfish car I've ever ridden, after all, it's only for the driver. It's a car that doesn't make any sense on the road, but that's what makes it so special. The sounds behind the wheel — exhaust, box, bouncing rocks — are memorable.
The engine 1.4 Turbo, with 190 hp, enough for an intense driving experience.
There are, of course, few units of a 695 Biposto that we can see circulating around, for its eccentricity, for the price, for the little sense that it makes to have a car like this, but even so, it would have another value if they had added a numbering to its exclusivity. for each unit. After all, with all the options available for Biposto — carbon kit, racing windows kit, special 124 kit, Bacci Romano gearbox, track kit — the value of an Abarth 695 Biposto is approximately €70,000. Yes, seventy thousand euros.
One thing is certain, few cars offer a driving experience like this Abarth 695 Biposto. I was a pilot for a day, but if you have one in your garage, you can be a pilot every day.