Italian automotive tuner Aznom has unveiled a rather special car at this year’s Top Marques car show in Monaco. It’s called the Aznom Fiat 500 Motore Centrale, which means its driveline layout is mid-engine, rear-wheel drive – converted from the standard front-engine, front-wheel drive layout.
Yep, a rear-wheel drive super mini. Kind of reminds us of the old Renault 5 Turbo of the early Eighties. Aznom takes the 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine from the Fiat 500 Abarth and mounts it in the rear compartment. Matched up to a five-speed manual transmission, the little Fiat offers 179kW and 330Nm of rear-drive fun.
Other modifications include coilover strut front suspension and adjustable A-arm rear suspension with Bilstein shocks to facilitate the weight of the engine. The rear also gets ventilated disc brakes, like the front, clamped by four-piston calipers all round.
The car is able to retain its lightweight nature, too, tipping the scales at 1050kg. Aznom says the mid-engined pocket rocket is capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in just 4.7 seconds and provides a top speed of 245km/h. Not bad for pint-sized hatch.
Handling characteristics of the car haven’t been noted as of yet, but we’d imagine it would provide loads off grip up until the point of some very snappy oversteer. It wouldn’t be a boring car to drive, that’s for sure.
