Fiat 124 Spider to debut in LA

Belgian website Autofans.be has reported the Fiat 124 Spider will make its global debut at the Los Angeles motor show on November 17.

The news, accompanied by this speculative rendering, follows reports by US website Edmunds.com earlier this week that the all-new Mazda MX-5-based Italian roadster will be shown for the first time at either the Frankfurt show in September or the LA show two months later.

Fiat, which confirmed the 124 Spider name in March previously said it would reveal its joint-venture roadster, which will be manufactured in Hiroshima by Mazda, by the end of this year, ahead of its global release in 2016.

While Mazda's Mk4 MX-5 goes on sale in Australia around October, the 124 Spider's release was delayed until next year because of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne's decision to badge it as a Fiat and not an Alfa Romeo.

The new Fiat convertible – which could also spawn a hard-top coupe derivative – will be just one of three FCA convertibles to be released, including this year's Alfa 4C Spider and another roadster based on the Italian luxury brand's new 'Giulia' mid-size sedan to debut on June 24.

Fiat's last 124 was the Sport Spider sold between 1966 and 1982, although it continued on sale as a Pininfarina model until 1985.

Although many of its interior components could be shared with the MX-5, the new 124 will come with an entirely different body and powertrain, details of which are yet to be announced.

Latest betting is the Fiat group's 1.4-litre MultiAir turbo-petrol four offering at least 103kW, which would be about mid-way between the output of the Mazda's 96kW 1.5- and 115kW 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engines.

However, just as Mazda could produce an MPS version of the MX-5, Fiat may later offer an Abarth version of the 124 powered by the same 177kW/350Nm 1.75-litre turbo-petrol engine as the Alfa 4C.