MX5 and 124 Abarth comparison

[Mito Man]

The top is the same though. I guess it's harder to re-design that bit which is made from a third party but the body panels are relatively simple pressings and Fiat was made in Italy so if you're going to the trouble of setting up a bunch of new presses you might as well change the design, unlike say the BRZ/GT86 which was solely made by Subaru.

[Jobbo]

The Fiat wasn't made in Italy - it came out of the same factory in Japan as the MX5.

[Rich B]

I’m in the MX5 camp - much nicer proportions around the nose imo. They look especially good in that lovely grey colour!

[Mito Man]

The Fiat wasn't made in Italy - it came out of the same factory in Japan as the MX5.

I thought I saw a video of these being put together in an Italian factory

[Marv]

The Fiat wasn't made in Italy - it came out of the same factory in Japan as the MX5.

I did the free factory tour Mazda offer, while I was in Hiroshima.

At the time, I forgot that they make the 124 at that factory too, so it was a surprise to see a Fiat going down the same production line as a Mazda 3, MX-5 etc.

You’re not allowed to take pics in the production facility unfortunately.

It was also a surprise that the cars were still largely assembled by hand. Though this was back in 2018, so some things may have changed since then.