The original Fiat 124 Spider production ceased in 1985, leaving about ten years between the 124 Spider and the Barchetta replacement. Compare this to the continuity at Alfa Romeo, where the Spider nameplate didn't skip a beat between the Series 4 spider and the 916 series Spider, swapping out RWD for FWD without so much as a name change. That Fiat abandoned its old nameplate to position the Barchetta as a new model was wise to us, as it allowed the Barchetta at least a chance at being evaluated in its own context.

In our experience, the formula for a hot hatch doesn't feel out of place in a roadster. Sports car reflexes are lost when the chassis is mined from a FWD economy car, but the result is far from hopeless. We've spent a lot of time behind the wheel of a first-generation Audi TT - a car that by all logic should be a disapointment - and yet the car just feels like a droptop GTI. No need to fret the FWD, in our opinion.