Roni Collin from Porvoo, Finland is a regular at Speedhunters. We’ve been covering events Roni hosts at his SpeedHooked facility over the years, as well as his cars, most recently a Porsche Cayenne he’s lifted.
He is a man of great taste and after seeing Ronnie’s garage and the fact that his office is in the middle of the garage, I can support his clear statement. Here Roni handles the day-to-day business, managing the growth of the SpeedHooked brand as well as his other business activities.
He is surrounded by cars, most notably his Audi Quattro S1 E2 replica, a pair of black olive Porsches, and a red and mocha beige Ducati Panigale V4. On my most recent visit, however, a Fiat Abarth 595 Competizione caught my interest.
Roni calls it the “Abarth café racer,” and for good reason. If you know cafe racing style motorcycles, you might see some similarities here.
It’s not common in northern Europe, and Roni says he’s not aware of any modified Abarths in Finland. His last front-wheel-drive pocket rocket was a Honda CR-X he owned when he was 18, so getting into the 595 certainly brings back some fond memories for him, even if it’s a 90s Honda versus a modern high-performance Fiat.
Roni found a 595 in Sweden, almost new and untouched. The color is perfect too, as Ronnie previously owned a mocha latte beige Audi RS6 and loved the look of it. When he started looking for an Abarth, he really wanted a Fiattra Rally Beige – the exact same hue – so better tick that box right away.
A Competizione variant, the 595 also featured larger turbochargers and Brembo brakes. Of course, Ronnie wanted more.
Although these cars are common in Central Europe, it is rare to see them with an emphasis on quality. This version bucks the trend with beautiful gear and some unexpected little details.
The aftermarket body comes from Cadamuro Design in Italy and is based on the Fiat Abarth 695 Biposto, the road-going version of the Abarth 695 Assetto Corse Evoluzione race car. Cadamuro also provided plenty of carbon fiber material to bring the look together.
Under the hood, the factory 595 Competizione produced 177 horsepower from a 1.4-liter turbocharged engine. The car features a Cadamuro intercooler, high-flow intake and titanium exhaust, which Roni says brings total output up to around 250 horsepower. That doesn’t sound like much in the modern era of performance cars, but the Abarth weighs significantly less than most other hot hatches (1,985 lbs/900 kg), so it’s actually pretty quick.
It also sounds great. In fact, when Ronnie started it out of sight, for a moment I thought he jumped into one of his Porsches!
The wheels are a set of classic OZ Futuras with brushed centers that have been upgraded to 18 inches. The 2.5-degree rear camber creates a sweet, slightly inward feel.
The lower ride height is thanks to a custom air suspension controlled by a few buttons on the steering wheel. Other buttons control custom headlights fitted with Porsche DRLs, while the wheels themselves are wood-rimmed Fiat Ritmo Abarth pieces from the ’80s – clean, vintage detailing. So is the matching wooden shift knob on top of the CAE Ultra shifter, which Roni says comes from an espresso machine.
The interior is wrapped in Alcantara and features every carbon fiber part Roni can find. These include carbon-fiber seats—Tillet buckets weigh just 11 pounds (5 kilograms) each, compared to 55 pounds (25 kilograms) for the original seats. Removal of the rear seats saved another 44 lbs (20 kg). The key cards were missing when I photographed the car, but that was only because Roni was waiting for a carbon fiber replacement.
Another weight-saving feature is the Lexan side windows with McDonald’s drive-thru-friendly aisles.
At the beginning of the story, I mentioned that Roni refers to this car as his Abarth café racer. It fits, not only because of its latte-inspired colors, retro accessories, and partially stripped-down lightweight nature, but also because Roni mostly uses the car to get coffee. Of course, it also ventures into auto racing, and the occasional track day.
But after owning the car for three years, Roni says he mostly just enjoys looking at it in his office now, while he’s busy dreaming up more car build checklists.
Vladimir Lyadov
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