Abarth 695C Rivale is a fashion statement with race-tuned suspension and metallic pedals

MOST readers will know all about Instagram – the social media platform on which annoyingly attractive types pose for selfies on beaches with the sole purpose of making anyone who looks feel inadequate.

You can tell I’m not a fan. In fact, I sometimes wonder how these people earn a living.

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Then something like the Abarth 695C Rivale comes along and all becomes clear.

There is no doubt about it – only a social media “influencer” could have dreamed up this Fiat 500/Abarth/Riva Yacht limited-edition mash-up.

It is essentially an Abarth 595 – in turn, a furious Fiat 500 – that has had its roof chopped off and a heap of nautical knick-knacks thrown into the mix.

The paint, apparently selected by Italian luxury yacht maker Riva, is a two-tone grey and blue with an aquamarine pinstripe running through it.

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The interior, meanwhile, is festooned with the sort of hard-wearing blue leather found mainly on high-end speedboats.

In certain specifications, many of the interior surfaces are covered in slabs of polished wood.

And there are further reminders of the Italian boat-maker, via some shiny chrome badging inside and out.

It is a garish combination. Even weirder is the potent turbocharger, which sees the 1.4-litre petrol engine develop 178bhp, and the hugely anti-social Akrapovic exhaust system.

Even with Sports Mode disengaged, this thing sounds more like a gaseous tugboat than an elegant wooden watercraft.

The race-tuned suspension is very firm and the Brembo braking system seems a tad overkill for what is basically a fashion statement to impress folk at the boat club. But let’s not get too negative here. Because this can be a hell of a giggle.

The metallic pedals are positioned in a way that make the odd bit of heel-toe action really simple, while the silly exhaust lets off hilarious noises.

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It probably makes sense in the South of France. But in drizzly old England, it felt a bit odd.

Whether it is worth the £25,000 asking price is up to you.

But then, money doesn’t matter to those getting paid to take selfies. Does it?

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