Abarth has always been Fiat's high-performance subsidiary, which experienced a golden age from the first decade of the 21st century thanks to the impetus of a young Luca de Meo (who would later lead Seat and Renault) and the 2008 Abarth 500, a model that used the platform of the popular Fiat 500. This included models derived from the original Abarth 500 such as the 500C (the convertible version of the Italian sports car) and the Fantastic Abarth 595 and the special versions Custom, Turismo, or Competizione, among others. Abarth further capitalized on the model's success by creating an extreme version called Abarth 695 with a power of 180 hp, Brembo brakes or various carbon fiber elements.