Abarth is celebrating achieving a new Guinness World Record after one of its 124 spider models achieved the ‘fastest figure of eight, five times between two cars’ in 45.66 seconds.

At the wheel of the completely standard car was world-renowned stunt driver Alastair Moffatt. The record was set during the 2018 Chateau Impney Hill Climb in July this year, but has only now been officially recognised by the famous world record organisation.

Alastair executed the astonishing manoeuvre of a figure of eight, sliding neatly between two other Abarth 124 spiders, five times in succession.

The vehicle used had no modifications made to the engine, gearbox, chassis or brakes. The car’s electronic stability program (ESP) was also turned off to allow the Abarth 124 spider to be controlled using the handbrake, and the tyre pressures were increased to compensate for the abrasiveness of the surface.

Alastair, a Master Instructor at Stunt Drive UK, holds multiple Guinness World Records for precision driving including the ‘Tightest Reverse Parallel Park’ and ‘Tightest Single Parallel Park’.

Commenting on his achievement, he said: “It’s wonderful to have set this record! Finding the right vehicle is increasingly important for these record attempts, so the light weight, agility and rear wheel drive of the Abarth 124 spider made it the perfect choice.”

Gerry Southerington for Abarth UK, added: “We’re delighted that Alastair chose the Abarth 124 spider for this record attempt. Abarth have a long history of setting records in the past and it’s great to have added a new one.

“We congratulate Alastair on his remarkable achievement. We don’t recommend that people attempt such amazing stunts in public, but it’s good to know that the Abarth 124 spider is incredibly manoeuvrable in the hands of a trained professional.”

The Abarth 124 spider is fitted with a 1.4 MultiAir Turbo 170hp engine reaching 62mph in 6.8 seconds and a maximum speed of 144mph with carbon emissions of 148g/km CO2 for the manual. It has a combined cycle of 44.1mpg for the manual and 42.8mpg for the automatic.

The Abarth 124 spider is available for £199 per month on a two- year PCH offer until the end of December 2018.