This Yamaha YZR-M1 Is Made By Abarth, Has Four Wheels For Some Reason

Folks, here at RideApart, we occasionally like to dip a cautious toe slider into the wide world of vehicles that have more than two wheels. I know, it's weird, right? Sometimes they'll have three wheels, like this bonkers Piaggio Ape snow drifting monster. Even more rarely, they'll have four wheels—like the other Suzuki Katana introduced in 2019.

This time, we have an Abarth 595 for your consideration. Designed after the Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP bike, the Abarth 595 Monster Energy Yamaha is a limited-edition livery—much like the aforementioned Suzuki Swift Katana was. Only 30 of those Katanas was made for the Netherlands, and only 2000 of these 595s will be sold in the UK.

As cars go, the Abarth 595 may have two too many wheels for our usual taste—but sometimes, a car is the right tool for the job at hand, and it's a fine option. Yamaha blue is a nice blue—but apart from some decals and badges (and an "exclusive splashscreen" on the dash-mounted infotainment unit, lolwhat), there's not much substance to this particular co-branding exercise.

Who is this car for? Maybe you're a Valentino Rossi mega-fan and you're shopping for a new car, and you also want the world to know what MotoGP team you support. It's clearly just an aesthetics and graphics package, but it's just not super exciting. Shouldn't a MotoGP-inspired livery on any vehicle make your pulse thrum just a little?

If you're thinking that pulse-pounding excitement likely comes from the 595's exhaust note, you could be right. Weirdly, Abarth chose not to let you even hear a tiny bit of the actual car in its short video teaser, although you can have a listen on its product page. Don't get me wrong; it's probably a total blast to drive—it's just this collaboration seems a bit phoned in for our tastes.