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Abarth teamed up with Dr. Dale Esliger from Loughborough University for an experiment. Driving an Abarth F595, 595 Esseesse and 595 Competizione, participants were put through driving challenges including hot laps, precision driving tasks, and chase scenarios. Emotions including happiness, excitement, and fear were then measured as passengers were driven by professional drivers.
The results showed the most prominent feeling during a hot lap was happiness, both when behind the wheel (31.8%) and as a passenger (35.4%). When driven by professional drivers who pushed the car to its full potential, participants experienced short bursts of fear and shock (11.9%), contributing to a thrilling track day experience.
Greg Taylor, Fiat and Abarth, UK Managing Director, added: "We always knew anecdotally that the levels of joy our cars bring to the driver and passengers, but now we have some preliminary data from one of the world's leading sport universities to back that up. Our products are not only designed to excite drivers on the road, but they're also perfect track day cars too."
Facial recognition technology was used in combination with heart rate sensors - Electrocardiogram (ECG) and Photoplethysmography (PPG) - allowing Abarth to accurately detect an array of emotions among individuals. The data was then analysed using DeepFace Python library and Facial Emotion Recognition library.
The current Abarth range in Europe consists of upgraded versions of the Fiat 500. The most recent model launch is the 695 Tributo 131 Rally with a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder making 180 horsepower (134 kilowatts) and 184 pound-feet (250 Newton-meters) of torque. It can hit 62 miles per hour (100 kilometers per hour) in 6.7 seconds.
More Sporty Offerings From Abarth: Abarth 595 Turismo, 695 Competizione Highlight Updates For 2022 Abarth F595 Debuts With Formula 4 Engine Tech, Quad Stacked Exhausts
Source: Abarth
