The 595 is the Fiat 500 without the posing. It is stiffer in the steering and properly loud, and it is genuinely entertaining when you find the right road. The problem is the factory seat: it is a 500 seat in an Abarth body, and if you are pushing the car at all you will be fighting the bolster before the car runs out of talent.
Garreth and Cameron have fitted the Sparco direct-fit subframe to enough of these to know that the seat you pick matters here more than it does on a bigger car. The cabin is compact, and a shell that looks fine on the shelf can catch the door card or the centre console before you have even done up the seatbelt.
We sell one fitting frame for the Abarth 595, and one is all you need. The Sparco direct-fit sub-frame (part 00499017-Abarth-595) is a steel base-mount bracket designed specifically for this car’s floor geometry. It bolts to the factory seat mounting points in place of the standard runners, accepts any seat using the 345mm x 271mm base-mount pattern, and sets the seat height where the standard unit sat. Fore-aft adjustment can be added with the Sparco sliding runner kit if you want more than the fixed position. The frame is listed per side: if you are fitting both seats, you need one RHD driver frame and one RHD passenger frame in the basket.
The product description flags one thing worth knowing before you order: the 595 cabin is compact, and wider-bolstered shells can foul the door card or centre console with a driver in the seat. The R100’s narrower bolster profile is specifically noted as fitting where more aggressive shells may not. More on this in the seat sections below.
Part 00499017-Abarth-595, 113.40 inc VAT per side. Sold individually; order RHD driver and passenger listed separately. Takes any 345mm x 271mm base-mount seat. Add the Sparco sliding runner kit (184229, £78.00 inc VAT the pair) if you want fore-aft travel.
Every reclining seat in this guide bolts down through a base-mount pattern. The Sparco sub-frame is built around the 345mm x 271mm pattern, which covers all four Sparco models in this guide directly. The Corbeau PSR earns its place here because Corbeau drill it for both 291mm x 330mm and 345mm x 271mm, so it sits straight onto the Sparco sub-frame without adapters. Cobra recliners use the 291mm pattern only, which the Sparco sub-frame does not match, so no Cobra seat features in this guide. Pick the seat first; the frame and runner choice follows from that.
| Seat | Bolt pattern | Sparco sub-frame (216779) |
|---|---|---|
| Sparco R100 | 345 x 271 | Fits |
| Corbeau PSR | 291 or 345 | Fits |
| Sparco R500 | 345 x 271 | Fits |
| Sparco R333 | 345 x 271 | Fits |
| Sparco SPX | 345 x 271 | Fits |
The R100 is where almost every Abarth 595 conversation starts, and the frame product description explains why. The 595 cabin is tight enough that a wider-bolstered shell will catch the door card, and the R100’s narrower profile sits without rubbing. Sparco list it as suitable for all heights and for 32 to 38 inch waists, which lines up with what we see on the counter: it is a hard seat to be the wrong shape for.
It is not the most aggressive seat in the lineup, but it is the most honest. The bolsters hold you through a corner without clamping you in, the reclining mechanism is straightforward to adjust on the fly, and it works with the standard seatbelt without needing a full harness to make sense. If the 595 is splitting time between the daily commute and a Saturday morning drive, the R100 is the right starting point. We have fitted it in standard Turbismo road cars and lightly prepared Competizione track cars, and it works on both. There is a customer car with the Martini edition sitting on this frame if you want to see how it looks.
The PSR earns its place in this guide for one reason: Corbeau drill it for both the 291mm x 330mm and 345mm x 271mm patterns. That means it sits straight onto the Sparco sub-frame without a conversion, which the SVR and the RRS Low Base also do, but the PSR does it at a lower price. For someone who wants a Corbeau seat and is choosing between it and the R100, the decision comes down to backrest shape: the PSR has a shallower, smoother bolster than the SVR family, which makes it easier to live with on a daily car.
Cameron reaches for the PSR first when someone comes in wanting a Corbeau seat for a road car that does the occasional track day. The dual bolt pattern means there is no routing question, the cloth is straightforward, and the price is close enough to the R100 that there is no obvious wrong answer between the two. If the roof height is a concern, the SVR’s low base version is worth comparing, but for most 595 heights the PSR is fine. We wrote up the R100 package for an Abarth 595 with both sides priced if that comparison helps.
The R500 is the R100 with a properly developed backrest. Taller, more shoulder wrap, dual-density foam in the base and backrest that holds its shape better on a longer run. The base stays open and the bolt pattern is the same, so everything in the runner section below applies here as well.
Cameron’s take on who should pick this over the R100: if track days are a regular thing rather than the occasional outing, the R500 is worth the extra. The upper body support is noticeably different once you have compared them side by side, and most people who do that end up here. It comes in fabric or the easy-clean Sky vinyl, which is worth knowing if the car sees wet commutes as well as circuit days.
The R333 is the seat to look at if the R100 feels like more than you need but you still want the Sparco sub-frame route. It uses the same 345mm x 271mm base mount, the same harness slots, and the same bolt path into this car. The difference from the R100 is price, and what you give up is fit range: Sparco publish the R333 as 32 to 36 inch waist and under six foot. That is narrower than every other seat in this guide.
If your measurements sit inside those numbers, the R333 is a sensible pick. The steel frame and cloth construction are the same quality as the rest of the Sparco range, and three colour options (black, black and grey, black and red) give you something if you want the interior to look more considered. Check the fit range before you order and not after.
The SPX is the seat at the top end of this list, and the price shows it. Carbon fibre shell, Sparco’s best reclining seat, and the one pick that you should want rather than need: at close to £2,800 for the shell, it is there for the 595 that is properly prepared for circuit work rather than the car doing the odd club day. It takes the same 345mm x 271mm base mount as the rest of the Sparco seats in this guide, so the frame and runner setup is identical.
One thing to state plainly: the SPX is listed with no head support. That is in the product specification. If the car is being tracked seriously, pair it with a cage or a harness bar behind the seat. For a 595 that is at that stage of preparation, the SPX makes sense. For everything else, the R500 does the job at a fraction of the price.
The Sparco sub-frame bolts to the Abarth 595’s factory seat mounting points. No drilling, no welding, no modification to the floor. Torque the floor bolts correctly and check where the seatbelt buckle sits after fitting, because a sport seat repositions it compared to the standard unit. The fore-aft position is fixed by the sub-frame profile unless you add sliding runners between seat and frame. The Sparco runner kit (184229) takes care of that for all five seats in this guide, since they all share the 345mm pattern. One ordering detail: the frame is listed per seat position, so a pair means two frames in the basket.
| Your seat | Runners to order | Works on |
|---|---|---|
| Sparco R100 | Sparco sliding runner kit (184229), £78.00 inc VAT the pair | Sparco sub-frame |
| Corbeau PSR | Sparco sliding runner kit (184229), £78.00 inc VAT the pair | Sparco sub-frame |
| Sparco R500 | Sparco sliding runner kit (184229), £78.00 inc VAT the pair | Sparco sub-frame |
| Sparco R333 | Sparco sliding runner kit (184229), £78.00 inc VAT the pair | Sparco sub-frame |
| Sparco SPX | Sparco sliding runner kit (184229), £78.00 inc VAT the pair | Sparco sub-frame |
The Abarth 595 and the Fiat 500 share the same floor geometry, but the sub-frame part number for the 595 (00499017-Abarth-595) is different from the standard 500 part. Do not order the 500 frame for a 595: the floor mounting points are the same family, but the sub-frame profiles and seat heights differ.
| Seat | Bolt pattern | Waist | Height | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sparco R100 | 345 x 271 | 32 to 38in | All heights | From £270.00 each |
| Corbeau PSR | 291 or 345 | 32 to 38in | All heights | £279.00 each |
| Sparco R500 | 345 x 271 | 32 to 38in | All heights | From £323.00 each |
| Sparco R333 | 345 x 271 | 32 to 36in only | Under 6ft only | £449.47 each |
| Sparco SPX | 345 x 271 | 32 to 38in | All heights | £2,815.79 each |
Prices include VAT and were correct on 1 October 2026. Seat weights are not published by Sparco or Corbeau for these models; figures listed as not published in any table are the manufacturer’s own gap, not ours. Waist and height ranges are the manufacturers’ published fitment figures; if you are close to a boundary, check with us before ordering.
No. The Sparco direct-fit sub-frame bolts to the factory mounting points without any modification to the floor. Torque the bolts correctly and check the seatbelt buckle clearance once the seat is in position, because a sport seat moves it relative to where the standard one sat.
Cobra recliners use the 291mm x 330mm bolt pattern, and the Sparco sub-frame is built for 345mm x 271mm. Those two patterns are not interchangeable, so no Cobra seat fits this frame. The only seat in this guide that is not a Sparco model is the Corbeau PSR, and that works here only because Corbeau drill it for both patterns.
Yes. The Sparco sliding runner kit (184229, £78.00 inc VAT the pair) goes between the seat and the sub-frame and gives you fore-aft travel. The frame itself positions the seat where the standard unit sat; add runners if you want to move it.
The sub-frame is a left-right specific part: the RHD driver side and the RHD passenger side are separate listings. Fitting both seats means two frames in the basket. The part numbers are listed on the product page if you want to double-check before ordering.
Every seat in this guide is listed as 4-point compatible with harness slots in the backrest. The SPX is listed with no head support, which is relevant if you are going beyond a 4-point at a circuit, but all five will take a 4-point harness. Check your cage or harness bar setup before committing to a harness specification, and if you need help with the combined setup, drop us an email or click to open a chat.
For most 595 owners: the R100 on the Sparco sub-frame. Narrow enough for the cabin, priced to leave money for the frame and runners, and practical enough to live with every day. If you want a Corbeau in this car, the PSR is the better choice for the 595 specifically: it takes the same sub-frame, it is close in price to the R100, and it is easy to drive on a commute as well as a track day.
Cameron’s variation: if someone has the car set up for regular track use and comes in comparing the R100 to the R500, he tends to push them toward the R500. The extra shoulder height in the backrest is noticeable once you have been in both, and most people who sit in them side by side end up there.
The SPX is the pick for one type of customer: the 595 that is not going back to standard. At close to £2,800 for the shell you should know the car is staying prepared. For everything else, the R100 or the R500 does the job properly.
If the cabin width is making you nervous before you order, ring us on 0115 9893488 and we will go through the shell dimensions against the car with you. We have fitted enough of these to know which ones clear and which ones catch.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the Fiat Abarth 595, with the Sparco direct-fit sub-frame that bolts them straight to the factory mounting points and why seat shell width matters in this particular cabin.
Can Sparco R333 recliners go into a Fiesta ST180 Mk7? Yes: the Sparco ST180 sub-frame at £93.00 a side, the Sparco sliding runner kit at £78.00 for both seats, and the R333 at £449.47, with the original seat belt buckle still in use. The full stack, priced, plus the honest word on seat height.
The five reclining sport seats we rate for the Volkswagen Jetta Mk1 and Mk2, with the Cobra subframe that covers both generations and bolts to the factory floor without drilling.
Can aftermarket heated seats be wired into the car’s original heated seat buttons? Not as a supported install: every heated seat we sell ships with its own loom and switch. What an auto electrician may manage, why we recommend the supplied kit, and every heated seat from Recaro, Corbeau, Cobra and Simoni Racing.
What the four, five and six point numbers actually count, why the sub strap is the whole argument, what FHR Only means on a listing, and what the layout really costs.
Eleven HANS-specific six-point harnesses across Sparco, OMP, SCHROTH, Sabelt, TRS, Willans and Corbeau/Luke, with 2-inch shoulder straps and practical fitting checks.
