Lazzarini Design Looking for Someone to Invest $550,000 to Build a Ferrari-Powered Fiat 550 Italia

Apparently, Nissan's much-hyped decision to create the ultimate small crossover by blending the body of the Juke with the mechanical hardware of the GT-R has found an imitator of sorts in the guise of Lazzarini Design Studio.

The unknown Italian company would like to find an investor and car enthusiast willing to spend around $550,000 (~€440,000) to fund the development of a unique Fiat 500, one that is powered by the…Ferrari 458 Italia's running gear.

The proposed car is named Fiat 550 Italia, not only as a nod to its price, but also to the number of ponies produced by a slightly de-tuned version of the Ferrari's 4.5-liter V8, and we quote Lazzarini Design:

"The engine it was slightly detuned from 570HP to 550HP, this cause in the simulator the exeed of torque could badly balance the car during fast shifting operations."

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Fiat Tunes Into the New 500 for the SEMA Show

A pair of fancied-up Fiat 500 hatchbacks will be making their way to Las Vegas next week for the 2011 edition of the SEMA aftermarket show.

The Italian company released a single picture of the 500 Titanium while we only get some initial details on the firm's second concept, the 500 Carbon.

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Rumors: Fiat to Expand 500 Range with New Models Including Crossover

Banking on the success of its new 500 hatch, Fiat plans to enhance the small car's range with a variety of new models within the next two years according to Autoweek.

The first new addition to arrive in North America is the Abarth, the sportiest version of Fiat’s city car that's already available in Europe. The Abarth 500 is powered by a highly-tuned 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder delivering 180HP and 300 Nm (221 lb-ft) of torque.

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Zagato Disavows Scagliarini 504cze, Threatens With Legal Action

Yesterday, we published the news about a limited-production Fiat 500 by American design house Scagliarini Motorsports called the 504 Coupe Zagato Elaborata. Scagliarini claimed in a press release that the car was inspired by the 500 Zagato Coupe launched in Geneva last March, and even used the Italian company’s name.

However, Zagato contacted us today and stated that it has no involvement whatsoever with Scagliarini’s project, nor has it granted permission for its name and logo to be used. Therefore, it intends to use all necessary legal actions in order to protect its individual property.

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Scagliarini Motorsports Creates One-off 4x4 504 Coupe Zagato Elaborata

American-based design house Scagliarini Motorsports has unveiled its latest creation, the 504 Coupe Zagato Elaborata, or 504cze. As the name implies, the car is inspired by Zagato’s 500 Coupe concept that was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show last March. Read more »

Video: Fiat Uno Cabrio Concept Filmed on the Road

You may remember that at last year's Sao Paulo Auto Show in Brazil, Fiat's local division pulled the wraps off a convertible concept based on the new generation of the Uno supermini for the South American market. Even though it has been a while, we had not seen the vehicle in motion, so we thought we'd share these videos with you.

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Camal’s Retro Sexy Fiat 500 Marcia Corta

What happens when two people who share their passion for sports cars and motorbikes meet under the right circumstances? It depends, but if we ‘re talking about two Italians, Alessio Minchella (designer) and Alessandro Camorali (surface and product development) who met in 2010 while working at Pininfarina, the result is a new company, Camal, and a new product. Read more »

Designer Imagines what a 2012 Fiat Dino Could Look like

After the axing of the Fiat Coupe in 2000, the Italian brand's range was left without a coupe. And that's where British designer Peter Norris steps in with a new study that envisions a future sports car model for Fiat. However, this concept would not necessarily make a successor to the affordable Fiat Coupe, as the car carries a Pininfarina badge, thus hinting to a more luxurious model.

The study is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive luxury sports car that aims to embody the essence of the Italian thoroughbred. Judging from the drivetrain layout, this concept would be more of a successor to the 1960's RWD Fiat Dino rather than to the late 1990s FWD Fiat Coupe designed by Chris Bangle.

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Geneva Show: Fiat 500 Coupé Zagato Concept [Updated]

This year's edition of the Geneva Motor Show is buzzing with concept models of all sorts of sizes and shapes. The one you see pictured above is based on the popular Fiat 500 mini and is the result of the collaboration between the Fiat Group Automobiles' Centro Stile and the Zagato design house.

Showcased at the Fiat stand, the "500 Coupé Zagato" is said to have been inspired by the namesake predecessor built in the 1950 by the famous Italian bodyworker on the chassis of the original 500.

From the window line and below, the 500 concept is identical to the standard three-door hatchback model. However, the concept gets a completely new top with a sloping coupe-like roof featuring Zagato's trademark double-bubble design.

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Fiat Primo Roadster Study Rendered to Battle a future MX-5

Independent designer David Cardoso recently sent in his take on a possible MX-5 competitor from Fiat. The Primo is meant to be a roadster/coupe with a face similar to the Fiat family's baby 500 and a rear treatment reminiscent of the marque's older 128.

If a cute little roadster/coupe like the Primo ever made it through Fiat's gates, there's no reason it couldn't be placed right on the 500's platform as a range expander. That would also allow for the Abarth boys to put an entry-level coupe in their stable of hi-po compacts.

Everyone knows Fiat currently has its hands full trying to reinvent Chrysler, integrate its 500 into the US market, and make Alfa Romeo profitable, but a 500 Coupe sure would make an interesting addition to Fiat's lineup somewhere down the line. More pictures after the jump.

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Fiat Debuts Uno Cabrio and Mio Concepts along with New Uno Sporting at Sao Paulo [Live Photos]

In addition to being one of Fiat's most important markets, the Italian automaker is also getting ready to celebrate its 35 years in Brazil next year, so it comes to no surprise that the company is exhibiting a total of 30 vehicles at this week's Sao Paulo Auto Show. The Uno Cabrio and Mio [or FCC 111] concept models and the new Uno Sporting and Bravo production models, are among the highlights of Fiat's display.

Beginning with the Uno Cabrio, this concept study is a two-seater drop top variant of the South American market Uno supermini. In addition to losing the Uno's top and rear seats, the quirky looking roadster model also sports an aggressive bodykit with newly designed front and rear bumpers and a set of 17-inch alloy wheels.

The engine of choice is the same one as of Punto T-Jet, a 152HP 1.4-liter turbo which is capable of carrying the Cabrio to a top speed close to 200 km/h [124mph].

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SEMA Preshow: 2010 Fiat 500 Tuned by the American Way

The Chrysler Group is bumping up the interest on the upcoming U.S. market Fiat 500 with a tuned concept version readied by none other than the Mopar Underground team, which will make its world premiere at next month's SEMA Show.

In what could be seen as a preview of things to come for U.S. buyers of the retro-styled city car, Mopar's team has created a raft of unique styling and performance parts for the 500.

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Fiat Uno Roadster Study and Uno Sporting to Break Cover at São Paulo Auto Show

Fiat is planning to debut a conceptual roadster version and a sported-up production variant of its newly revealed Uno city car at next week's 2010 São Paulo Auto Show in Brazil, which will be open to the public from 27 October 7 November.

Although designed as a pure concept study, the two-seater Uno Roadster shows the potential for a limited series production model in the near future. The car is powered by a 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine producing 152-horsepower and features a stiffened chassis, 17-inch alloy wheels and an aggressive bodykit.

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UK Debut for All-Electric Fiat 500 Atomik at Salon Privé

The annual Salon Privé, a luxury supercar event and Concours d'Elégance that takes place this year in London from 21-23 July, will be hosting the UK debut of the all-electric Atomik 500.

Created by Paris-based maker, Atomik Cars, the Fiat-500 based model gets two electric motors, one up front producing 80kW and 840Nm (619 lb-ft), and one at the rear that makes the same power but a whopping 1,710 Nm (1,261 lb-ft) of peak torque.

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FEV's LiiON Fiat 500 gets Rotarized

At the Vienna Motor Symposium, what's billed as "one of the world's most important power train events", German volt-heads FEV brought an electric 500 with a Wankel range-extending engine (the setup is called LiiON Drive).

The rotary engine is mounted in place of the fuel tank, which has shrunk to 12 liters / 3.2 gallons. It gives the little city car an extra 190 miles of road to travel on top of its 50-mile electric range.

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New Fiat Uno Ecology Concept Study - First Photos

The new Fiat Uno supermini was only just introduced on Tuesday, yet the Italian automaker has already unveiled a concept study of the car called the 'Uno Ecology'. As its name suggests, the Uno Ecology is a green proposal that uses renewable materials and comes with reduced emission and improved fuel economy.

We don't have all the details yet but we do know that the Uno Ecology uses a modified version of the standard car's 1.0-liter flex-fuel gasoline engine equipped with Fiat's start & stop technology.

Other highlights include the photo-voltaic cells on the roof that help power various systems, the use of renewable and recyclable materials in the interior such coconut fibers and recycled PET. More photos after the break.

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