We’re pretty sweet on the resurrected Fiat 500. The quirky little hatch is an engaging driver with adorable looks. It is not what we’d call fast, however – even the Fiat 500 Abarth just barely lands itself in “quick” territory.
Fortunately, there are hard-working souls out there willing to remedy the machine’s acceleration deficit. Lazzarini Design has done some measuring and discovered that, with a little body work, the 500 can play host to much more formidable powerplant. How formidable? The crew wants to yank the beating heart from the Ferrari 458 Italia and plop the 4.5-liter V8 behind the seats of cinquecento. You know, where the car gods intended the engine in the 500 to be.
These are clearly our kind of people.
But they aren’t entirely off their medication. The engine has been detuned from 570 horsepower to a more reasonable 550 hp. Lazzarini says the project actually stretches the 500 wheelbase by almost a foot in order to fit the engine and transmission safely aboard. The whole machine weighs in at 2,200 pounds, even with ballast on both front corners to keep the car planted. If you like what you see, the studio says it is currently looking for an investor to help build the machine. Lazzarini Design estimates the project will cost around $550,000. Check it out over at the Lazzarini site.
The Fiat 500 in its various guises positively romps on its popularity, making special-edition hay with terrific frequency. This latest outing in the form of the Abarth 695 Maserati Edition follows a familiar trail, coming three years after the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari that debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.
That hatch had a tuned 1.4-liter turbo four putting out more than 180 horsepower, a variable exhaust system and paddle-shifting automated manual under its Ferrari 430 Scuderia-mimicking paint scheme. But aside from the paint, this one gets much the same treatment: 180-hp output, Abarth Competizione gearbox and dual mode exhaust.
It goes the GranTurismo route instead of hard-core sports car, though, using the convertible Abarth as a base and adding Pontevecchio Bordeaux paint with a gray top, sand-beige leather and black interior, Jaeger instrumentation, and 17-inch Maserati-style Neptune wheels and hexagonal tailpipes. Still, it gets even bigger Brembo brakes than the Ferrari version.
Ferrari is recalling certain 458 Italia and California models around the world due to a problem with the crankshaft. Roughly 13,000 examples of these cars are currently roaming the streets, and 206 are affected by this problem.
According to Autocar, the recall has been issued due to an incorrect finish on the vehicles’ crankshafts. The British magazine states that the problem “causes unwanted vibrations which can damage the engine if it is not changed.”
“We are writing to all clients affected now, asking them to return the car to a dealer for the work to be done,” a Ferrari spokesperson told Autocar.
In the United States, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has yet to issue a formal recall notice about the affected vehicles.
Inspired by its race-prepped Ferrari 458 Italias, Evolution 2 Motorsport (E2M) thought it would give the road-going model a go with the presentation of its “Emozione” tuning program.
The Ferrari 458 Italia Emozione is finished in a two-tone blue and silver paintwork and features a new front splitter, mirror caps, chrome look air duct mesh and trim, a rear spoiler, a double rear lower diffuser at the back, and custom made 21-inch alloy wheels. In addition, the engine bay is trimmed in carbon fiber.
Inside, Evolution 2 Motorsport limited the upgrades to billet alloy pedals and footrests for both the driver and passenger area.
To improve performance, the company recalibrated the Ferrari V8′s ECU and added a new carbon fiber volume air-box and a custom-made titanium sports exhaust system, which lift output from 562bhp (570PS) to 602bhp (610PS).
Feast your eyes on more than four dozen Lamborghini supercars of all sorts of colors, old and new, all parked in the same lot. Naturally, you will be wondering what’s going on here.
Well, this fantastic gathering of Raging Bulls took place in a recent meet hosted by the Lamborghini Club of America.
Among other cars that you will see in the video that follows below are the Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera, Diablo SV and SE30, many Murcielagos, Diablo, Aventador and several classics like the Countach, 350GT and the Espada.
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