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.

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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.

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Want to get your hands on the latest special-edition Fiat 500? Don’t book your flight for Malpensa – head to Japan instead, where the Italian automaker is offering this limited-run Pop-Bi edition.

Characterized by its yellow and black paint, the Fiat 500 Pop-Bi is available with either a fixed roof or the retracting canvas panel of the 500C. Though the special hatchback gets a black upper, the convertible version’s is limited to the canvas, which seems like a shame.

The color scheme continues to the interior, save for the light roof-liner. Otherwise, it’s essentially the same as Japan’s base model, which means it comes with a 69-horsepower, 1.2-liter eight-valve four-cylinder and automatic gearbox. Pricing for the hatchback comes in at 2,100,000 yen (equivalent to about $26k), which places it right in the middle of the Fiat Japan’s 1.2-liter 500 range. Only 50 examples will be offered, though, which are sure to be snapped up by the Sailor Moon crowd in short order.

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When you think of Italian cars, some of the images that come to mind might be of graceful cabrios gliding along picturesque coastlines. Thing is, short of exotica from Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini or Pagani, the only Italian convertibles currently on offer are the Alfa Spider and Fiat 500C. As gorgeous as it is, the Alfa is on its way out, leaving the Fiat to fend for itself in the meantime. Romeo Ferraris apparently thought the sprightly 500C could use a little jazzing up, so it’s released this limited-edition special.

The 500C Sardinia, as it’s called, will be limited to just 50 examples. Paying homage to Italy’s Emerald Coast, it’s decked out in green paint with gold accents and sand-colored cloth roof. The interior is likewise trimmed in the light beige, the leather covers everything short of the dashboard, which gains an innovative cork treatment, and the emerald green floormats to match the exterior. Unfortunately, unlike some of Romeo Ferraris’ more extreme performance conversions, the Sardinia’s are largely limited to a dual-tip exhaust and 16-inch split-spoke alloys. Have a closer look in the gallery below.

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A few months after the premiere of the (facelifted) Punto EVO, and Abarth has announced that it has prepared its own version of the three-door supermini packing a 1.4 liter turbocharged Multiair four-banger that will debut alongside the souped-up 500C that we told you about earlier today at next week’s Geneva Motor Show.

Fiat’s performance division has sourced a larger turbocharger from Garrett in order to lift output to 165-horsepower and 250Nm of torque (at 2,250 RPM). 100 km/h rolls by you in 7.9 seconds, meaning there’s got to be more than just a power boost to make this worthy of the Abarth name. And there is.

In the handling department, the Abarth provides a beefed up suspension consisting of McPherson struts up front and a torsion-bar-eqipped “semi-independent” rear suspension out back. Combined with a new, bigger anti-roll bar and 20% stiffer springs, the Abarth should make a standard Punto EVO feel like a boat – or so to say.

Aerodynamics have improved over the outgoing model and more than couple of beauty enhancements have also been made.

Abarth’s Punto EVO has changed thus: a wider front bumper, realigned air inlets/outlets, redesigned rear bumper (featuring a carryover diffuser with new details and reorganized reverse/fog lights), color-matched side-skirts and new rear spoiler, different satin finish on the exhaust tips, new 17-inch wheels, and a fresh set of graphics. All that, and they’ve gone back to the old badge (shield versus circle).

Inside, drivers have access to optional Sabelt racing buckets and a new vehicle dynamics system that allows them to control braking/steering/engine characteristics with a 2-mode lever (Sport and Normal) housed on the center tunnel. The selected driving mode appears on the dashboard, while a shift light (Gear Shift Indicator, or GSI) resides in the Jaeger-filled instrument panel.

Other features to be found on Abarth’s latest hot-hatch include Start&Stop technology and Torque Transfer Control (TTC), which provides a locking differential that is automatically activated in sport mode.

While output has gone up, so has fuel economy and green-ness with the hot hatch returning a combined 6.0 lt / 100km (39.2 mpg US) with CO2 emissions of 142g / km.

Now the real good news (as if no one saw it coming): an SS kit which pushes the envelope even further.

The SS features lowering springs and 18-inch wheels in white or titanium, while output is cranked up to 180-horsepower and the brakes are beefed up with new pads and vented discs. Oh, and the air filter is tagged with the phrase “Powered by BMC”. Details, details.

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