FIAT 500 Abarth Esse Esse

FIAT has been considering the sale of an Abarth-tuned FIAT 500 in the US. This rumor has now been confirmed in statements made by FIAT CEO Sergio Marchionne last week regarding four different 500 models coming to the US under the FIAT marque. Abarth is an in-house tuner along the lines of BMW's M or Mercedes' AMG... and has a fifty-year history modifying FIAT cars for racing and street performance.

Marchionne says he'll sell an Abarth 500 in the US in head-to-head competition with BMW's Mini Cooper and Volvo's C30. With the 500 representing the FIAT brand's return to the US, the 160 hp Abarth FIAT 500 Esse Esse (SS in Italian- for Super Sport) version shall be the marque's top-of-the-line performance offering in the United States- and what an impressively effective device it is...