Fiat will have its eye on a slice of the hot hatch market when the pretty 500 finally arrives here in the UK next year. The company is well on the way to developing two Abarth versions to do battle with the likes of the Mini Cooper S and Corsa VXR.

In charge of engine development at Fiat road cars is Paulo Martinelli, whose CV includes designing Ferrari’s V10 F1 engines. Martinelli has been charged with creating both a 135bhp turbo version of the 500’s 1.4-litre engine and a range-topping 150bhp version that’s tipped to be called the Abarth 500SS, just like hot Abarths of old.