A Fiat 500 with a Ferrari engine seems impossible to even imagine, but we assure you that it exists. It’s truly a beast
Between Fiat And Ferrari there has always been a particular bond ever since, in 1969, the Turin company incorporated the Prancing Horse brand, following the historic agreement between Enzo Ferrari and Gianni Agnelli.
A link between the two companies also reaffirmed on some of the Ferraris that competed in Formula 1 such as those driven by Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, on which the Fiat logo appeared which later disappeared for commercial reasons.
On the production models, obviously, Ferrari engines have never been mounted on Fiat cars but there is an impressive project that merged the two brands starting from the base of the 500. The result is a crazy model, with unrepeatable characteristics as well as its power out of the ordinary for a similar car.
The Lazzarini 550 Italia, the 500 with a Ferrari engine
It is precisely starting from the basis of a modern Fiat 500 that the Lazzarini created the project for the 550 Italia, a car powered by the Ferrari V8 engine of the splendid 458 Italia. For those who don’t know, Lazzarini is a Roman designer who, on other occasions, had amazed enthusiasts with his creations linked to other iconic cars in the history of motoring. We are certain that this was the most absurd ever.
Obviously, the only innovations are not only related to the engine which is still the most incredible part, given that from the base of 570 horsepower has been pushed up to 730 thanks to overfeeding. The tracks have grown compared to the standard 500 by 25 cm at the front and 35 at the rear. Other technical elements also derive from the 458 Italia, such as the transmission and differential, as well as the suspension.
Given the use of these components, an increase in the wheelbase of 350 mm was provided, and in fact, you can immediately see how the 550 Italia is longer than a traditional Fiat 500. The car body was createdor fiber carbon, in order to guarantee significant savings in terms of weight which is limited to 850 kg. Finally, the gearbox is sequential, with double clutch and seven speeds.
The estimated price for the Lazzarini 550 Italia is approximately 550 thousand dollars, an absolutely impressive figure (in fact one thousand euros for each cc of power) but which clearly shows the great value of this little gem. According to what emerged, only one would have been produced in the entire history of the project. We don’t know who the lucky buyer was.
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