Hoon Small! Fiat 500 Abarth to start at $22,000

Fiat's U.S. arm is hoping that the Abarth-tuned antisocial edition of its diminutive 500 will inject some heat into the model's disappointing sales figures. Pricing it starting at $22,000, not including destination charges, should make the heated, tiny Italian more compelling to hot-hatch enthusiasts.

The extra $6,500 over the price of a base 500 Pop gets you a turbocharged 1.4-liter MultiAir engine cranking out 160 hp and 170 lb-ft of torque, a sport-tuned Abarth suspension, uprated brakes, a dual exhaust, a boost gauge with an integrated LED shift light and 16-inch aluminum wheels. It also gets you into the segment at a price premium of more than a thousand dollars less than the Mini Cooper S and nearly $2,000 less than the standard-bearer Volkswagen GTI. While the Abarth is the least powerful, it's also the lightest -- though don't expect it to be the quickest.

Still, 160 hp in a 2,533-pound car should be relatively entertaining, and the little Fiat certainly carries a hefty measure of European boy-racer flair. That's something that can't quite be said of the gaping-maw Hyundai Veloster Turbo unveiled in Detroit, which we expect will be priced similarly to the Mini.

By Davey G. Johnson