Posted on: Jun 24, 2012 | 37,627 reads

Fiat 458 Italia? Ferrari 500? The Juke-R Just Got Some Stiff Competition

Lazzarini Design creates the ultimate Fiat 500 with the guts of a Ferrari 458 Italia.

The Nissan Juke-R made waves last year, as the Japanese company's supercar-killing GT-R's guts were transplanted into a seemingly run-of-the-mill Juke crossover for a powerful performance of the ambiguous. The 550 Italia, created by Lazzarini Design, follows in the same vein of pedestrian models packing supercar performance. The 550 Italia consists of the Ferrari 458 Italia's powerful V8 sitting inside the Fiat 500 hatchback along with some aerodynamic pieces on the exterior.

Fiat 458 Italia? Ferrari 500? The Juke-R Just Got Some Stiff Competition

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The exterior pieces are the only things that give any hint as to something serious lying underneath the Italian hatch's hood. Actually, the engine now sits in the back, for starters. Starting with a base Fiat 500, the design studio added a widebody kit to the exterior along with some aerodynamic pieces, such as new bumpers, redesigned side skirts, roof-mounted air intake, large fixed wing, reinforced chassis and a dual-exhaust system. Power for the 550 Italia comes from a detuned version of the Ferrari 458 Italia's 570hp 4.5-liter V8, now developing around 550hp.

Lazzarrini Design is completely serious about their new project. The color, they say, "is a tribute to the Italian flag and the blue color is a special edition concepted [sic] for the Italian soccer team that is now playing the European Cup 2012." So serious, in fact, that they are currently looking for $550,000 worth of investment in order to build the supercar-killing 550 Italia. Or, as they put it, "for the development of this toy ;)"