We see lots of tuner cars cross our digital desks here at Autoblog, but of all the turbocharged and aero-kitted monstrosities we see on a regular basis, few impress like what Romeo Ferraris can manage. The Italian tuning house has taken on everything from Land Rovers to Corvettes, but their specialty is the Fiat 500.
RF first came to our attention when it unleashed a 360-horsepower Abarth 500 that boggled our minds and stretched what we thought was possible with the humble little Fiat. Unfortunately that was a pure racing machine and therefore precluded from street use, but now the tuner is preparing to unveil a street version bearing the Stradale name.
If that word rings any bells, it should: the Italian word for "street", it's been applied to some of the most extreme of Italian supercars – road cars that were transformed into race cars and then back into road cars – like the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale and most recently the Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale.
We don't have all the details yet on what Romeo Ferraris has done to this 500 to put it in the same league, but what we can tell you so far is that it packs 300 horsepower from a tiny 1.4-liter turbo four, a body kit that would make Darth Vader blush and a stripped out cabin fitted with roll cage, bucket seats, racing harnesses, leather, alcantara and carbon fiber. Yeah, Stradale is about right, because thing beast looks mad street. Check it out in the gallery for a closer look.
