Lovely though it is, the

Ferrari 488 Spider

is not a realistic goal for the vast majority of us. It's £204,000 before even one Scuderia shield or a single thread of contrast stitching is applied; most will be £250K cars. But for £200,000 less there is another red, Italian sports car (sort of) with a lot more power than it probably needs.

Aww, isn't it cute?

Alright, so that's about as far as any commonalities extend between a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting and a 488. But surely all the Italian stereotypes of passion and vim and character could be applied to both, along with the capacity to put a huge grin on the driver's face.

You see this isn't any ordinary Cinq Sporting. You probably scoffed at the 'lot more power than it probably needs' comment but the little Fiat you see here as 105hp. The standard car had 55. It's thanks to a modified 1.3-litre Fiat engine with upgrades that also include a six-speed 'box, stainless steel exhaust plus new brakes and suspension. The ad states the little Sporting 'has had a fortune spent on it' and it's not hard to see how.

This must be riotously good fun. Cinquecentos only weighed a smidge over 700kg so 105hp would surely make it very rapid indeed, the lack of mass intensifying the sense of speed massively. Cars as light, basic and, well, fragile as the Cinquecento don't exist anymore; yes, there are Abarth 500s but they're far plusher and more luxurious cars than this. Turbocharged too, of course. This little tyke is none of those things and, for sheer entertainment, far better because of it.

Perfect fit!

Certainly you will want to know who carried out the work, when it was done and what may be required soon. Doubling the horsepower of a car is not a task to be taken lightly! But imagine the smile on your face with this in good health (which it presumably is right now); barrelling along B-roads, scooting through city centres, perhaps even a sprint or two. With the power to weight ratio it now as it surely could perform on a small track...

Yes, there are more sensible options for the money. The price being asked for the Fiat would buy a very nice Renaultsport Clio, for example. And it might be hard to warrant spending that much on a Cinquecento, even with the amount of work done. But for something different, something surprising and something a little bit daft for the money, it's hard to think of anything better. Perfect for when the 488 is a bit much.



FIAT CINQUECENTO 'ABARTH'

Price: £3,850

Why you should: Small, fast, fun; a mini Italian supercar?

Why you shouldn't: Inbetweeners jokes. And don't crash it