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Abarth. One of the most evocative badges in the history of hot, tiny cars, and one left dangling over a precipice of obscurity by Fiat for way too long. Perhaps they were just waiting for the right candidate to stick it back onto.

So, finally, here it is, a proper, raucous, quick, small Fiat, given a full working over by Abarth. Click through the images on the right for all the, er, details.

OK, yes, we made it up. But Fiat can consider itself to blame for egging us on. If you'd looked at the 'Concept Lab' section of www.fiat500.com over the past few months, you'd have found a set of renderings of the new, unquestionably cool 500, ready for you to customise.

Floral graphics, giant wings, miniature wheels - all were there to be plastered over the otherwise chic 500 through the irresponsible click of a mouse, the only limits being the vagaries of taste. Perhaps worryingly, given some of the efforts on display, Fiat encouraged everyone who went on to the site to save their designs, so the company could use them to help guide the future evolution of the 500.

More encouraging was the appearance of puffed-up arches, a centre-exit exhaust and scorpion graphics, positives amongst the more dubious options on offer.

All more than hinted that an Abarth version of the Mini-rivalling 500 was, at the very least, under serious consideration. Since the site's launch, the rumours of an Abarth 500 have snowballed.

Fiat recently gave credibility to those claims by announcing an Abarth version of the Grande Punto, replete with red-over-white body stripes, retro-inspired rims and a 1.4-litre turbo engine, putting out 150bhp as standard, or capable of being boosted to 180bhp by a dealer-fitted kit; enough to top the latest Mini Cooper S and the Peugeot 207 GTi then.