Fiat continues its quest to alter American car culture by sending the latest Abarth 500 there. The car will make its debut at L.A. Autoshow in November.

An American’s idea of a performance car is a large saloon with a V8. Now this little mosquito wants to show them joys of driving a small fast car.

The thing is, the Abarth 500 works well in Europe because European roads have many bends and twists and it’s a sweet handling car. American roads are usually six-lane freeways with almost no corners whatsoever.

Straight-line performance is what Americans like. So Fiat decided to put a new 1.4 liter MultiAir turbo engine in the 2012 Abarth. It also features Abarth-tuned suspension and brake systems, race-inspired design, and a unique Abarth body kit.

U.S. pricing and specs of the 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth are yet to be revealed.