The Scuderia Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa are in the U.S., preparing for the American Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. Fiat used this opportunity to film this teaser for the Abarth 500 Cabrio, set for debut at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show later this month. You might be familiar with the Abarth 500C in Europe, but it’s new to America, which is why they needed to create some hype.

Abarth 500 Cabrio is powered by a 140 HP 1.4 Turbo T-Jet engine. With a peak torque of 206 at 2000 rpm it gives a 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time of 8.1 seconds,which is not exactly mind-blowing. But then with Abarth cars it’s mostly about the feel of the thing rather than outright performance. Abarht 500 is one of the most fun small cars in the world. The looks of the Fiat 500C Abarth have also benefited from the new design 17″ diamond finished alloy wheels, including the sought-after diamond finished 5 petal white wheels.