Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo

Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo For those who want a little more power than the regular Fiat 500 but can’t afford the premium on the Fiat 500 Abarth, the 500 Turbo may just be the right choice — if you don’t mind the standard manual transmission. Potential Fiat 500 customers who want more power with an automatic transmission are currently out of luck. After we spoke at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show with Tim Kuniskis, head of Fiat North America, we get the impressions that may not be the case for long.

Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo

Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo

Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo

Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo

 Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo

Head of Fiat North America Really, Really Wants to Offer Automatic 500 Turbo

 Consumers may not be the only ones begging for an automatic 500 Turbo. Kuniskis, expressed his desire for a 500 Turbo automatic. “I need it yesterday. There are so many people [who] want that car.” Like the Abarth, the 500 Turbo uses a turbocharged 1.4-liter I-4, but unlike the Abarth’s 160 horses and 170 lb-ft of torque, the Turbo serves up 135 hp and 150 lb-ft of torque.

“The T with an automatic would be great. I want to do it. A lot of people think it’s wrong, like an automatic Abarth.” There are no plans for an automatic Abarth either, but in order to better compete with chief rivals such as Mini, offering an automatic transmission for both the Turbo and Scorpion-badged hatch wouldn’t be a terrible idea.

Although we didn’t mind the manual transmission in the Abarth, we did find the manual Fiat 500 hatch to be quite a nuisance. “The clutch pedal in our long-term Fiat 500 Sport is finicky and feels sticky at times. “The opportunity to drive without worrying about a fussy clutch was nice, but I missed out on a bit more sport,” we said in the Fiat 500 Lounge First Test.