The Italian car tuning and racing company famed for building fast Fiats, has launched its most potent, pocket-sized street-legal model to date at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Abarth 695 biposto could be used for the weekly shopping or even conceivably for the school run, if the local mall or seat of learning happened to be located on a race circuit.

It can be driven on the road, and most examples surely will be, but with a 1.4-liter T-Jet engine 190bph engine under its diminutive hood, adjustable racing shock absorbers, exhaust system, four-point front seatbelts and no rear seats to eliminate weight, this is a racing car that just so happens to look almost identical to one of those cutesy Fiat 500 city cars.

Inspired by the Abarth 695 Assetto Corse — a full-on racing car built on the Fiat 500 platform — this car has been built from the ground up to be thrown into corners at high speed and to be just one or two minor adjustments away from being a serious competition, rather than track day car. And with a 0-100kph time of just 5.9 seconds and a top speed of 230kph, it is comfortably the fastest Fiat 500 ever produced.

It already comes with an optional racing kit package which includes a helmet (complete with the driver’s initials), shoes, a suit and gloves, as well as other optional customization packages that offer carbon-fiber finishes or aluminum panels. In other words, it’s just a fuel cutoff, battery kill switch and a fire extinguisher away from FIA competition.