La Cinquecento may be a brand-new concern, but in one sense it has been 25 years in the making. Its first car, the Scattante, grew out of founder Max Kindersley's effort to put the family Fiat 500 back on the road after it had spent roughly that long dormant in a West Berkshire barn.

The intention was not to reinvent the 500, but to make it 'faster, sharper and better engineered, without losing the reason you wanted a 500 in the first place'. That meant keeping the 1973 donor's familiar proportions and original rear-engine and transaxle arrangement while reconsidering almost everything else.

Capacity of the two-pot is up to a heady 802cc, according to La Cinquecento, with twin-spark ignition to suit, although power and performance figures have yet to be announced. The company says it has prioritised response, torque delivery and driver involvement over outright speed, which is where the name comes in: scattante is an Italian adjective for something lively, responsive or quick on its feet.

La Cinquecento describes the suspension, brakes and steering as either bespoke or extensively revised, and says it has overhauled the cooling and electrics to improve everyday usability. It quotes a target weight of around 650kg, up on the original 500, which is the price of bespoke chassis hardware and modern usability. It has not said whether that figure is measured dry or at the kerb.

Milan-based BorromeodeSilva helped shape the exterior, which gains widened wheelarches, new side skirts and rally-inspired auxiliary lighting. The changes give the diminutive Fiat a more purposeful stance without obscuring its identity. Inside, a large rev counter and a row of toggle switches preserve the original's deliberately simple character.

The prototype made its public debut at the invitation-only Tutto Bene hillclimb gathering on Mount Mottarone, an event created by BorromeodeSilva in collaboration with Race Service. The badge on its bonnet aims higher still, depicting the Stelvio Pass, a far cry from the 500's city car origins.

La Cinquecento now plans to build a handful of individually numbered cars each year, each one developed closely with its owner in the same barn where the first 500 sat. Expressions of interest are open through 500.design, although pricing, delivery timings and final specifications remain unannounced. Until those arrive, the Scattante prototype must serve as both La Cinquecento's calling card and its proof of concept.