Wissenschaftlers at Rinspeed have come up with a dual-mode Fiat 500 Abarth that gets you more power and better gas mileage – just not at the same time. Rinspeed started with the 500 Abarth that has a standard 135 horsepower, and they've given it a new engine management system that has one mode for the city and one for the highway. In "Commuting" mode the has use of up to 60 hp, which is forty fewer horses than the bog standard petrol 500, but you'll be rewarded with almost 59 miles-per-gallon. Press a button on the console to go to "Highway" mode and you get 160 hp, which is the same hp number for the 500 Abarth SS, but it costs you a tad of frugality at 33 mpg. There aren't many ways we could think of to make the 500 better, but this trick could be one of them.
