Report: 4-door Fiat 500 is U.S. bound, maybe a subcompact sedan, too

We are eagerly awaiting the somewhat funky and cute Fiat 500. The tiny two-door has won over fans in many parts of the world and will get its chance to wow us soon enough. A few minor hurdles could limit its success here, though. One, it's a two-door and the American love affair with the four-door body style is hard to break. Two, the 500 is downright tiny and buyers may think it's just too small for our over-sized lifestyles.

No need to worry, because Fiat has predicted our concerns and is listening. According to Automotive News, citing three undisclosed company sources, Fiat will bring a four-door version of the 500 here soon enough. The four-door variant will make its debut in Europe near the end of 2011 and we should get ours a little later. Here's what we know: the code name of the vehicle is L0 and it sports a raised roofline, hatchback styling and is both longer and wider than the two-door 500. The vehicle will be built at Fiat's Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy.

This four-door will become the fourth Fiat offering here when it makes its debut. It will follow behind the two-door 500, a convertible version and the high-performance Abarth model. But, the explosion of Fiat models into the U.S. may not end there, as sources also disclosed that a subcompact sedan model built at Fiat's Serbian plant could make its journey stateside. It's beginning to look like Fiat will single-handedly revive Chrysler's virtually extinct small car lineup – or will at least try by throwing everything they've got at us!

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]