Fiat hasn't seen paramount success since returning to the United States in 2011, but it does arguably offer some pretty nice, affordable cars.

In a world full of angry-eyed sports cars, there's the Fiat 124 Spider. Its non-aggression is subtle and approachable, and it marks a departure from the decidedly more angry looking—and possibly better performing—Mazda MX-5 Miata.

Fiat and Mazda hooked up for the latest 124 Spider, but the Italian marque does do a few things very differently from the car's Japanese counterpart. Along with unique powertrains, Fiat gives the spicier Abarth 124 the human touch with a hand-painted racing stripe. Fiat calls it a performance stripe, though it's more like the entire hood. The stripe then traces its way to the back of the car.

The portion is taped off and sprayed by hand on the raciest of Fiats. No matter what color, it's always finished in a matte black hue for proper contrast and some legitimate anti-glare capability. Have a look at how it happens in the video.

And where may the racing stripe look even better? Why, on a potential Fiat 124 Coupe, of course. The rumor mill has it on good authority a coupe variant of the 124 is in the works. It would follow Mazda's introduction of the targa-top-esque Miata RF, and could share the same roofline. It could make for a proper Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 rival, too.