When Fiat stepped in on Chrysler’s behalf, there was a lot of grumbling and griping not just from the Mopar fans, but American auto enthusiasts in general. Here was the third European car company to ally with Chrysler in just 20 years. First the French (Renault), then the Germans (Daimler) and now the Italians.

Inside Line reports that Fiat plans to import its lightweight-yet-durable dual clutch transmission to some Chrysler models. We think this could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

When Fiat took a 30% stake in Chrysler, it also got a hand on the Dodge and world-spanning Jeep brands. The small car lineup of Chrysler hasn’t exactly been stellar, from underpowered engines to clunky transmissions. This has also been a Fiat problem, but Fiat has been better able to handle these issues. In fact, this TCT dual-clutch dry transmission is the first of its kind from Fiat, and weighing in at just 179 pounds its also one of the lightest transmissions in the market.

Weight is the enemy of both performance and fuel economy, and this dual-clutch tranny is rated at up to 260 ft-lbs of torque. While that isn’t exactly impressive, it is likely we’ll see this transmission on cars equipped with the new Pentastar V6. It also could be the vanguard of more powertrain sharing between Fiat and Chrysler. You might be saying to yourself “big deal,” but you forget that Fiat owns Ferrari, one of the premier performance car brands on the planet. There have already been rumors of a Ferrari-based Viper, and Fiat is introducing an eight-speed transmission into the 2011 Chrysler 300. What else does this alliance hold? We’ll have to wait and see, but it could be the start of a beautiful friendship.