It was December 2014 when RushLane broke the story about Fiat India’s plans of launching 135 PS variants of Punto and Avventura under the Abarth nameplate. Now, after a little over four months, the first spy shots of the same have surfaced on the internet.
Internationally, the 135 PS T-Jet motor is offered on a regular Punto. Only in India it will be sold under the Abarth brand.
Last year, Fiat India launched the updated Punto called Punto Evo. Apart from this, they also launched pseudo crossover based on Punto Evo called Avventura. Both these cars were offered in a choice of petrol and diesel engine options with max output at a little over 90 PS. This made the cars underpowered. Majority of the enthusiast segment of car buyers which Fiat India was targeting with the updated Punto twins, stayed away from buying them. Result- on average Fiat India has been selling only 600 units of their new Punto twins (Evo + Avventura).
Fiat India soon realized the problem, and started working on more powerful variants of new Punto Evo and Avventura. Both these cars will be seen with a 1.4l T-Jet motor, generating 135 PS power at 6,000 rpm and 206 Nm torque at 1,750 rpm. To make the deal even sweeter, these will be offered with a 5 speed manual gearbox, which results in a 0-100 kmph time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 195 kmph.
Updates include new engine, disc brakes on all four wheels, and suspension tuned for sporty drive.
To be launched before the Diwali 2015 season sets in, price of Punto and Avventura Abarth editions will be in the range of Rs 9-10 lakhs. Of the two, it will be Punto Abarth which will be launched first, after which Avventura Abarth will be launched.
Images – Fiat Club on Facebook
