Rush Lane has learnt that Fiat India is working on two new variants of their Punto Evo and Avventura. These will be in the form of Abarth Punto and Abarth Avventura.
Abarth Avventura and Abarth Punto variants will feature sporty features like bigger alloys, sporty seats, etc.
Powering these two cars will be a 1.4l T-Jet MultiAir 4 cyl petrol engine, delivering 135 PS (133 hp) at 6000 rpm and 206 Nm (152 lb-ft) torque at 1750 rpm. 0-100 kmph sprint time will be about 8.5 seconds while top speed will be at 195 kmph. This is a huge improvement as compared to what Fiat India offers on the existing range of Punto and Avventura.
An insider with knowledge on the development tells us that in India these new cars will be marketed under the Abarth nameplate. But, internationally, this 1.4l engine which was introduced in 2011, powers the regular Punto, and not the Abarth Punto. In outside markets, Abarth Punto gets a 1.4l that delivers 155 PS. There is also a SS variant, powered by the same 1.4l mill, it delivers 180 PS. As of now, India will only get the 135 PS variant.
The existing range of Punto and Avventura is offered in a choice of petrol and diesel engine options which deliver power in the range of 75 PS to 90 PS, making them depressingly underpowered. Both, Punto Evo and Avventura were launched in in the past few months. If you have read our test drive reviews of both these cars, you would have noticed that the only major complaint we had with them is that both of them are under-powered.
Rush Lane has learnt that the start of production for both these new Abarth variants is scheduled for July/August 2015.
Not only us, speaking to some of the enthusiasts at a dealership, they too found the same problem. Both cars have excellent built quality, road control, style, stability, safety features, etc; the only thing missing was a powerful engine. But, it seems that too will no longer will be a complaint as a powerful variant is on its way.
To be launched in the third quarter next year, price of these two new cars will range in the Rs 9-10 lakh segment. Once launched, these new cars will fulfil the wishes of many Fiat fans in the country, who have been asking for a powerful engine to power their Fiat cars for quite some time now.
