It was January 2015 when we broke the news about Fiat India plan regarding the launch of Punto Abarth in the country. Now, according to sources certain Fiat dealerships have started taking bookings for the Punto Abarth. The hot hatch is expected to hit the Indian shores on 10th October 2015 and its dealers are accepting bookings for a sum of Rs. 20,000 to 50,000 depending on the city. The booking amount is completely refundable if one chooses to cancel the booking.
The performance hatchback is expected to come at a price of Rs. 10 lakh (ex-showroom) and it will be available with only one variant. The Punto Evo Abarth has been on testing mode for quite some time now. For the first time, Fiat had displayed the hot hatch at Buddh international Circuit, last month. Last year, Fiat had introduced the Punto Evo which has not been selling well due to its underpowered engines and company’s poor sales services.
Powering the hot hatch is a1.4l T-Jet engine seen on Linea sedan but for Abarth Evo it has been tuned to deliver 145bhp power@5500rpm and over 200Nm of peak torque. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. The car is capable of 0-100km sprint in 9.53 seconds which make it the quickest premium hatchback in the country.
Fiat has also provided disc brakes on four wheels and stiffer suspension for better ride and handling. The car also gets dual airbags and ABS (anti-lock braking system) as standard equipment.
The Abarth version of Punto Evo carries similar silhouette but to distinguish it from the standard car it gets Abarth decals on the body, contrast ORVMs, Abarth badging on front-rear, Scorpion alloy wheels, tweaked air dam with horizontal slats, side skirts and chrome exhausts etc. The Fiat Punto Evo Abarth will be available in three color shades- Grey, black and white. The disappointing thing is that the ride height (ground clearance) of the car has been reduced by 30mm to 155mm.
To make things even sportier, the Abarth Punto Evo get sporty interiors with all black dashboard, multifunction steering with Abarth badging, tweaked instrument cluster, fabric seats with contrast stitching and aluminum finished pedals.
To be launched in midst of festive season, the Evo Abarth will be taking on Volkswagen Polo GT TSI in the country. The performance hatch will sell like hot cakes if Fiat manages to price it competitively against its lone competitor Polo GT.
