Skip advert
Advertisement

Fiat Abarth: Fiat revives Abarth brand

178bhp Punto first to wear scorpion badge

Hoping to follow in the successful footsteps of Renaultsport, Honda’s Type-R and Vauxhall’s VXR range, Fiat has revived its specialist tuning division, Abarth. The announcement was made at the Geneva show, where the reborn performance wing’s first offerings – the Grande Punto Abarth ‘Preview’ and its race-dedicated brother, the Grande Punto Abarth S2000 – could be seen for the first time.

Advertisement - Article continues below

Despite the ‘Preview’ tag on the show car, the production version of the road-going Punto Abarth is expected to differ little from the car on display at Geneva. That means power will come from a turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine producing 153bhp and 152lb ft of torque. The latter figure can be raised to 170lb ft by simply selecting the Abarth’s ‘Sport’ mode, while customers who think that 153bhp is a little too modest will be able to specify an optional ‘booster kit’, taking power up to 178bhp.

As befits a tuned model, the hot Punto will come with a six-speed gearbox, four-pot Brembo brake callipers up front, wider wings, a bodykit and 17in alloys.

The rally-spec S2000 version, meanwhile, is a much wilder animal. A development of the car with the same name that won the 2006 Italian Rally Championship, it has a 266bhp 2-litre engine driving all four wheels. Sadly there’s no chance of it becoming a 21st century Delta Integrale as it won’t be homologated for road use.

The road-going Grande Punto Abarth goes on sale in September, with a price expected to be around the £15,000 mark, but Abarth’s plans don’t stop with the Punto – the retro-styled Fiat 500 will also be ‘Abarthed’ soon after its summer launch, with Fiat hoping to emulate the success of the Mini Cooper.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Toyota GR Yaris Gen 2 2024 review: rally-bred hot hatch is better than ever
Toyota GR Yaris Gen 2 UK
Reviews

Toyota GR Yaris Gen 2 2024 review: rally-bred hot hatch is better than ever

Toyota’s heavily updated Gen 2 GR Yaris has finally arrived in the UK, and we’ve driven it on the road
24 Jul 2024
This is our best look yet at Ferrari’s brand new hypercar
Ferrari hypercar test mule
Spy shots

This is our best look yet at Ferrari’s brand new hypercar

The LaFerrari successor will bring Ferrari’s motorsport and road car programs closer than ever, with sophisticated aero and a new hybrid powertrain
22 Jul 2024
McLaren GT Fast Fleet test – four months in the 203mph 'grand tourer'
evo Fast Fleet McLaren GT
Long term tests

McLaren GT Fast Fleet test – four months in the 203mph 'grand tourer'

Our ‘grand touring’ McLaren has departed. Did we get to the bottom of what it’s all about?
22 Jul 2024