Fiat unveils Grande Punto

Make-or-break car for cash-strapped company

By PH Staff / Friday, 29 July 2005 / Loading comments

New Grande Punto

Fiat will shortly be unveiling its all-new Grande Punto, which goes on sale in September.

This make-or-break car for the troubled Italian company follows in the wheeltracks of the original hugely successful Punto hatchback, which has lodged over six million sales since its launch in 1993.

The new Grande Punto’s objective is to regain leadership of the highly competitive and crucially important European compact hatchback market.

The Grande Punto is bigger than the original, said Fiat, largely for safety reasons. The new Grande Punto will be available in both three- and five-door body styles, and four distinct versions.

It's designed by Italdesign-Giugiaro in partnership with Centro Stile Fiat. The result of considerable design effort, the cabin is said to be "notable for its bright, friendly feel, as well as its obvious functionality. Grande Punto is designed to quicken the pulses, while offering a level of security, solidity and construction quality of a vehicle from a higher segment. Underpinned by attention to detail unusual in this market segment, Grande Punto is also an exceptionally comfortable vehicle – a factor indicated by its generous external dimensions that put it at the top of the class. Grande Punto measures 403 cms in length, 168 cms in width and 149 cms in height; and with a wheelbase of 251 cms, an extraordinary amount of internal space is guaranteed."

It's not quick of course -- that's not what Puntos are about. At launch there will be two petrol engine options, an entry-level 65bhp 1.2-litre motor and a new 77bhp 1.4-litre lump. There will be four turbodiesels: a 1.3-litre with 75 bhp), or a 1.3-litre with a variable geometry turbine and 90bhp; and a 1.9-litre mill with either 120bhp or 130bhp.

The current Punto will continue in production.