Tuesday 15th August 2017

Abarth Grande Punto Essesse: You Know You Want To

A fast Punto made faster by this owner, and now only £5K as well

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If the word 'Abarth' is mentioned in a car conversation, we'd wager that it would be a fair while before the Punto is mentioned. 595s certainly, perhaps even the new 124, but probably not the Punto. The original Abarth 500s could even be discussed ahead of the car you see here. As well as being a rare car, it's one that's very seldom ever talked about.

White on white is alright!

That seems rather a shame really, as the Abarth Punto has a lot going for it. As well as being fast in Esseesse trim, it looked cool (at least before the facelift) and handled well, albeit without quite the panache of a Renaultsport Clio or Mini Cooper S. That rarity factor shouldn't be discounted now either, the chance to have something a bit different for not that much money a real selling point. Particularly now with the car having depreciated like it has (remember that Esseesse package, with the crates you could keep and use as coffee tables, was £3,500; that's a big chunk of this car's asking price.)

If you've already scrolled down and clicked the ad then you'll know this isn't any ordinary Abarth Punto either. Already souped up with the factory Esseesse kit, this Punto has been treated by its current owner to a remap and a boost to turbo pressure. Apparently it's now wielding 230hp and a bonnet bra as well, one a little more desirable than the other you would imagine.

Now we can make no assertions over the effect of this extra power on the Punto, but it doesn't sound like a totally daft amount. And if you're going to have an Italian hot hatch it should be really quick, shouldn't it? And loud. Perhaps budget a little for some extra chassis tweaks (and fresh tyres), though bear in mind the SS kit did bring new springs and brakes over the standard car.

Bonnet bra fortunately not pictured

Perhaps best of all though, this Punto is just £5K. Five grand! That really doesn't very much for a fast, interesting, rare little hot hatch, a car with just 50,000 miles on it as well. It has a full service history and 10 months left on the MoT as well. This similar car is the same money with a lot more miles, and you can still pay more than double for what is ostensibly the same car. The earliest Abarths were definitely the best looking too. And good luck getting an Abarth 500 for £5K. There's a lot in its favour!

It really is bizarre that the Punto isn't better thought of. The wealth of very competitive rivals won't have helped its case, neither will the presence of that pesky little brother, though for the canny hot hatch buyer this little Punto has a lot to recommend it.

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ABARTH GRANDE PUNTO ESSESSE
Price: £4,995
Why you should: Fast, stylish, cheap, rare
Why you shouldn't: Previous-gen Clio 200s

See the original advert here.

[DPSFleet]

Great fun and value, the Stilo is good too, those Schumacher versions are very cool.

[TheTyreAbuser]

Always liked these. When the company car disappears they are very much on my list of cars to look at for a fun daily.

Trouble is, Fiesta ST's exist and will be getting cheaper too. Still, nice to be different sometimes.

[Tomy90]

I do have a soft spot for these, I really wanted one after owning my Grande Punto Sporting, but unfortunately by the time I was in a situation to upgrade the facelift happened

So I eventually went with Peugeot RCZ

is a shame they are so rare I would be tempted to get one as a daily but would feel bad throwing loads of miles on it

[Mr2Mike]

TheTyreAbuser said:

Always liked these. When the company car disappears they are very much on my list of cars to look at for a fun daily.

Trouble is, Fiesta ST's exist and will be getting cheaper too. Still, nice to be different sometimes.

Sadly the majority of the Fiesta STs for under £10k are ropey Cat C/D examples.

[noddyrocket1]

I ran one of these for a while as was always fond of it. A real underrated choice and now very cheap to buy!

Having owned both the Abarth 595 and the Abarth Grande Punto, I can say that the Punto is a much more capable mile muncher than the 500 / 595.

I love my current 595 Trofeo, but for longer journeys I'd prefer and the comfort and capabilty of an AGP.

It was a real shame that the later cars lost the pretty styling of the original, in my opinion.

[TheTyreAbuser]

Mr2Mike said:

Sadly the majority of the Fiesta STs for under £10k are ropey Cat C/D examples.

I wasn't thinking in the immediate future, more like 2 years time. That said, I'd probably try and source the ST I had from new and see if I could get it back (yeah, like that's going to happen).

[culpz]

My problem with these is the 500 Abarth. It's just as quick, it's styled so much better IMO and looks so much cooler in my eyes. I just feels like the 500 had much more Abarth magic lathered onto it. I can't help but think that both Punto versions just look a bit to ordinary for me.

Saying that, i've never really been that keen on the standard Punto, whereas the normal 500's have a bit of character about them. Funnily enough, i'm starting to consider an Abarth 500 as my next car. They just look like a riot to drive and are now as low as 5 grand! (non Essesse).

[culpz]

Mr2Mike said:

Sadly the majority of the Fiesta STs for under £10k are ropey Cat C/D examples.

I've seen a few decent ones for around 9.5k with no Cat markings with around 50k on them. Cat C/D one's can be had at around 7.5k that i've seen.

[Mike1990]

Always liked these. For me it would have to be a last of line Supersport with the optional Sabelt Sport Seats and that comes with fancy Electronic Diff. TTC i'am sure its called ? But they are still quite pricey and that's if you can find one.

[Butter Face]

230bhp! Impressive!

[Mr2Mike]

culpz said:

I've seen a few decent ones for around 9.5k with no Cat markings with around 50k on them. Cat C/D one's can be had at around 7.5k that i've seen.

Still pretty much double the price of the Abarth for a non-written of example. I think this is a bit of a bargain tbh, I've always liked the styling of the Grande Punto, and this even has a nice looking interior but I do wonder about reliability, particularly with a tuned example.

[will-w]

I always love it when a seller knows very little about the car they are selling

"£4000(less than that) upgrades to makes it the "Esseessee"(Four E's, not five) version which seperates it from the normal Abarth, all done by main dealer at Abarth these include:

Garret turbo
2.5inch exhaust system(CAT and Rear box were changed but same size as stock)
Brembo brakes(Same calipers, different discs and pads)
40mm racing springs(They were 25mm, not 40mm)
Team dynamics alloys (from abarth)(Actually made by Brembo in Italy, nothing to do with Team Dynamics at all)
Leather recardo Abarth seats(I think he meant Recaro? Either way they were just a Fiat parts bin item and not the Sabelt options available)
dump valve(Nope)
induction kit(BMC panel filter in the standard airbox, neither of which he has kept)
Inter-cooler(Intercooler was the same as the IHI powered 'standard' car)
Rear diffuser(Standard)
Black trimming around the car(Standard)
Speakers and sub upgrade(Interscope was an option, but all cars had a sub)
Sport mode button(Standard)

Also massively question the 230bhp statement - it's widely accepted that 220bhp is around the maximum you can reliably achieve from the little GT1446

Edited by will-w on Tuesday 15th August 15:59

[viggyp]

Always wanted one of these but as said earlier by someone, not as special as the 500 Abarth. Apart from the dial markings, you could be sitting in Grande Punto.

I still would love to get one of these and drop the Alfa 1750TBi lump into it! Hmmm, I wonder how much my Coupe 20VT will be worth within the next year or two?

[culpz]

Mr2Mike said:

Still pretty much double the price of the Abarth for a non-written of example. I think this is a bit of a bargain tbh, I've always liked the styling of the Grande Punto, and this even has a nice looking interior but I do wonder about reliability, particularly with a tuned example.

True. These are quite rare too, unlike the Fez, which are everywhere! There is a good reason for that though. They are definitely a steal at this price, regardless!

Is the Punto Abarth's engine the same as the 500's? Or is it a completely different unit? The 500's engine and the whole car actually is extremely reliable. The buying guide for them is basically obsolete.

[R66STU]

will-w said:

I always love it when a seller knows very little about the car they are selling

"£4000(less than that) upgrades to makes it the "Esseessee"(Four E's, not five) version which seperates it from the normal Abarth, all done by main dealer at Abarth these include:

Garret turbo
2.5inch exhaust system(CAT and Rear box were changed but same size as stock)
Brembo brakes(Same calipers, different discs and pads)
40mm racing springs(They were 25mm, not 40mm)
Team dynamics alloys (from abarth)(Actually made by Brembo in Italy, nothing to do with Team Dynamics at all)
Leather recardo Abarth seats(I think he meant Recaro? Either way they were just a Fiat parts bin item and not the Sabelt options available)
dump valve(Nope)
induction kit(BMC panel filter in the standard airbox, neither of which he has kept)
Inter-cooler(Intercooler was the same as the IHI powered 'standard' car)
Rear diffuser(Standard)
Black trimming around the car(Standard)
Speakers and sub upgrade(Interscope was an option, but all cars had a sub)
Sport mode button(Standard)

Also massively question the 230bhp statement - it's widely accepted that 220bhp is around the maximum you can reliably achieve from the little GT1446

Edited by will-w on Tuesday 15th August 15:59

Its funny, I was looking at that write up too... and being a former 595 competizione owner, and knowing a bit about Abarths I also spotted some errors.

[helix402]

Pretty sure it will have a dump valve fitted from the factory. I'm no modern Punto expert but most turbocharged petrol cars have a recirculating dump valve as standard equipment.

Are the terrible bonnet panel gaps standard or part of the mods?

[405dogvan]

and you can use Corsa parts on it (the Corsa and Punto of that generation share a LOT of parts even tho many exterior panels are different - that pointless extra window in the door is the main shared cue)

[Yipper]

Something different, 0-60 in 6-7secs, and practically free. Gotta be worth a punt.

[Pereldh]

I want one, it's got the bad boy attitude the cute 500 will never have.
A great looking car by Giugiaro, best before that c&&kup facelift. The full leather interior is rather tasty.
Also much more practical and usable for long journeys too.
And - YOU CAN SIT IN IT!
None of the long-arms-short-legs you need in the 500.

Edited by Pereldh on Wednesday 16th August 01:45

[Lance1965]

I ran one for 3 years suburb car reminded me of my old fiat uno turbo I now have the evo version rare scorpione edition ( only 10 ) these cars are quicker than the figures suggest and worth considering to the usual common suspects check out The Abarth Punto Collective on Facebook for info and advice a very friendly and knowledgeable group
Also check out www.abarthpunto.co.uk