Fiat launches Abarth Punto, crossover Avventura in India

Reuters: Italian auto maker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has launched two new cars Abarth Punto and crossover c for its Indian customers.

The two performance oriented projects, the premium hatchback Punto Abarth and crossover Avventura have been priced at rupees 9,95,000 ($ 15344.89).

“So we have tried to balance the requirement of Indian consumer. On one hand they want a very great road car which they can drive on day-to-day basis, yet there is enough reserve power in the car when you want to just to race it out,” said Head, Corporate Communication, Fiat, Marriot D’ Mollo.

Both, the Abarth Punto and the crossover Avventura, will house a 1.4-litre T-Jet turbocharged petrol unit under the hood that will be mated to a 5-speed manual. The Abarth Punto promises segment-leading performance numbers: 145bhp of power along with a maximum torque of 212Nm. The Abarth Avventura’s numbers, on the other hand, puts out 140bhp and 210Nm of peak torque.

“This is the fastest splinter on road breaking the 10 second barrier for the first time in the automobile industry in this category. It clouds 0-100 in just 8.8 seconds and has the top speed of 190 km/hour,” said Mollo.

Both the cars will be available in two colours, pearl white and exotica red.

In August this year, the company launched its premium sports hatchback Abarth 595 Competizione priced at approximately rupees 3 million ($ 46033.95).

In July, Fiat Chrysler announced it would invest $ 280 million (over rupees 1,780 crore) in its manufacturing joint venture with Tata Motors to support production of Jeep model which is expected to roll out in the second quarter of 2017.

India is forecast to become the world’s third-largest car market by 2020.