Abarth brand to be launched in August, share same dealerships

Fiat will be launching the Abarth 595 and there has been no hiding about it. Now, the dates have surfaced as August. This will be followed by the launch of 133bhp (135CV) Punto Evo and Avventura, which are also likely to be based as Abarth. The Abarth range won’t have a different showroom, but a part of the current Fiat showroom will be given out as a separate section.

The Abarth 595 could come in as a CKD, as CBU will make it an expensive buy.

It could be even left to CBU, as Fiat’s major focus will be on the Avventura and the Punto.

The 595 will be powered by a 1.4-litre T-Jet engine that will produce about 158bhp of power and will be priced under INR 30 lakhs (on-road) if they plan to get it as a CBU.

The Avventura and the Punto Evo will also get the same 1.

4-litre turbo petrol engine, but the power will be 133bhp and not the rumoured 105bhp. This will come with a five-speed manual transmission and the suspension of the two will have to be stiffened for better handling prowess. The Avventura might compete with the Ford Ecosport, as that is also offered with an EcoBoost engine that produces 125bhp from a 1.0-litre turbo petrol.

Both the Punto Evo and the Avventura are locally manufactured and even the performance version will be to make them a lot affordable. This will make Fiat the only other brand to have a hot hatch, if we consider the Volkswagen GT TSI as one. The pricing will be key and it should be under INR 10 lakhs (on-road) or around it.

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