Fiat Punto Evo Abarth

ryan

ryan

True Classic
Ok, I just posted this video in another article, but who else would love to have this thing here?! This sort of B-segment hot hatch is exactly what I'd want for a daily commuter car. Even the Punto Evo face is growin' on me.

Have to love the European mountain road.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGFqpmFHjHc"]YouTube - Test Abarth Punto Evo - Essai 2010[/ame]
 
They just have to bring this car to the US. I want one just like the one in the test drive video: Abarth trim and Ferrari red. :excited:

This car makes the Euro-inspired B-segment hatches from Japan (Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Versa) look downright silly.

The X1/9 will be so happy to have a relative parked next to it after being abandoned in the US for a couple of decades now. :laugh:
 
Ok, black with red Abarth striping isn't half bad either. :eyepop:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP7Oe3tPR9E"]YouTube - Abarth (Fiat) Punto Evo - Sylwetka (Exterior)[/ame]
 
ryan said:
...but who else would love to have this thing here?! This sort of B-segment hot hatch is exactly what I'd want for a daily commuter car. Even the Punto Evo face is growin' on me.
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I can't say I'm a fan of the Evo mustache, but YES, THAT is the car I want, not the retro-plagiarized Mini/Beetle me-too-wannabee 500. I'm sure the 500 is a fine car, but the Grand Punto actually speaks to me where the 500 doesn't. Frankly, I think the 500 is about 10 years too late for this market, but that may just be me.

John O.
 
Not totally convinced I'd need the red sideview mirrors on a black car on weekdays! Weekends... maybe.:hmm:
 
Agree...

...But I have to say I will take what I can get right now. I worry the Fiat in the US will be short lived if sales don't initially go thru the roof. I REALLY hope that Fiat sees a market for the Evo and other brilliant Abarth cars here.

You notice the honeycomb grill on the black one. Very X looking ;)
 
fiatmonkey said:
...But I have to say I will take what I can get right now. I worry the Fiat in the US will be short lived if sales don't initially go thru the roof. I REALLY hope that Fiat sees a market for the Evo and other brilliant Abarth cars here.

You notice the honeycomb grill on the black one. Very X looking ;)
Click to expand...

Personally, I think the Fiat 500 is the car to take Fiat "thru the roof" in the US. This type of car can do loads more than what a Punto could do to revive Fiat in the US. I'm fairly convinced that if done properly, the 500 will allow Fiat to bring in other cars like the Punto Evo Abarth. I also don't think Marchionne is going to go in this for a "lets see what happens". I believe the Fiat/Alfa return to the US is dead serious on his overall auto plans.
 
roadbox said:
I can't say I'm a fan of the Evo mustache, but YES, THAT is the car I want, not the retro-plagiarized Mini/Beetle me-too-wannabee 500. I'm sure the 500 is a fine car, but the Grand Punto actually speaks to me where the 500 doesn't. Frankly, I think the 500 is about 10 years too late for this market, but that may just be me.

John O.
Click to expand...

Please take no offense, but I think that this is nonsense to say the Fiat 500 plagiarizes the Mini and the Beetle. Even the Beetle was not really the the first car to go "retro", and I don't think there is such a thing as plagiarizing "going retro". :hmm: I think the Fiat 500 is actually the most fun out of those three cars -- the New Beetle never came out quite right. Also, why should only the British and the Germans revive loved cars of the past? The 500 has a strong cultural meaning for Italy.

Also, I think it is not fair to bash the 500, especially considering we have fellow Fiat enthusiasts on here who have just plunked down deposits on these cars, and some folks (like Tony) that see this as the first new car in ages that they feel passionate about.

The Fiat 500 isn't quite my cup of tea, but I do respect the car, and I always liked the original as a kid. I'd personally go for a Punto Evo myself, but that is just personal taste in a daily driver.

Also, ten years ago this car may have been a downright flop; the same can be said for the Mini. I think the 500 should have arrived maybe 2-3 years ago, but now is as good a time as ever. This is the one time since the late 70s where fuel efficient compact urban cars have been all the rage in the US. Ten years ago, hah! Really? the SUV era? :pimp:

Anyway, I'll be in line with you waiting to sign for a Punto Evo Abarth when it shows up over here. :laugh:
 
The 500, nice but no machismo

I've been hoping to see the Abarth Grande Punto make it's way to the USA. The enfatuation with the 500's is misplaced IMHO. It will be a chick car and a chick maganet at 1st. It should do very well here and I really hope it does. There are some aftermarket packages that will squeeze 240 hp out of the little 4 cylinder, or so I read.

The Punto is a little more car with options I'd like. It may not stand out so much as the 500, though all cars are beginning to look the same again, but does lean towards the Asian look. The interior looks superb.

Here's the one I want.


Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
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ryan said:
Please take no offense, but I think that this is nonsense to say the Fiat 500 plagiarizes the Mini and the Beetle.
Click to expand...
None taken since that's not what I meant. What I do mean however, you address. The issue is "going retro." I certainly don't mind distinctive styling cues which make up a manufacturer's visual vocabulary. In this case as with the other cars I note, it is the manufacturer, be it VW or whomever, who is plagiarizing their own past work. The current crop of Mustangs is a good example of a car who's design blatantly panders to a segment of buyers, those who wish they could still buy a late 60’s Mustang fastback, rather than being a spiritual or esthetic successor of the car being plagiarizing. (This might be a bad example actually, since I feel the new Mustangs ARE spiritual successors, they just don't look like it).

As to offending anyone who’s ordered a new 500, I’m sure they are all adult enough that they have weighed the positives and negatives of spending a large portion of their household income on a new vehicle purchase; Thus, I can’t imagine anything I’ve written they haven’t either read before or thought themselves. For myself and my close Fiat-owning friends (my apologies for speaking for them), none of us have any interest in the 500. We’ve all driven it and found it flawed in ways which are important to us individually. My personal observations are that it may only be as good as my good woman’s Scion Xa, with not very comfortable seats, poor seating for four, and fit & finish which I believe will be rattle-tastic by about 40K miles. But of course, I could be wrong, since NO-ONE, not even those who’ve order them, has actually driven the production model we will be receiving in the U.S.

Of the 500s I find interesting, it's the Twin-Air, should the U.S. get them.

John O.
 
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