Fiat India’s website is now carrying a teaser which confirms that the Fiat 500 Abarth 595 Competizione is all set to be launched in the country. Powered by a fiesty 1.4-liter turbocharged engine that produces 158 bhp and 230 Nm of twist, this little scorpion will most probably be offered with an AMT and a proper manual transmission unit.
Entangling its tail with the Mini Cooper S in India, the 595 Competizione comes kitted with Abarth badges on the outside, racy graphics, a roof-mounted rear spoiler, twin exhausts and 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 205/40 rubber. On the inside, there is a sporty flat-bottomed steering wheel, Sabelt racing seats, racy pedals, a turbo boost gauge with gear shift indicator and a sunroof.
The Fiat 500 Abarth will also kick off Fiat’s aggressive strategy for India, under which, the car maker will launch a new vehicle every two months until the end of this year. Part of that strategy should include the powerful Punto T-Jet and perhaps a few Jeep models which will add that much needed diversity to Fiat’s portfolio in India.
I really love Fiat cars, my father used to have Premier Padmini when I was young, and not just one but he bought three of them. Even Palio, I fell in love with it the minute I saw it for the first time. Fiat cars are great aesthetically, mechanically and otherwise. So, what’s wrong. This problem is Fiat’s after sales services. Fiat as a company isn’t seen much reliable. They have a tendency to close down before a showdown. Back in 2000s, they came up with Palio and Siena, which soon failed to succeed. Again, they followed the same approach with Punto and Linea back in 2008 (or 2007) discontinued the mighty Palio and yet again they failed. And now they are shutting down beautiful Linea and launching something new.
Fiat please learn from your mistakes, you don’t need to change it if it ain’t spoiled. Just work on your weaknesses. Fiat has assumed the same approach again in 2015 by launching a couple of vehicles and discontinuing the others. May god help them.
Car enthusiasts are truly hoping for Fiat to succeed. Don’t think Abarth 500 will get them many customers as they have lost customer base and customer faith. The only car that can get numbers is a souped up Diesel engine in a Punto Abarth . Should be priced below Ten lakh for a car with sporty pretensions .