[Update: New pics are available now! This car is being tested in Brazil right now. Sources say that the car is based on the new UNO platform instead of the existing Palio platform. The car looks bigger than the current gen Palio and if everything goes fine, Fiat might bring the car to India in 2012. Have a look at the new pics, thanks to Indian Autos Blog and AutoSegrodos.]
Fiat India has come a long way since it joined the league of extra-ordinary gentle carmakers in India. Though the
earlier years were bad thanks to its bad service network then, the car maker has done better in the recent past. But
then, the ‘better’ used in the last sentence was relative to what they were ten years back. Their products are good
but their sales figures tell a differnt story altogether. The fact remains that they arent able to perform as good
as their calibre is.
So this means they either have to keep on upgrading their products to stay with the competetion or launch new ones
in order to acquire the market share they aim to get.
Like we reported earlier, a new Punto will be hitting our shores soon, or hitting our roads soon( considering the
fact that the car will be produced here).
But if our friends at Indian autos blog are to be believed, a new Palio is in the pipeline. Fiat might launch a couple
of new engines for this car. We might get Fiat’s hugely popular MultiAir technology-powered gasoline engines
(MultiAir is Fiat’s way of calling the variable valve actuation technology, in which intake valves are opened
according to engine load, meaning less fuel wastage and responsive engines). Fiat is speculated to bring the 1.0L
MultiAir engine, which will make the new Palio the first small car to have variable valve timing engine. There are
chances of a MultiJet engine finding its way to the new car’s engine bay too. As Tata is also working on a new car,
expect these engines to do the duty in the new Tata too.
Fiat India’s CEO Rajeev Kapoor has already hinted that the small car will be based on an existing platform, it seems
Fiat is going the cost-effective way.
The car might be launched at the next Auto Expo that is in 2012 or maybe earlier. Posted here are some renderings of
the car. And some for the next gen Siena too. Maybe Fiat will bring back both the cars to the Indian market and
position them a little cheaper than Punto and Linea.
Fiat bring them here! We are waiting, arent we?
Please go to the next page for more pics.
next page for Siena renderings.
story and pics-Indian Autos blog & Autos Segredos