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NEWS RELEASE
/FIAT REVEALS THE NEW PUNTO
Fiat has revealed the first details of the new Fiat Punto, which will be part of the proposed Australian Fiat line up in 2004 as well replacing one of the best selling Fiat models of all time with more than five million Puntos sold since the small Fiat went on sale in 1999.
Ateco Automotive Australia, the Australian Fiat importer who is already providing Australian van buyers with the advanced Fiat Ducato Van, plans to offer a three car Fiat range in 2004 including the new Fiat Punto in high performance Punto Abarth form, as well as the new model up the Fiat range, the Stilo GT and Abarth, also the performance variants of their range of models.
Like the original Punto, the new car will set a benchmark for advanced technology in small cars with features not seen in its class, while retaining, with revisions, the exterior styling that has enabled the Punto to stand apart from the bland small hatchback family.
The new Punto will be immediately recognizable thanks to its new nose and bumpers, which include new, more powerful headlights and advanced polyelliptical foglights that ensure better performance.
But it is under the skin where the big changes have been made, with a unique range of advanced new engines and gearboxes offering more drivetrain choice than any other car in its class.
The new Punto is the first car in this class to use Multijet diesels. This is the latest incarnation of the Fiat designed and developed common rail, direct injection system that is used by all the most advanced diesels in the world. Multijet is the successor to this technology and boosts performance and fuel economy by up to 30 per cent. There two new Multijet diesel engines in the new Punto: The 1.3 litre with 51 kW and a remarkable 1.9 litre engine that produces 71 kW. These remarkably efficient engines average 3.9 and 4.1 litres per 100 km.
Leading the petrol engines is the new 1.4 litre 70 kW Fire engine, which provides both performance – a 9.6 second 100 kmh time testifies to that – and, with an average of 5.3 litres per 100 km, excellent fuel economy.
Topping the Punto range is the Abarth, which has a 1.8 litre 96 kW engine, sufficient to send to a top speed of 205 kmh via a 0-100 kmh time of 8.6 seconds. These figures, combined with an agile sports chassis and a compact size make it the ultimate pocket rocket.
But perhaps the most newsworthy addition to the engine range is the launch in Europe of a production car that offers the ability to run on bio-renewable methane, as well as petrol in the Fiat Punto Natural Power. Fitted with a 1.2 litre 38 kW engine specially adapted to run on both fuels, the Fiat Punto is all but carbon dioxide neutral when running on methane. By using both fuels, the new Punto can run on Methane where it is available and does not leave its driver stranded in places where this new green fuel is not available.
Matching the unique engine range, the new Punto offers a unique selection of gearboxes. There is a choice of three manual gearboxes, a normal five speed and a new Getrag five speed, as well as a six speed gearbox. Joining the Speedgear, which has been enhanced with a new torque converter for smother and quicker operation, is DualDrive, a sequential manual gearbox which, like Selespeed in Alfa Romeo, uses a manual gearbox, but with the car taking over the clutch and gear changing operations. This endows the DualDrive equipped Puntos with the performance and economy of the manual cars and the ease of use of an automatic.
Completing the drivetrain is Hill Holder, which over comes the problem of a car rolling backwards when the driver moves off on a hill. Using advanced technology, the car detects when it is on a hill and about to move off and holds the car with brakes for 1.5 seconds as the driver moves his foot from pedal to pedal, thus stopping the car rolling backwards.
This is, however, just the start of the technology in the new Punto. It is fitted with ESP, which helps the driver maintain control of the car, the brake system is the latest eighth generation Bosch ABS system which offers Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) and EBA, or Emergency Brake Assistance, which ensures that the maximum braking ability is applied in an emergency. MSR and ASR stop the wheels spinning or locking in down shifts.
New comfort and convenience features include cruise control, parking sensors, rain detector for automatic wiper operation and a new ventilation system which, when AirCon is fitted, allows the driver and passenger to set their own separate temperature.
Fiat has lead the way with onboard communications with its CONNECT system, which brings together GSM mobile phones, the internet, call centres and RDS-equipped radios into a seamless navigation and help system. With the new Punto, CONNECT goes one stage further, doing away with the cumbersome and costly CD or DVD based map systems and replacing them with a mapping system that downloads maps as they required. This means that a CONNECT equipped Punto has the latest maps anywhere in the whole of Europe.
Other changes to the Punto include revised rear suspension for better ride comfort and more control in extreme conditions, revised dashboard and new colours and trims.
Full details and local specifications of the new Punto will be released at its planned launch in Australia next year.
(ends)
For further information:
Fiat media web site: http://media.ateco.com.au/
Newton HeadGroup Operations Manager
Ateco Automotive Pty Ltd
Ph: (02) 9558 7111
Mob: 0419 722 888
Fax: (02) 9558 7722
E-mail:
Edward Rowe
Public Relations Manager
Ateco Automotive
Ph: (02) 9558 7111
Mob: 0407 913 244
Fax: (02) 9558 7722
E-mail:
EJR/ejr/001
10/11/2001