Fiat Grande Punto Abarth S2000 Rally Review

February 2007

The legendary Abarth "Scorpion" returns as a great project to be launched at the 77th Geneva International Motor Show: the rebirth of one of the most prestigious brands in world motorsports. Its symbol is a scorpion, and its name is Abarth. Abarth has always been synonymous with assertive cars, competitiveness, passion and excitement, and it now returns with a new range that will appeal to all lovers of motorsports. Abarth's first interpretation of the Grande Punto will be on the "catwalk" at the Geneva Show, the first step in an initiative which will later involve other models.

This new adventure starts in the familiar, uniquely emotional context and exclusive setting of the Geneva Motor Show. A striking stand has been prepared, in line with the philosophy of Abarth's rebirth, an innovative space with a fresh, contemporary, technological language and great attention to every detail. The new elements that will publicise the Abarth brand are displayed with all their strong, original personality: the revamped version of the famous Abarth racing stripe has been rendered with LED tiles, while the new logo, the scorpion and the wording are all large, three-dimensional elements in polished, satin-effect aluminium.

The Abarth values and tradition on the other hand are underlined discreetly and technologically: refined materials and precious finishing details in aluminium, carbon fibre, enamel and lacquer decorate the exhibition area, and draw attention to the true stars of the stand: the Grande Punto Abarth S2000, a car that has been type-approved for racing and is proving to be highly successful, and the Grande Punto Abarth Preview, a concept car making its world debut.

These are the two souls of the Abarth world: racing and standard production.

Visitors to the Geneva Show will also have an opportunity to discover a third field in which the brand operates; a multimedia configurator will illustrate the whole concept of the 'Abarth Kit', and the flexibility and wide range of combinations that the brand will offer customers in its conversion kits. Some of these solid wooden boxes, inlaid with satin-finished aluminium trims, are on display inside glass cubes, with the historic mechanical and stylistic components from the conversion kits.

And finally, by means of exclusive LED technology and plasma screens, the walls of the stand propose historical photographs and films, alternating them with a reproduction of the new Abarth racing stripe, underlining the fine link between the past and the future, as well as the energy and personality that are inherent in the Abarth brand.

The Grande Punto Abarth Preview













The absolute star of the stand is the Grande Punto Abarth Preview, a true jewel of assertiveness and elegance. The car will be marketed in September, to enhance the sporty, youthful positioning of the Grande Punto.

The car on show in Geneva is equipped with a 1.4 Turbo petrol engine that delivers 150 bhp at 5500 rpm, boosted to 155 bhp by the adoption of 98 RON petrol. What is more, thanks to a booster kit, a version with twice as much power as the basic version (180 bhp) will soon be available. This is a revival of a tradition from the past: for example, the Fiat 500 of 1958 delivered 13 bhp at 4000 rpm with a top speed of 85 km/h, while the Fiat 500 Abarth of the same year delivered 26 bhp at 5000 rpm and a top speed of 118 km/h.

The Grande Punto Abarth aims to revive the feats of these entertaining performance cars, offering young drivers in particular an opportunity to enter the racing world in complete safety and at an accessible price.

The Grande Punto Abarth S2000

The public in Geneva will also be able to admire the extraordinary Grande Punto Abarth S2000. This is a racing car designed for racing stables, which the Fiat Racing Department will be entering in the 2007 Italian Rally Championship with Giandomenico Basso and his navigator Mitia Dotta. Davide Gatti, winner of the 2006 Fiat Abarth International Trophy, will compete at the wheel of an official Fiat Grande Punto R3D with a diesel engine. On the international scene, the Grande Punto Abarth S2000 will compete in the IRC (Intercontinental Rally Challenge) with drivers Andrea Navarra, his navigator Guido D'Amore, and young Umberto Scandola and Anton Alen.

The Abarth & C. Spa racing team will be managed by Claudio Berro.
Powered by a 2000 cc aspirated engine that delivers 270 bhp, with 4-wheel drive, the new Grande Punto Abarth S2000 is heir to the version that took the 2006 Italian Rally Championship title with Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi, winning 7 of the 11 races on the programme. Nor must we forget the excellent season of their team-mates Andrea Navarra and Guido D'Amore who took third place. Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta won the European title and the International Rally Challenge.

Since its debut last season, the racing version has proved unbeatable, whatever the type of route or terrain. And we must underline that the 15 cars built so far have been ordered by several racing stables in Europe and elsewhere, to compete in domestic and international rallies. And now, thanks to this technological and competitive superiority, the new Grande Punto Abarth S2000 is ready to compete in these two championships with the same determination and assertiveness.

And finally, as well as a successful car and an outstanding team of drivers, the new Abarth & C. company can also boast a staff with a great deal of experience in motorsports: a total of 113 experts, 26 in the engineering field, 43 on the manufacturing side and 9 dedicated to racing.

Fiat Scudo Review

November 2006

To meet the latest European requirements for about-town and intercity goods transport, the Fiat Light Commercial Vehicles brand now presents the New Scudo, which will be built in the SEVEL Nord plant in Valenciennes, and marketed from January 2007.

Born out of the industrial partnership between FIAT and PSA, the New Scudo is the heir to a successful model, 350,000 of which have been sold since 1995, and it confirms its ability to reconcile performance, handling and car-class comfort with generous, easy loading, and the reliability and profitability typical of a light commercial vehicle.

The New Scudo inherits and improves the strong points of the previous model (a van with the architecture of an MPV, excellent road behaviour, that is entertaining to drive, with handling and comfort that are comparable with those of a modern saloon) and becomes the new benchmark for its category in terms of the extension of the range (increased volume and payload), performance, quality, sturdiness and safety, as well as protection against theft.

The loading volume and payload of the New Scudo have been increased: the interior volume is now between 5 and 7 m3, and the payload extends from 1,000 to 1,200 kg. The new Scudo can also boast an overall height (less than 1.90 m with air suspension) that allows it to use multi-storey car parks, and a loading floor height of just 49 cm, which simplifies loading and unloading operations.

In addition to the Van versions, the New Scudo range offers a comprehensive choice of passenger transport vehicles (Combi and Panorama) which are available in three different outfits for specific uses and customers. The first (Combi Standard) is the ideal vehicle to carry work crews with their tools; the second (Panorama Family) is for large families looking for the comfort and styling typical of a people-mover; the third outfit (Panorama Executive) is ideal to transfer business clientele (hotel/airport shuttles, rentals with driver).

The result is a wide range that ensures that every customer will find a vehicle that is ‘tailor-made’ to his own needs.

The New Scudo is synonymous with ‘efficiency and productivity’ which, for the customer, translates into very low operating costs (fuel consumption, maintenance intervals and repair costs), good acceleration and elasticity at low speeds even with a full load. The merit also goes to the three elastic, smooth Multijet engines, all in line with Euro 4 standards, which guarantee high power and torque deliveries: the 90 bhp 1.6 Multijet 16v, 120 bhp 2.0 Multijet 16v and the 136 bhp 2.0 Multijet 16v Power (with DPF). The new model really is an ideal workmate that is ready for anything.

The New Scudo also tops its class where safety and comfort are concerned; for example, the differentiated rigidity of the bodyshell, new braking systems with 4 disc brakes, ABS complete with EBD and driver’s airbag (standard throughout the range). And depending on the market and the version, ESP complete with ASR, a front passenger airbag, sidebags and curtain-bags, as well as devices to protect the vehicle and the load against theft, are available as standard or optional equipment.

The new model focuses considerable attention on ergonomics, and on acoustic, climatic and vibrational comfort. It is an accepted fact that well-being onboard is an aspect of prime importance for the user of a commercial vehicle, who spends long hours at the wheel, often in demanding conditions. This is borne out by the well-lit, comfortable cabin and driving position typical of a car, which helps the driver to tackle the road in the best psycho-physical condition, with plenty of storage space (drawers, hatches and shelves) for all his gear. Particular attention was also focused on the loading space to ensure stress-free daily use, and on the shape and generous size of the loading bay. The low loading floor and wide doors – both the rear doors and the sliding side doors – provide easy access. The audio and telematic equipment also makes the vehicle more enjoyable to drive.The new Scudo is destined to play a leading role in its segment, and it is the last step in the revamping of the Fiat Light Commercial Vehicles range, with which the brand intends to achieve important goals in the coming years. And the numbers tell us that the Scudo is always at the top of the list for Europeans in a segment which, with over 450,000 vehicles sold last year, accounts for 23% of the European light commercial vehicle market. Today it is up to the new Scudo to pick up the baton and to contribute to the brand’s steady growth in all segments. In the first 9 months of 2006, Fiat Light Commercial Vehicles has raised its share of the Western European market to 11.1%, with approximately 168,000 registrations. And the brand is the undisputed market leader in Italy (with 45.2% of the market) and in Poland (with 21.2%), as well as the leading importer in France and Germany. These are important results, which have been made possible by the excellent performance of all the major models that lead the sales in their respective segments in Europe.

Fiat 500 Limited Edition Review

April 2007

Fiat and Cappellini present a Limited Edition of 500 of the new Fiat 500 which may be booked in advance of the world premiere. During the International Milan Furniture Fair it will be possible to reserve 500 numbered examples of an Opening Edition of the new Fiat 500 before the official launch, choosing between two versions, one of them designed by Cappellini.

The new Fiat 500 is a symbol of Italian styling excellence, a state-of-the-art solution for people who enjoy their cars in total freedom, motorists who want a car they can use every day, that is entertaining and practical, eco-friendly and accessible, but also appealing and original. This model confirms Fiat Automobiles’ undisputed leadership in this category – a result of the extraordinary technological, design and human heritage that it has built up in more than a century of life. The model takes a quality leap forward for its segment, where design and safety, technology and equipment are concerned, without turning its back on its historical, cultural and industrial identity.

The new model’s debut will be an exciting, important event, and the official launch, to take place in Turin, on July 4, has been preceded by a number of different initiatives. One of these has linked Fiat and Cappellini, an internationally renowned brand of Italian design, in a project that focuses on the new Fiat 500 and its stylistic concept.












During the International Milan Furniture Fair (from April 18 to 23), some of the companies exhibiting at the Fair will organise events in other parts of the city, transforming its entire urban fabric into an attractive centre for social and cultural aggregation. And one of the best-known sites organised outside the Fair, that arouses particular expectation with the public, is the one that Cappellini has set up this year in the former Upim store in Piazza San Babila.

The “Cappellini Temporary Store” is located right in the centre of town, and it occupies approximately 2000 square metres on two floors. It will be open to the public from 10 am to 8 pm, from April 18 to 24. In one area of this interesting venue, known as the “500 Lounge”, the public will be able to reserve one of the 500 numbered examples of the Opening Edition of the new Fiat model. They will be able to choose between a version customised by Cappellini, featuring exclusive Light Blue, elegant mouldings, and a version enhanced by Pearl White bodywork, with an exclusive numbered badge on the outside pillar and a plate inside on which the customer’s name can be engraved. Anyone interested can sign a non-binding purchasing request, granting him the right to a place on the waiting list for the assignment of one of the 500 Opening Edition versions of the car. Potential purchasers will be told details of the price and outfit at a later date, when they will be able to confirm or cancel the purchase.

At the entrance to the Cappellini Temporary Store is a ‘black box’ measuring about 250 square metres fitted with an autostethoscopic system. Outside the structure the visitor will access a multimedia station, where he can configure a Fiat 500 concept car, choosing the colour of the bodywork, the stickers to apply and some accessories. When he has terminated the operation, he will enter the ‘black box’ to see a life-size 3-D projection of his personal 500 Concept Car, and will then receive a print out of his prototype.
In line with the philosophy of the new model (“a car created for the people with the people’s own ideas”), the configurator is an evolution of the famous Concept Lab, the virtual laboratory found on the site www.fiat500.com, that has already collected more than 160,000 configurations, and suggestions for the accessories and customisation of the new model. The inauguration of the Cappellini Temporary Store was the ideal occasion to announce the three winners of the Designboom international competition, divided into the “accessories”, “everywhere” and “lifestyle” categories (the three projects are exhibited in panels displayed in a dedicated area, together with other outstanding proposals).

Developed in collaboration with Designboom (an independent web magazine for the design world), the competition is only one of the many initiatives studied by the creative team of “500 wants you”, the interactive multimedia platform which, in advance of the official launch, is touching all sectors of communication: from advertising to viral marketing, fashion and photography. But it is on the web, thanks to the www.fiat500.com site that the “500 wants you” site really comes into its own. And the figures confirm that it has been a huge success: since it went online on May 3, 2006, the site has been visited by over two million users, and boasts a community of 50,000 fans.