Driven by acclaimed new products, Fiat's army of Italian marques have been staging successive comebacks: Alfa Romeo with the Brera and the new 8C Competizione, Maserati with the Quattroporte and the new GranTurismo, and Fiat itself with the Grande Punto and the new Bravo. Next in line is the historic Abarth badge, which was officially re-launched at last week's Geneva show.
As we reported earlier, the scorpion brand was once an independent automaker and racing team until being absorbed by Fiat and eventually turned into the company's own in-house tuning division. After several years in dormancy, Fiat has resurrected Officine Abarth. Although strictly speaking, Abarth is not its own brand, Fiat seems to be treating it as one, giving Abarth its own stand in Geneva and replacing all Fiat badges on the car with the new scorpion emblem.
The resurrection starts with the Grande Punto Abarth, displayed alongside its S2000 rally brother at the Geneva show. Unfortunately none of our live shots turned out good enough to offer you, but we've added another gallery of historic Abarth pictures for your viewing pleasure. We can tell you first hand that Fiat seems to have done a great job on the highly-anticipated Punto Abarth, giving it a look and feel to set it apart. Styling has been upgraded with sporty touches from widened fender flares and big two-tone rims to mesh grille inserts and signature racing stripes. Underneath the hood is a 1.4-liter quattrovalvole turbo four pumping 150 Italian stallions to the front wheels through a six-speed manual. The suspension and brakes have been beefed up, and the interior has been treated to some nice sporty touches.
The Punto Abarth hits the market in September, when it will be joined by a 180-hp version. The next Fiats to get stung by the scorpion will be the new Bravo and the upcoming Fiat 500, giving Abarth a range of hot hatches in various shapes and sizes, ready to take on their rivals.
Follow the jump for the press release.
PRESS RELEASE
THE LEGENDARY ABARTH "SCORPION" RETURNS
A great project will 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.
THE POWER OF A SYMBOL
Never change a winning symbol. At the most, modernise it.
The characteristic feature of the Abarth trademark, the legendary scorpion, is an essential part of an inestimable heritage, made up of victories and passions that have produced one of the great cult phenomena of modern motoring.
The logo is even more aggressive today with new black colouring and the addition of very clear, well defined graphic elements. The lettering remains very close to the original typeface, but is more distinctive, while the small tricolour strip (tag) tells us that the brand is 'Made in Italy', without weighing down the overall impression. The shield structure, a symbol linked to the concept of victory, and the positioning of the red/yellow colours that have always represented the "racing" universe, have also been modified to modernise the identity while respecting the values of tradition.
The objective of the designers who revamped the Abarth symbol was to reproduce in a modern key the expressive power of a name that has been on everyone's lips since 1949, and will continue to be at the centre of attention in the future.
THE ABARTH PROJECT IN THE PAST AND THE FUTURE
A glorious past that continues in the present, a passion that was a winner yesterday and today: this is the concept behind Fiat's project to relaunch the Abarth brand.
The punctilious revival of a whole world of emotions, victories, style and symbols that made the scorpion logo the authentic legend that still appeals to motorsports fans. A restyling that starts from absolute respect for a past that cannot be ignored, but is projected into the future.
The Abarth logo embodies an approach that contains all aspects of the concept of sportiness, even the most exclusive: this was true in the 1960s, it is true today, and it will be true tomorrow.
The novelty lies in the revival, in a modern key, of all the activities performed in the past by Abarth & C., from racing to prototypes and conversion kits, right down to fashion accessories that reflect the Abarth style.
A whole world is emerging around the Abarth logo, underpinned by a number of values which were responsible for its great success in past decades: innovation in design, the use of cutting-edge materials, attention to detail. And behind all this, an authentic passion for motoring, without forgetting the human and technological heritage, or the professional pride of thousands of people, technicians, workers and managers who have worked in the plants, the offices and at race venues over the years. This was why it was essential to involve in today's project people who had collaborated directly or indirectly with Carlo Abarth in the past.
The understanding between the two brands has shown clearly that industrial collaboration can become a success story, creating a style that communicates determination, the will to overcome obstacles and achieve ambitious objectives. We all remember the small Fiat models which were turned into entertainingly dynamic cars, by Abarth. Real 'scorpions', that could sting the passion of thousands of motorists, with the taste of the challenge, speed and Italian styling.
And today that spirit is ready to come back to life in the new Abarth & C, the heart of the Fiat project. A completely reborn company, with Luca De Meo as Managing Director, and headquarters in Chivasso, which aims to revive the feats of the legendary brand, transporting it into today's reality, ready to take on the challenges of an automotive world that is completely different from the one that Carlo Abarth knew in the glory days. The new company will operate on various fronts: first of all in the racing world, with rallies, single-brand trophies and cars prepared for private customers. Then the commercial field, that will include tuning, i.e. the preparation of racing kits, and finally, with extensive licensing and merchandising activities.
The link with tradition is not just an idea, but tangible and concrete. A real rebirth, that will start with the triumphant return of Abarth activities to the historical premises in Corso Marche, Turin, where the famous 'Officine Abarth' will be recreated.
CARLO ABARTH AND THE STORY OF HIS SUCCESS
Behind this legendary brand lies the work of a true engineering genius. Karl Abarth, born in Vienna in 1908, achieved almost unprecedented success in the field of motorsports, the result of absolute dedication to the world of engines, and to a truly prodigious talent, passion and feeling for innovation.
Karl Abarth lived a long and exciting life, but here we will concentrate on the strong, successful collaboration between the Abarth and Fiat brands.
Karl Abarth's story did not begin with cars, but motorcycles. When he was twenty he won his first races on a Thun motorcycle, and the following year he built his first motorcycle with the Abarth trademark. Unfortunately, a serious accident during a race in Linz, forced him to abandon motorcycle racing, but he did not lose his desire to push himself to his limits, and he continued to race with sidecars, a vehicle that he made popular thanks to exploits such as the race against the Orient Express train (won by Abarth of course). A second serious accident in 1939 forced him to abandon racing altogether.
And so Abarth's second life, and the real legend, began. In 1945 he moved to Merano and became Carlo Abarth, an Italian citizen. In 1949, after working for a short time for Cisitalia, he founded Abarth & C. The first car produced was a 204 A Roadster, derived from a Fiat 1100, which immediately won the Italian 1100 Sport Championship and the Formula 2 title.
At the same time, Abarth had the brilliant idea of combining racing activities with products for the mass market, and he began to build his famous conversion kits for standard production cars, that increased their power, top speed and acceleration. Important elements in the kits were the exhaust silencers which over the years became veritable icons of the 'Abarth style'. Thanks to the experience gained years earlier on motorcycles, the Abarth silencers were the state of the art in technological terms. The first prototypes had a central pipe with a constant section and side ducts in fibreglass, eliminating all the diaphragms so as to keep gas compression to a minimum. It was a simple but innovative system which gave his products a clear advantage in terms of performance, and an unmistakable full, throaty sound. In just a few years, Abarth & C. went global: in 1962 it produced 257,000 silencers with a staff of 375 people, with exports accounting for 65% of output.
There were two extremely important elements behind the success of the Abarth components and kits: excellent advertising and successful racing. Carlo Abarth introduced marketing and communications techniques that are still used today. To convince motorists to remove their standard silencers and install an Abarth unit, he invented a clever advertising campaign based on an elegant presentation of the product. Publicised with a new, revolutionary language in the main newspapers, the silencer was presented in an opaque black version with chrome-plated terminals, and offered at a price well above that of the competition (4,500 lire as opposed to a maximum of 2,000 lire). His colleagues were initially sceptical about this strategy, but they soon changed their minds: it was an immediate, extraordinary success. The first 50 units were built for the Fiat 'Topolino'.
The success of the brand in the minds of motoring fans was constant, incessant, and became almost overwhelming as time passed, reaching its peak in the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. Carlo Abarth created the legend of the "scorpion" with total dedication and almost frenetic activity, which revealed the characteristics of a genius. The stages of this continuous exploit and unparalleled success story followed one after another at a rate that is still amazing today. A long march, punctuated with records, triumphs, and epoch-making ideas that changed our approach to the sports car.
In 1956, driving a Fiat Abarth 750 with a body by Bertone, he set a whole series of duration and speed records: on June 18, on the Monza track, he broke the 24-hour record, travelling 3,743 km at an average speed of 155 km/h. Then, from June 27 to 29, on the same track, he broke numerous other records:
the 5,000 and 10,000 km, the 5,000 miles and also the records for 48 hours and 72 hours. International success followed, and on July 21, 1956 the influential German magazine "Das Auto Moto Und Sport" dedicated the cover of issue no. 15 to the Abarth 750. The same car was also available with two bodies by Zagato, the Fiat Abarth 750 Zagato (1956) and the Fiat Abarth 750 GT Zagato (1956). On May 11 and 12, 1957, at the 24th Mille Miglia, there were 20 cars representing the 'scorpion' in the 750 class and 16 of them concluded the race.
The 'roar' of this extraordinary car even reached the United States: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Jr., son of the American President, rushed to Italy personally to sign an exclusive agreement with Carlo Abarth to distribute the model.
In 1958 Abarth achieved a masterpiece on the new Fiat 500, completely transforming the small runabout, and highlighting its huge potential.
That same year the partnership with Fiat was stepped up, and Fiat undertook to reward Abarth financially on the basis of the number of victories and records that the stable notched up. This agreement was behind the amazing list of victories in the coming years: 10 world records, 133 international records and over 10,000 victories on the track.
The legend grew, and entered every day language. The Sixties were a golden decade for Abarth. The name 'Abarth' was synonymous with 'speed', 'courage', 'performance' and 'conversions'. The list of cars that put the Abarth name firmly on the motor racing map was a long one: from the 850 TC, which won on all the international circuits including the Nurburgring, to the Fiat Abarth '1000 saloon' and the 2300 S, which set an amazing number of records on the Monza circuit in spite of dreadful atmospheric conditions.
In 1965 Carlo Abarth wanted to set a record himself. On October 20, 1965, he set the acceleration record over a quarter of a mile and over 500 metres on the Monza track, with the Fiat Abarth '1000 Monoposto Record' Class G, 105 bhp, and the next day he set the same records for higher classes in a 2000 cc Class E single-seater. Yet another anecdote that says a lot about the tenacity of the man, who had to lose 30 kg in weight at the age of 57 in order to get into the small cockpit and drive his cars to victory.
From 1971 Abarth became part of Fiat Auto, and the last car on whose development the founder of the brand collaborated actively was the A112 Abarth. During the 1980s, the story continued with other famous cars such as the Fiat 131 Abarth which won the world rally championship, and the Ritmo Abarth.
Carlo Abarth died on October 24, 1979, under his birth sign: Scorpion, of course
SPEC SHEET
THE GRANDE PUNTO ABARTH
Engine
• 4 cylinders in line, 4 valves per cylinder,
1368 cc;
• Power output: 110 kW (150 bhp) at 5500 rpm,
boosted to 155 bhp by adopting
98 RON petrol;
• Peak torque of 206 Nm at 2000 rpm, but 230 Nm can be obtained at 3000 rpm by activating the SPORT mode;
• 'Drive-by-wire' accelerator control,
without mechanical connections;
• Turboboost by Garrett IHI RHF3-P10.5 fixed geometry turbocharger.
Transmission
• 6-speed gearbox
• Dual hose external gearbox drive.
Suspension and steering
• MacPherson layout at front with anti-roll bar;
• Torsion axle at rear;
• Ground-hugging sporty trim;
• Electrical power steering with SPORT mode.
Brakes
• Fixed M4x40 Brembo calliper at front,
with double piston;
• Front brake disc ø 305 mm x 28 mm, ventilated;
• Rear calliper, piston ø 54 mm;
• Rear brake disc ø 264 mm x 11 mm.
Bodywork
• Wider front and rear wings.
Wheels
• 7" x 17" aluminium alloys;
• Tyres: 215/45-17.
THE GRANDE PUNTO ABARTH S2000
Engine
• 4 cylinders in line, 1.997 cc, mounted transversely, developed by FPT racing;
• Power output: 270 bhp at 8250 rpm approx.
with flange ø 64 (as per regulations);
• Peak torque: 22.5 kgm at 6500 rpm.
Transmission
• 6-speed gearbox with sequential control, frontal engagement and cut-off during changes, unique housing and interior for single supply, as per technical regulations;
• Mechanical front, central and rear differentials with ramps and clutches to modify the locking ercentages;
• Single-supply rear differential with multi-plate clutch to limit torque
• Specific drive shafts, car-side tripod joints and
wheel-side constant velocity joints;
• Specific steel propeller shaft with two branches and intermediate chassis support.
Suspension
• MacPherson layout at front;
• MacPherson layout at rear;
• Specific front cross member;
• Specific rear cross member;
• Adjustable dampers.
Brakes
• Monolithic front calliper with 4 pistons;
• Front brake disc ø 355 mm for asphalt,
ø 300 mm for dirt roads;
• Rear calliper with 4 pistons;
• Rear brake disc ø 300 mm.
Bodywork
• Wider front and rear wings up to a maximum width of 1800 mm;
• Rear spoiler, of a size established by technical regulations, to increase the stability of the car by boosting the aerodynamic load.
Wheels
• GOODRICH asphalt rims: 8'' x 18'';
• GOODRICH dirt rims: 6.5" x 15 ";
• Michelin asphalt tyres: 20/65-18;
• Michelin dirt tyres: 19/65-15;
• Michelin snow tyres: 10/65-16.
DRIVERS' PROFILES
Giandomenico Basso - Born on September 15, 1973 in Montebelluna (TV)
1993 Debut
1995 Fiat Cinquecento Trophy 5th overall
1996 Fiat Cinquecento Trophy 5th overall
1997 Fiat Cinquecento Trophy 1st overall
1998 Fiat Cinquecento Kit Car Trophy 1st overall
1999 Fiat Punto Trophy 2nd overall
2000 Super 1600 World Championship 5th overall in a Fiat Punto
2001 Fiat Punto Trophy 2nd overall
2002 Junior World Rally Championship 5th overall in a Fiat Punto
2003 Italian Rally Championship 2nd overall in a Fiat Punto
Fiat Abarth Trophy 1st overall
2004 Italian Rally Championship 4th overall in a Fiat Punto Abarth
2005 European Rally Championship 2nd overall in a Fiat Punto Abarth
2006 International Rally Challenge 1st overall in a Fiat Grande Punto
European Championship 1st overall in a Fiat Grande Punto
Andrea Navarra - Born on February 25, 1971 in Cesena
1989 Debut
1992 Fiat Uno Turbo Trophy 3rd overall
1993 Italian Rally Terra Trophy 2nd overall
1998 European Rally Championship 1st overall
Italian Rally Championship 3rd overall
1999 Italian Rally Championship 6th overall
2000 Fiat Punto Kit Trophy 2nd overall
2001 Fiat Punto Kit Trophy 1st overall
Italian Rally Terra Trophy 4th overall
2002 Italian Rally Terra Challenge 1st overall
2003 Italian Rally Terra Challenge 1st overall
2004 Italian Rally Championship 1st overall
2005 Italian Rally Championship 2nd overall
2006 Italian Rally Championship 3rd overall in a Fiat Grande Punto
Davide Gatti - Born on February 6, 1971 in Reggio Emilia
1993 Debut with the Fiat Cinquecento Trophy
1995 Csai Trofeo Terra Cup 1st Junior
1996 2 Litre Championship 1st in Group N
2005 Rally Asfalto Trophy 2nd in Super 1600 class
2006 Fiat Abarth International Trophy 1st overall in a Fiat Punto Abarth
Umberto Scandola - Born on December 5, 1984 in Verona
2003 Debut
2004 AciCsai Rally 1st overall
2005 Italian Rally Championship 1st Under 25
2006 International Rally Challenge
San Remo Rally 6th overall in a Fiat Grande Punto
Anton Alen - Born on June 3, 1983 in Helsinki (Finland)
2004 Debut
2005 Italian Championship
2006 Worldwide Production, Italian Championship and Terra Trophy
INTERCONTINENTAL RALLY CHALLENGE
9-11/03 EAK SAFARI RALLY KENIA-dirt
10-12/05 TR RALLY OF TURKEY- dirt
22-24/06 B BELGIUM YPRES WESTHOEK RALLY- asphalt
12-14/07 RUS RALLY OF RUSSIA- dirt
2-4/08 P RALLY E VINHO DA MADEIRA- asphalt
24-26/08 CZ BARUM RALLY ZLIN- asphalt
27-29/09 I RALLY DI SANREMO- asphalt
25-27/10 CH RALLY DU VALAIS- asphalt
23-25/11 CH RALLY CHINA- dirt
ITALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP 2007
11 March 30th Ciocco e Valle del Serchio Rally (LU)
1 April 35th San Marino Rally (RSM)
22 April 31st 1000 Miglia Rally (BS)
6 May 91st Targa Florio (PA)
17 June 41st Salento Rally (LE)
8 July 27th S. Martino di Castrozza e Primiero Rally (TN)
29 July 40tth S. Crispino Terra di Romagna Rally (FO)
2 September 43rd Friuli e Alpi Orientali Rally (UD)
30 September 49th San Remo Rally (IM)
14 October 26th Costa Smeralda Rally (SS)
18 November 26th AC Como Rally (CO)
VICTORIES BY THE FIAT GRANDE PUNTO
In its first racing season, the Fiat Grande Punto won three championships: the International Rally Challenge and the European Championship with Giandomenico Basso and Mitia Dotta, and the Italian championship with Paolo Andreucci and Anna Andreussi. Andrea Navarra and Guido D'Amore also took third place in the Italian championship.
Races won:
Il Ciocco Rally Italian championship Andreucci-Andreussi
1000 Miglia Rally Italian/European Andreucci-Andreussi
Fiat Turkish Rally European Basso-Dotta
Targa Florio Rally Italian Andreucci-Andreussi
Ypres Rally (Belgium) European/IRC Basso-Dotta
Bulgarian Rally European Basso-Dotta
Madeira Rally (Portugal) European/IRC Basso-Dotta
Alpi Orientali Rally Italian Andreucci-Andreussi
San Remo Rally IRC/Italian Andreucci-Andreussi
Costa Smeralda Rally Italian Andreucci-Andreussi
San Crispino Rally Italian Andreucci-Andreussi
THE SCORPION TROPHIES FROM 1977 TO THE PRESENT
Promotional trophies are part of Abarth's heritage. The first edition of the A112 Abarth Trophy, the first single-brand rally championship, was organised in 1977 for the Autobianchi A112 Abarth 70HP. This small, agile car was ideal for the difficult, demanding rally roads, and brought numerous Italian drivers success and fame. The Trophy continued for eight years, until 1984, and Fiat then continued the policy of supporting young drivers, by organising the Fiat Uno and Uno Turbo championship, and the Fiat Cinquecento, Seicento and Punto Trophies, right up to the recent Fiat Panda Rally Cup, Fiat Abarth National and International championships.
This year, tradition is respected, but with the great novelty of the Abarth Grande Punto ORO DIESEL Trophy, a championship for the Fiat Grande Punto R3D that is ahead of its time, designed for a car that already meets the international technical regulations that will come into force in 2008. The Fiat Grande Punto in question will abide by the technical rules for Group R and will be powered by a 1900 cc Multijet diesel engine. A special kit was prepared to develop it, now on sale at about Euro 30,000, which contains all the safety measures and mechanical components necessary for racing. The car for Trophy contestants can be purchased from the Fiat Italian sales network with a 25% discount.
The 2007 championship will start in May with the Targa Florio Rally, and will include 6 events on paved roads, 5 of which are part of the Italian Rally Championship. The prize money (Euro 350,000) is always interesting, and paves the way for the winner to pursue a career in rallying.
In 2007 a single-brand championship will also be organised for other Fiat racing models, the Fiat Punto Super 1600 and Fiat Panda Kit and 100HP in particular, which will dispute 5 events making up the Rally Asfalto Trophy, plus a final event to be decided. The most important novelty is the fact that the Fiat Panda Trophy changes formula, allowing drivers to enter with their own cars and their own teams. The prize money for this trophy is also very generous: over Euro 100,000
CALENDAR OF THE ABARTH GRANDE PUNTO ORO DIESEL TROPHY
5 May 91st Targa Florio (PA)
17 June 41st Salento Rally (LE)
8 July 27th S. Martino di Castrozza e Primiero Rally (TN)
2 September 43rd Friuli e Alpi Orientali Rally (UD)
30 September 49th San Remo Rally (IM)
25-27 October Rally Du Valais (CH)
CALENDAR OF THE ABARTH TROPHY FOR THE PUNTO S1600 AND PANDA
15 April 7th Alba Rally (CN)
13 May 23rd Lanterna Rally (GE)
1 July 23rd Appennino Reggiano Rally (RE)
2 July 22nd Oltrepo Rally (PV)
9 September 17th Fabaria Rally (AG)
30 September 49th San Remo Rally
SPEC SHEET
FIAT GRANDE PUNTO R3D
Engine
• 4 cylinders in line, turbocharged,
diesel cycle, 1900 cc;
• Power output: 175 bhp at 4500 rpm approx.;
• Peak torque: 36 kgm at 1500 rpm.
Transmission
• 6-speed gearbox with sequential control;
• Twin-plate metal-ceramic clutch,
diameter 200 mm;
• Self-locking limited
slip friction plate differential;
• Special drive shafts.
Suspension
• MacPherson layout at front;
• Interconnected links at rear;
• 2-way adjustable dampers at front and rear;
• Larger anti-roll bars;
• Uniball spherical joints;
• Reinforced, stiffened elements.
Brakes
• Front calliper with 4 pistons;
• Front brake disc ø 350 mm for asphalt
and ø 300 mm for dirt roads;
• Rear calliper with 1 piston;
• Rear brake disc ø 250 mm.
Wheels
• Asphalt rims: 7'' x 17'';
• Dirt rims: 6.0" x 15 ";
• Goodrich asphalt tyres: 19/63-17;
• Goodrich dirt tyres: 17/65-15.
FIAT PANDA KIT
Engine
• 4 cylinders, 8 valves;
• Bore x stroke: 70.8 x 78.86;
• Capacity 1242 cc;
• Fuel injection with specific ECU;
• Power output: 130 bhp at 7800 rpm.
Transmission
• Gearbox with 6 close ratios,
and frontal engagement;
• Self-locking limited
slip friction plate differential;
• Reinforced drive shafts.
Suspension
• Telescopic uprights at front, height-adjustable dampers;
• Torsion axle at rear;
• Larger front anti-roll bar,
supplementary bar at rear;
• 60 mm wider track.
Brakes
• Ventilated disc brakes at front, ø 284 mm;
• Disc brakes at rear, ø 240 mm.
Wheels
• Light alloy Toora 6"x15";
• Michelin tyres.
Car body
• Bodyshell reinforced by roll cage;
• Front and rear spoilers;
• Supplementary shanks.
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