Images of Progetto 198, the Fiat Stilo replacement which is now officially referred to as the Fiat Bravo, have surfaced unofficially on the internet in the last week and have spread like wildfire as the excitement which surrounds the realisation of this project builds. Production of the new Bravo will commence this November with the new car set to receive its official presentation and full European market launch in March 2007.

The images show a full-sized mock-up which has been used for clinic tests and official internal previews (last winter it was referred to as the “Fiat S”) alongside the Alfa Romeo 147 replacement. A totally new product, the C-segment Bravo is set to completely rejuvenate Fiat’s image and success in this competitive segment. The Bravo name indicates an attempt to bridge over the unsuccessful Stilo and recall its more charming and sporty predecessor instead. The Bravo name is also easier to pronounce in various languages. Despite high hopes for the new model, Fiat is being conservative with sales targets, with 250,000 units planned annually.

Development

Development of this new 5-door hatchback has been cut from an initial budget of 32 months to an astonishing 18 months. The prompt development time was made possible through the use of virtual engineering with no physical prototypes being constructed. The first pre-production prototypes of the new car have in fact been built directly on the final assembly line at the Cassino plant in central Italy using the actual tooling. A production run of only 20 initial prototypes are being used for crash and durability tests.

Austrian engineering giant Magna-Steyr were contracted to develop the bodywork and interior, with the styling being managed by Fiat’s chief designer, Frank Stephenson. Fiat Auto has been responsible for engineering the other assemblies, which includes a new range of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines. The Fiat Bravo, developed under the code Progetto 198, will make use of a development of the innovative C-platform used on the current Fiat Stilo. Highly modified, although preserving the same 2600mm wheelbase, the structure is now labelled as the “Compact” and has been designed for a five-star EuroNCAP safety rating.

Engines

The Bravo will feature several highly compact, brand-new petrol and diesel engines, the result of recent extensive development work carried out by the Fiat Powertrain Technologies division. One of these new engine will be the turbodiesel 1.6 JTD, which is set to be introduced by the end of 2007. This low-end torque unit will replace the 1.9 8v JTD and will come with two power levels: 105bhp with waste-gate turbo and a 120bhp version with a Variable Geometry Turbo (VGT). The 1.6 JTD will be Euro 5 compliant with second generation Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) technology and low NOx emissions. It will also weigh around 8% less than the 1.9 JTD 8v and will have reduced noise and vibration.

Other engines in the diesel range will include the 150bhp 1.9 JTD 16v unit while the petrol line-up will be headed by Fiat Powertrain’s brand-new 1.4-litre 16V MPI turbocharged FIRE petrol engine, which is due to start production in March 2007. This compact new engine will be available with either 118or 148bhp.

Styling

Responsible for highly fashionable designs such as the BMW X5 and Mini, as well as having his hand in thoroughbreds such as the Maserati GranSport, MC12, Ferrari F430 and 599 GTB Fiorano, Frank Stephenson will now be awaiting the public reaction to his first complete styling project at Fiat. The 5-door hatchback in the leaked images shows a sporty, sleek-looking car which builds on the character and DNA of the smaller Grande Punto. It is a logical design that will hold well with time, combining a tense and careful mix of muscular and sharp-cut forms. The front’s egg crate grille, with 3 horizontal and 6 vertical strips, now has the wreathed Fiat logo centrally positioned, incorporated within circular cut-outs on both the grille’s upper and lower borders.
 

A secondary intake is set slightly backwards underneath the grille, and is located on either side by small tertiary intake slits flanked by mist lights combined in what appears to be an aluminium-finished moulding. The flowing headlights give a hint towards the radical Bangle-designed Fiat Coupé with their bulbous lenses, however cut sharply where they meet the front fenders. A rapidly curving line flows from around the inside headlight border, continues around the top and chases down, joining the bumper panel line towards the front wheel arch. The effect is reminiscent of the recent Jaguar XK. The headlights sleek side profile also helps provide the illusion of a long bonnet, despite the car’s cab-forward design.

The side of the car appears rather chunky, with muscular wheel arches. Stephenson’s hand can clearly be seen in the shape of the rear fenders and the styling application which frames the bulging wheel arches and prominent sill together to form a separate graphic making the car look surefooted. The effect could be interpreted as an evolution of the BMW X5’s side graphics, in this case looking tighter, lighter and more athletic.

The doors are well profiled, with a swage line that continues upwards from under the front optical units, eventually running through the rear lighting clusters. The door handles are curiously positioned below the main swage line as on modern Audi models, helping to make the top section of the car appear elegant. A similar trick of creating a muscular bottom half and an elegant top section can be seen on the Audi Q7, although in the case of the Bravo the door handles appear disjointed. This is partly due to the fact they appear slightly stepped and do not follow a common centreline.

The rear doors contain quarter light sections, resulting in the possibility of winding down the rear windows completely. The side DLO (daylight opening, industry term for the glass graphics) is dynamically formed, arcing down towards the bottom frame of the hatchback DLO. As a result the rear door DLO is far smaller and sleeker than on the comparative Volkswagen Golf 5-door. This is in part created by a minor haunch which the lower frame of the rear door DLO makes over the wheel arch area below. The side DLO also appears to be bordered by fine aluminium strips, although whether this styling touch will make it onto the final production model remains to be seen.

Despite not being obvious in the leaked images, the most interesting section of the design is to be found at the rear. The rear hatchback DLO is contained within a radically shaped frame which carries on from the arching side DLO, with sections rising at either end to give the illusion of a greater rake. Rectangular rear lighting units, rounded at the bottom and angled downwards at 45 degrees towards the centreline of the car, give the new Bravo a highly recognisable stance, comparable in terms of presence to that of the Renault Mégane.

In a recent interview with the Irish Times, Frank Stephenson is quoted as saying, “The engineering philosophy at Fiat has for too long been ‘we haven't done that before so we can't do it’. The new key to future success will be to make the cars beautiful and then try to work out how to make it feasible, not the other way round. It obviously has to look like a Fiat and be economically sound to build and make a profit. But that doesn't mean it can't look stunning. Design really sells a product and everybody has known it. At this time you have to sell a car on love at first sight: no one is going to buy a car and hope that it grows on you. The car has to be instantly desirable. Everybody makes relatively good products at a certain level; they do what they're supposed to do.” After being questioned about the old Stilo’s German-inspired looks and feel, Stephenson remarked, “Now the key is to make cars have a unique personal character and you need to respect that it's not that hard if you follow the right mathematical formula which is to play up on your national identity and don't try to be something other than what you are because it's just putting on a show. Italy has such a rich history in aesthetics and it's just about returning to those.”

As well as offering an exceptionally roomy interior with comfortable seating for 5 and excellent boot capacity, the Bravo has also been designed to a high level of perceived quality standards. The Bravo’s design comprises excellent quality indicators, materials and interior trims, as well as a wide choice of custom options, including colours, sports pack and other option packs. The dashboard contains two principal instrument clusters converging near the centre, similar in style to those found in the Mercedes M-Class. From launch only the 5-door will be available, although an estate variant will arrive later, at least one year down the line.

For a definitive evaluation on the new Bravo’s “Back to Italian” styling we’ll have to wait until its formal preview. Even after the highly successful public reaction to the Bertone / Giugiaro designed Fiat Grande Punto, insiders at Fiat still refer to the new Bravo as the fashionable car to mark the much-needed turning point in Fiat’s design-conscience history. Above all it will offer lots of style and space at a very competitive price.