The new Fiat Linea has arrived in Latin America some months ahead of its local production getting underway in Brazil as Fiat's independent importer in Panama is bringing the 3-box sedan to Central America's tiny state.

The new Fiat Linea has arrived in Latin America some months ahead of its local production getting underway in Brazil as Fiat's independent importer in Panama is bringing the 3-box sedan to Central America's tiny state.

The Fiat brand is imported into Panama by local trading conglomerate Empressa Melo, which has a wide variety of business interests, ranging from raw materials to foodstuffs. Melo also holds the rights to John Deere (agricultural equipment) and Isuzu in the country which is most famous for the man-made canal which directly connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The four-and-a-half metre long Linea is set to go into full production shortly at Fiat Automóveis' giant car manufacturing plant at Betim in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. However Empressa Melo will instead be shipping into Panama the version of the sedan currently built by Fiat's joint venture company, Tofas, in Turkey. Tofas developed and engineered the Linea at their Bursa facility in Turkey, and as well as Brazil it is also set to go into production in China and India over the next year. The Linea started rolling off the assembly lines in Turkey last spring after a world premiere at the previous November's Istanbul Motor Show and it is currently being exported to selected Eastern European markets.

Just one version of the 4-door car will be brought to Panama, the 1.4 16v T-Jet engined example. The 1368cc turbocharged engine is offered with 120 PS available in the Linea application and has 206 Nm of torque while the power unit is coupled to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Meanwhile Brazilian version will eschew the T-Jet engine in favour of the new 1.9-litre 16v version of the discontinued European 'Torque' engine which is currently being redeveloped in South America. Usual equipment and option levels for the car will be available to prospective customers in Panama.

by Claudio Perlini