Fiat Automóveis has presented the Doblò Adventure Locker in public for the first time at the Salão Internacional do Automovel in São Paulo, although at present the carmaker hasn't announced any plans to put it into production.

Fiat Automóveis has presented the Doblò Adventure Locker in public for the first time at the currently-running 25th Salão Internacional do Automovel in São Paulo, although at present the carmaker hasn't announced any plans to put this version into production. Fiat will use the show to judge public reaction to the model. The Doblò is manufactured in Brazil at the Betim factory in the Minas Gerais region in first-series format.

Fiat Automóveis became the first car manufacturer in the world to launch a front wheel drive traction vehicle with a differential blocking system when the Novo Palio Weekend Adventure Locker arrived on the Brazilian market in May of this year. Designated the 'Adventure Locker' by Fiat, the system was developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies in partnership with Eaton. Since then the Locker option has been added to the facelifted Strada (pick up) range.

The niche 'Adventure' branded model range (Palio Weekend, Strada, Idea and Doblò) offer off road capability and fashionable looks at a cost effective price and have been a popular option on the Brazilian market. Emphasising the importance of the Adventure series to Fiat Automóveis is the fact that the models have their own themed space at the São Paulo Motor Show.

The Locker system provides the car with a better scenario to extract itself from situations of adherence loss; the differential divides and distributes the torque between the two driveshafts and the wheel with lower adherence rotates more quickly while the other stays locked.

The resource can be enabled or disabled by the driver by the simple pressing of the "ELD" (Electronic Locker Differential) button located on the dashboard; however the system is only designed to be only used in specific situations at low speed, and for that reason, light and sound indicators warn the driver when the vehicle reaches 15 km/h, at which point the system is turned off automatically.

Another important new modification present on the Doblò Adventure Locker version on show in São Paulo is to its suspension system; it is equipped with a new design of shock absorbers which have been dubbed "Powershock", a technology that has been developed by Magneti Marelli Cofap. The shock absorbers have internal anti-roll springs which help provide a safer and steadier reaction to the steering wheel, making them very suitable for an off-road model.