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The first official photos of
the restyled Fiat Grande Punto have been
released as the revised supermini, which
features significant changes both above and
beneath the skin, gears up for its world
premičre at the Frankfurt IAA in just a
fortnight’s time. The B-segment hatchback,
introduced in the autumn of 2005, was originally
styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro (with design input
from Bertone) and is now set for its mid-life
facelift, which has been an in-house project
from Fiat Centro Stile.
On the outside the restyled Grande Punto,
which will be called the Punto Evo when it hits the
showrooms, receives a new front end that follows current
fashion thinking in being much more distinct and aggressive
than the much-loved original, while it also creates a feel
of the Fiat 500 to imbue a real sense of ‘family’ in the
car’s design language. The Punto Evo also get revised
headlights, while at the rear end, a new design of tail-lamp
makes its debut. The front bumper inserts are also
replicated with a new pronounced section in the rear bumper,
along with new reflectors, and these changes increase the
overall length by 30 mm to 4060 mm.
Inside the cockpit the Punto Evo gets a
major makeover with a new Bravo-inspired dashboard and
instrument console, as well as new pattern seats and new
fabrics. Safety features will be improved (the Punto Evo has
seven airbags as standard including driver’s knee airbag)
while the model will see the roll-out of the latest
evolution of the ever-growing Blue&Me infotelematic package,
now incorporating a TomTom navigation device.
But it’s under the bonnet where the
facelift sees the biggest changes, as the MultiAir induction
system will arrive on the Punto at the same time as it
debuts on Alfa Romeo’s MiTo (itself closely based on the
Grande Punto’s architecture). MultiAir is the new
electro-hydraulic system of engine valves for dynamic and
direct control of air and combustion, cylinder by cylinder
and stroke by stroke. Thanks to a direct control of the air
through the intake engine valves without using the throttle,
MultiAir helps reducing fuel consumption by around 10
percent while pollutant emissions are likewise reduced by a
similar amount through combustion control.
Along with the MiTo, the Punto Evo is set
to receive the launch application of MultiAir, with the
long-serving naturally-aspirated 1.4 FIRE receiving the new
technology to bring it up to 105bhp (from the current 95bhp
output). The MiTo will also receive MultiAir on its 120
T-Jet unit, offering a weight saving of 10 kg, a top speed
increase of 9 km/h, a 0-100 km/h reduction of 0.4 seconds
and a combined fuel consumption figure reduced from
6.1l/100km to 5.6l/100km, while emissions will fall from
145g/km to 129g/km. It is expected this engine will be made
available on the Evo from next year.
When the new induction system is
incorporated into the more powerful 155bhp 1.4 T-Jet,
MultiAir will boost the output to 170bhp, but this
top-of-the-range engine will be reserved for the Abarth-badged
version of the Punto Evo due out next year.
The 1.3-litre MultiJet 16V turbodiesel
engine will also get revisions, with a new design of common
rail header incorporated, and this will see a cut of around
2 percent in fuel consumption and 30 percent in NOx
emissions, to bring it up to MultiJet 2 specification. The
Punto Evo will offer this unit, developing 95bhp and 230Nm –
an increase of 5bhp and 30Nm over the existing 90bhp 1.3
MultiJet. Fiat’s new Start-and-Stop system will also be
made available on the Evo from next year.
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