Looks.. as the cliche goes, are subjective. And for the very same reason, we are not gonna talk about the looks. What we gonna talk about is Abarth Punto. Now, if you’re one of those people who do not know much about Abarth, here’s the link that tells you a li’l more on what we’re talking about today. Abarth Punto is not just about looks and fancy decals. Like we have AMG for Mercedes, M for BMW, Abarth is for Fiat. It’s about performance. The scorpion logo is actually the zodiac sign of the founder Karl Abarth symbolizing speed and attitude.
Will talk about what’s under the hood li’l bit later but first, let me tell you the other things that differentiate Abarth Punto from the regular punto. The first thing is obvious. The lovely Abarth logo takes the place of the Fiat logo everywhere, the chrome surroundings of the front and rear bumper you see in the regular punto are in red, and you get Abarth decals all around and side skirting. The roof too gets the big scorpion logo, while the regular Punto has 15 and 16-inch Diamond-cut and sport alloy options, Abarth version gets the 16-inch Scorpion alloys, and disc brakes.
Now coming to the interior bit. As soon as you open the door and you’ll be greeted with Abarth scuff plates and Abarth rece pedals telling you that you’re about to step into the performance, you’re about to experience the performance. The seats here are black upholstered with red and yellow contrast stitching. Another change on the interior is the Abarth instrument cluster.
Now the real party piece is its 1.4L T-Jet petrol engine. The T here stands for turbocharged. The engine here is the unique selling point. That’s the thing people are gonna come looking for. All those scuff plates, decals you heard before are just like toppings on a choco lava cake. You go to eat choco lava cake and all those nuts on top of it don’t really matter to you. Those are secondary.
This engine produces 145 hp and 212 Nm of torque. All that peak torque is available at as low as 2000 rpm and this car is really a pleasure to drive. The engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission which enthusiasts like you and I will appreciate. The suspension set up is on the stiffer side for obvious reasons. It’s track tuned. This Abarth version of Punto rides 30 mm lower than its regular siblings. The only thing that we felt missing was the lack of a sporty exhaust note. But that’s not a problem at all. Its looks are good enough to turn heads. If you still want a sporty exhaust note, a good aftermarket exhaust can always fix it.
Come and take a spin if you haven’t already and it’ll surely gonna put a smile on your face and who knows probably you’ll end up gifting one to yourself. After all, it’s not just about looks.
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