By Kaustubh Shinde
These days everyone wants to make a small car. If you don’t have a small car under your portfolio, you are nobody in the auto market.
A similar ambition has been undertaken by Fiat as the top boss Mr. Rajeev Kapoor earlier announced about an Alto competitor in works for 2012. In his speech he said -
“It will be an all-new car, nothing to do with any of our other models and will be priced aggressively. It will compete with the Alto and will have a one-litre engine. The new car will be an India-specific one, made in India, made for India, keeping in mind the country’s unique terrain and temperatures. Our R&D team is working day in and day out to develop the car that meets consumers’ needs in the best manner. The small car market in India is blazing and there is intense competition. The entry level car space excites us”
We are guessing this new model will borrow design cues from the new Uno, Punto and Panda. We can bet a million bucks that Fiat will drop a 900 cc Twin Air petrol motor under the bonnet. May be the higher variants will come with a 1L or a 1.2L engine including the 1.3-liter multi-jet diesel.
We have also spoken about the Project 326 which is the Palio revival, which Brazilian engineers are working on as we speak. Since we lack enough information on the India small car, we sense there is a possibility of the two being related, perhaps both are the same car.
Taking on the kingpin – The Maruti Alto is a tall order. After all, it has been the best seller since the dawn of time. Fiat engineers clearly have the work cut out for them.
Best of luck to you Fiat!
Source - Wheelosphere.org
