No doubt, the Fiat Linea is the most gorgeous looking car in the Indian market on sale today. Its heart melting curves, beautiful stance and a sultry Italian design definitely means ‘admiration guaranteed’. However, the current Linea was launched in 2007 and is getting a bit old, thanks to the transformation of the environment.
The rumormill was set churning 2–3 days ago with a supposed rendering of the 2013 Fiat Linea from a European magazine. According to the rendering, the 2013 Fiat Linea will drop its swooping lines and vivacious curves and adopt a more aggressive design like the Jaguar XF. However, a close look at the rendering reveals that the same design was seen on Dodge’s brand new midsize sedan allegedly called ‘Hornet.’
The report reveals that the 2013 Linea will be unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show in January 2012, weirdly the Dodge Hornet was also supposed to be unveiled at the same venue. The hornet is designed and engineered by Fiat for Dodge (which may have led to the rumors) and will be sold in the US markets as a competitor to Chevrolet Cruze and Hyundai Elantra.
The Linea marquee is very important for Fiat. It is highly unlikely that they will introduce the Hornet first and then rebadged it as a Linea. However, we will have to wait till the Detroit Motorshow to get some clarifications.
Linea lovers in India need not be alerted as the MY2012 Linea launches on the 3rd of January with feature add-ons and no changes to the body. Even if the next generation Linea is ready, India will not get it next year.
Image Courtesy: MotorAuthority.com
