[//M]

Fiat could equip the Linea with same engine as the Abarth Punto – the 143bhp 1.4-litre T-Jet petrol.

Source: Autocar India

Fiat recently revealed the Abarth Punto along with the 595 Competizione at the BIC.
The 143bhp hot hatchback is scheduled to roll into showrooms during the upcoming festive season. The next model to get the Abarth treatment will be the Avventura, but Fiat is also considering a high-performance Abarth version of the Linea.

The company seems to have taken note of the positive feedback that the Abarth Punto has received, and hence the same 143bhp T-Jet turbo petrol engine could be available in the Linea. It is also likely that the other mechanical changes such as rear disc brakes, stiffened suspension and lowered ride height (20mm) will make it to the sedan, if the car gets cleared for production.

Like seen on the Abarth Punto, the Abarth Linea could get certain upgrades to design.

The Linea has struggled to keep up with its segment rivals, and is now beginning to show its age. But with the sedan getting the Abarth badge, Fiat will not only inject some much-needed excitement into the car, but will also allow it to cater to enthusiasts looking for a powerful-yet-affordable mid-size sedan.

[adneo]

Bring it on Fiat, I would be one happy customer if i get the same sort of performance on a Linea TJet without having to part with my warranty!!!
Wake up, unleash your true potential, not every one out there is a "Kitna deti hae junta".

[hybridpetrol]

I am not sure about the "powerful, yet affordable". It may be able to stir interest among car enthusiasts, however, it will be priced on the higher side in my opinion.
The top variant is now priced a little less than 10L ex-showroom. Add 1-1.5L minimum for the added 30 horses and another 1-1.5L for the Abarth badging and decals.
So, my guess is around 13L ex-showroom, and accordingly, upto 17L OTR. This is the minimum we can expect, and it certainly puts this car close to the D1 segment and in the price range of S-Cross DDiS320.

[sultanofswing]

I absolutely agree with @hybridpetrol above.. Such pricing is bound to happen which will again throw off the average 10L sedan buyer, even if it doesn't go as high as 17L OTR.

Let us see how competitively they price the Abarth Punto.. if it is aggresseive (south of 10 according to rumours) then we can be optimistic about the linea as well.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

I am not sure about the "powerful, yet affordable". It may be able to stir interest among car enthusiasts, however, it will be priced on the higher side in my opinion.
The top variant is now priced a little less than 10L ex-showroom. Add 1-1.5L minimum for the added 30 horses and another 1-1.5L for the Abarth badging and decals.
So, my guess is around 13L ex-showroom, and accordingly, upto 17L OTR. This is the minimum we can expect, and it certainly puts this car close to the D1 segment and in the price range of S-Cross DDiS320.

1- 1.5L for remapped engine?
1- 1.5L for decals?

I would say the total premium for the Abarth Linea - if it materialises, will be around 1 lakh and that would put it against the likes of Honda City, which has 10.96L ex-showroom for the top petrol variant. Unlike the Punto, Linea top end already has the same engine and all wheel disk brakes setup.

The average C segment buyer would choose the City or the Ciaz anyways. Looking at the current sales of Linea, it would be great if the car finds homes of atleast 1% of the so-called enthusiasts who purchases C segment cars!

PS- Added "if it materialises" because there is a high chance that FIAT think tank might be hearing about this news for the first time from Autocar.

[hybridpetrol]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

1- 1.5L for remapped engine?
1- 1.5L for decals?

--

PS- Added "if it materialises" because there is a high chance that FIAT think tank might be hearing about this news for the first time from Autocar"

Celebration editions are frequently priced about 20-30K, just for the stickers, and probably seat covers. Here we are talking about a completely new look given by several additions and including a race car badge.
Regarding remapped engine - just consider the Polo Highline and Polo GT TSI. The price difference is 2L. The only supposed changes were a remapped engine & the DSG box. Please consider these, just 1L premium is too optimistic.
(If it is just 1L premium, it will be too good for the buyers )
However, as you said, this can even be just an extrapolation of the Abarth Punto idea.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

Celebration editions are frequently priced about 20-30K, just for the stickers, and probably seat covers. Here we are talking about a completely new look given by several additions and including a race car badge.
Regarding remapped engine - just consider the Polo Highline and Polo GT TSI. The price difference is 2L. The only supposed changes were a remapped engine & the DSG box. Please consider these, just 1L premium is too optimistic.
(If it is just 1L premium, it will be too good for the buyers )
However, as you said, this can even be just an extrapolation of the Abarth Punto idea.

Cars are priced based on market demand. Maruti can afford to price decals at 30k premium over regular versions.

Volkswagen can price GT at a premium. A better example IMO is the GT TDi which is mechanically similar to the regular Polo, but with a remap and still sells.

However, the current Linea TJet top end is available post discounts at prices little more than a GT TSi, and compared to base versions from Honda and Maruti- with TJet engine, all wheel disk brakes, 205 section tyres etc but still doesn't sells around 1% of what a City iVTec sells during some months.

Considering all that - I still keep my theory that it should be priced within a lakh of the top end Linea TJet.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

...Regarding remapped engine - just consider the Polo Highline and Polo GT TSI. The price difference is 2L. The only supposed changes were a remapped engine & the DSG box. ...

Is it just a remapped engine in Polo TSi? Isn't regular Polo petrol a 3 cylinder one?

Having said that, I can't find a reason why Linea would be priced more than 1L! It's the same engine in a different state of tune. 1L is justified if they upgrade the suspension too.

[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by hybridpetrol

Celebration editions are frequently priced about 20-30K, just for the stickers, and probably seat covers. Here we are talking about a completely new look given by several additions and including a race car badge.
Regarding remapped engine - just consider the Polo Highline and Polo GT TSI. The price difference is 2L. The only supposed changes were a remapped engine & the DSG box. Please consider these, just 1L premium is too optimistic.
(If it is just 1L premium, it will be too good for the buyers )
However, as you said, this can even be just an extrapolation of the Abarth Punto idea.

Does Polo highline petrol and GT TSI have the same engine? No. Highline gets a 3 cylinder unit and the TSI is 4 cyclinder turbo charged unit coupled with a DSG gearbox. So the cost structure is entirely different.

Coming to the Linea Tjet. The Linea already has almost all the ones that comes in the Abarth except for decals and the engine with higher state of tune. May be throw in a little more stiffer suspension. Would partially agree with Crazy_Driver on the pricing part and I dont see anything more than 60-75K over the current pricing which would be quite good.

[freedom]

Fiat is always late to the party. Its a pity because they have the engines the transmissions and also a good amount of localization.

They never bothered about putting 1.6 Diesel in the Linea.
Punto Abarth should have been launched in 2013, again 2-3 years late to the party.

I wonder if the Linea Abarth will ever be launched or is it just one of those plans that Fiat makes and doesn't deliver.

[Karthik Chandra]

Linea is getting Abarthified , off late Fiat has been in limelight for the right reasons. There were lot of Tjet owners wanting to do a remap. Now with Abarth Linea, they can enjoy the remap without the warranty becoming void. One of my friends has a Linea Tjet and is planning to buy the Abarth Punto, reading this news he might wait for the Linea.

Come on FIAT

[keroo1099]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

1- 1.5L for remapped engine?
1- 1.5L for decals?

A bigger turbo, lowered suspension, so would certainly call that a little more than just a remap.

Completely agree that they should be sane about the pricing.

On a side note, If the torque figures of about 210 Nm mentioned by various magazines is correct, you will have to really rev the nuts off this engine compared to a stock T-Jet (207 Nm) to see a significant improvement in performance. 90% of my use is in the city, so my remapped T-Jet which supposedly has 240 Nm should logically be better around town.

[abhii176]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

I would say the total premium for the Abarth Linea - if it materialises, will be around 1 lakh and that would put it against the likes of Honda City, which has 10.96L ex-showroom for the top petrol variant. Unlike the Punto, Linea top end already has the same engine and all wheel disk brakes setup.

The Abarth Linea, if it does make it to Indian shores, at a 1 lakh premium would be a real mouth watering proposition!!! I would definitely be a willing buyer for this performance machine. Hmmmm, maybe I should put the Abarth Punto on hold then!

[chncar]

I have been seeing the Fiat threads on the 'Indian Car Scene' subforum for a long time now, and Fiat seems to be perpetually 'contemplating' and 'strategizing' various models while nothing gets launched and the showrooms have the same tired old models - meanwhile Maruti and Hyundai and even Ford and Renault are launching a brand new car (yes, one that you can actually see in the showrooms and buy) almost every quarter. Fiat, stop talking/dreaming/thinking aloud etc, get off your butt and launch something already!

[printh]

Going by the sales of the linea t-jet,we can easily predict the sales of abarth linea. It will be around 75% of the total numbers set by t-jet. Almost only the affordable enthusiasts (those who don't mind FE )would've chosen the t-jet and with their cars barely 3 to 4 years old,only around half of them would upgrade (that's being very optimistic though).
On the other hand,if it's a linea with 1.6 mjd like in s-cross,then we can see atleast double the nos. expected for abarth linea(petrol) as they have one important additional usp-diesel engine.
Being tough to enter,stabilise and then survive in mass-market category,FIAT can carve out a niche for affordable enthusiast cars with little higher profit margin for ROI perspective.