The Italians are impatient to see what the next Abarth Punto Evo will look like, perhaps something like the rendering above or the Abarth Grande Punto after the jump. It is only a question of when the new Abarth Punto will be presented, as Sergio Marchionne has already confirmed the Abarth models for 2010: the Punto Evo, the 500C and perhaps even a 500 TC.
The Abarth Punto Evo is sure to have the new Multiair engine with 170 hp, meaning in the future the EsseEsse model will have 200 hp. The 500 TC stands for “Turismo Competizione” and was originally the name given to race cars based on street-legal models.
The big question is why Abarth should focus on just two models and get extreme handling out of the A and B segments represented by the Fiat 500 and Fiat Punto Evo. Frustrated with these tuned versions and lack of style, some Italians are asking where Alfa Romeo is in all this. Alfa represents a true, stylish sports brand with plenty of pedigree, and the Italians want to know why Abarth should be the only brand representing Fiat in the world of racing.
Perhaps Sergio Marchionne knows something we don’t about Alfa Romeo and its future, or perhaps we should wait a little longer and see what comes out of the Alfa-Abarth-Maserati mix. Whatever the case, there’s more than one Fiat/Alfa Romeo fan peeved that the 500 and Punto get the tuned treatment when money could be invested seriously in Alfa Romeo sports style, too. As one comment on Autoblog.it reads: “You can’t ever be a passionate fan of cars until you’ve got yourself an Alfa Romeo.”
Source | Autoblog.it and Caradisiac via Autoblog.com