Fiat India officially started accepting bookings for its Abarth Punto hot hatch on Tuesday, 22 September, for Rs 50,000. The vehicle has been listed on the manufacturer's website for the first time.

The Abarth Punto is rumoured to be launched on 10 October and the company apparently wants to capitalise on buying during the festival season.  

Arguably, the proper hot hatch is powered by a 1.4-litre T-JET turbocharged petrol engine that belts out 145bhp power at 6,000rpm and 200Nm torque at 1,750rpm. This is the same engine that does duty on the 595 Competizione in a higher state of tune. The engine will be mated to a 5-speed gearbox. The hot hatch is likely to accelerate from 0 to 100kmph in eight seconds.

On the exterior, the Abarth Punto will be differentiated from the regular model with contrasting ORVM and 'T-Jet' badge on the bootlid. The Abarth Punto will get sporty body decals on the bottom of both sides. It will come with the Scorpion logo exclusive for Abarth high performance models. The rest of the exterior will be identical to the current Punto Evo available in the market.

The interior will be spruced up with fabric upholstery with contrast stitching in red and yellow and sportier steel pedals. The ride height of the car will be 20mm lower than usual and the vehicle packs dual airbags and ABS as standard features.

The estimated price of the Abarth Punto is around Rs 10 lakh. With the new entry entry, Fiat India will have two Abarth high powered cars in India, the first being the 595 Competizione. Reports indicate that Fiat is also contemplating an Abarth powered Linea model with the same 1.4-litre T-JET turbo petrol engine.

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