2011 Fiat Strada Sporting Launched

Fiat's Brazilian division recently released the new Strada Sporting, a special version of the popular pick-up customized with multiple sporty accessories that improve both the exterior and the interior of the car. Pickups are fairly popular in Brazil and Italian carmaker Fiat tries to take advantage of this fact by offering local buyers the possibility to choose a more aggressive version of the Strada, already a best-seller in the country.

The Strada Sporting is thus offered with a number of exterior and interior enhancements, most of them aimed at improving the appearance of the car. For example, it features a new front bumper, new headlights with black mask and body-colored skirts, as well as 16-inch wheels for a more muscular appearance.

Inside, Fiat installed sport pedals plus red seatbelts, as well as leather wrapped steering wheel with red stitching and Sporting designation on the floor mats.

Under the hood, the Strada Sporting hides a 1.8-liter 16V powerplant that develops 130 horsepower when running on gasoline and 132 horsepower on ethanol. The engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission.

Although fitted with these accessories, the Strada Sporting isn't much more expensive than the standard version of the car, with pricing beginning at approximately EUR 21,000. Of course, there is a special equipment configuration for this version, so customers who opt for the Sporting designation will get air conditioning, power steering, a trip computer and front power windows. The options list comes with goodies such as rain sensors, MP3 support for the audio system, Bluetooth, dual airbags and ABS.