Photo: Fiat
Renault’s Clio RS doesn’t really have any natural rivals in its class - it’s that good. It even challenges cars onc class up, like the Golf GTI, Honda Civic Type-R and the old Ford Focus ST, for which it’s definitely a match, specially on the twisty bits.
Well, now, Fiat might be giving the Clio a decent adversary to play with, in the form of the Abarth Punto SuperSport, a car with colorful brake calipers, go-faster stripes on the body and a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine to power it along. Fiat’s Multiair engine develops 180-hp and (a very decent) 270Nm (199 lb-ft) of torque, the engine seems to be the same version of the 1.4-liter which powers the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari.
The engine gives the car spritely performance, enabling it to reach 100km/h (62mph) from a standstill in 7.5 seconds (0.6 seconds slower than the Clio), beofre topping out at 216Km/h (134mph), which is slightly slower than the Clio’s 223km/h (138.5mph) top speed. Technical data aside, the car gets 17-inch rims, matte black accents, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, special pedals and special floor mats.
Despite not being as quick as the Clio, theGrande Punto SuperSport is a very good looking car, and coupled with its very clever 1.4-liter engine (which is a lot more technologically advanced than the one found in the Clio) which is turbocharged, will enable its driver to hold on to gears longer, thanks to the generous torque output, and up hills and powering out of wider corners, the SuperSport will have the edge over the Clio which has an engine that needs to be worked quite hard to get the most out of.
Sadly, only 199 SuperSports will be made and they are available for purchase at a not unreasonable €21,900 ($26,000). This version was made to celebrate the current generationGrande Punto, as it will be phased out in 2014, being replaced by an all-new model.
The engine gives the car spritely performance, enabling it to reach 100km/h (62mph) from a standstill in 7.5 seconds (0.6 seconds slower than the Clio), beofre topping out at 216Km/h (134mph), which is slightly slower than the Clio’s 223km/h (138.5mph) top speed. Technical data aside, the car gets 17-inch rims, matte black accents, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, special pedals and special floor mats.
Despite not being as quick as the Clio, the
Sadly, only 199 SuperSports will be made and they are available for purchase at a not unreasonable €21,900 ($26,000). This version was made to celebrate the current generation
Google News