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Fiat has whipped its low-capacity, big-output T-Jet petrol engine out of the mid-size Bravo and into its dinky Punto supermini to create a new hot hatch. The Punto T-Jet, just launched in New Zealand, can hit 100km/h in 8.9 sec-onds yet still achieves 6.6 litres per 100km in European Combined fuel consumption tests. Local importer Ateco Automotive claims the performance of the Punto achieves a class-leading balance between acceleration and economy.
"The new Fiat 1.4 litre T-Jet really is the engine of the future," says Lawrie Malatios, the general manager for Fiat cars in New Zealand. "Normally a performance car needs a significantly larger engine to gain a high performance output.
"The Punto Turbo Sport, the already highly efficient 1.4, gains a turbocharger to produce power and torque levels the equivalent of a 2.0-litre engine." The new engine is a light-pressure turbocharged version of the 1.4-litre engine already available in the Punto. The low-inertia turbo lifts power from 57 to 90kW and torque from 115 to 206Nm. Of that, 200Nm is available from 1700rpm; more than four seconds is cut from the 0-100km/h acceleration time.
The Punto turbo slots into the middle of the range, with the same Sport equipment and trim package as the diesel-powered Punto Sport. The Punto Sport T-Jet costs $30,990 - $3000 less than the diesel-powered Sport JTD.
