All-new Fiat Panda Arrives In Frankfurt
The third generation of the funky Panda has been revealed this week by the Italian automaker Fiat at Frankfurt. Stating that the car has reached its “full maturity”, the new model will be available only as a 5-door model and will offer a bigger trunk and more room for the passengers.
The length of the car has increased to 3650 mm (from 3538 mm), width is now 1640 mm (from 1578 mm) and is also 10 mm taller at 1550 mm. The rear seat splits & slides in order to allow flexible seating and space arrangements, while the seat backrest of the front passenger can be folded so that it forms a table.
Clients will be able to choose from one of the three gasoline engines which will be available upon launch. There will be two 875 cc 2-cylinder engines, one with 85 hp (TwinAir turbo) and a naturally-aspirated version that churns 65 hp. The third gasoline engine is going to be a 1.2-liter unit with 69 hp. If you prefer diesels, you can get the car with a 1.3 Multijet engine that develops 75 hp and benefits as standard from the stop/start technology.
Later on, Fiat will add other engines and gearboxes. The firsts to join the lineup will be two hybrids in the form of a gasoline / methane unit based on the 0.9-liter turbo, along with a gasoline / LPG engine which is based on the naturally-aspirated 1.2-liter. Some say that we shall see an Abarth version of the new Panda which will be based on the 875cc turbocharged engine and will develop 105 hp. The Italian automaker will launch a “robotized” Dualogic gearbox in the near future. In 2012, the Panda will get a clever braking system that will be able to spot obstacles at close ranges, managing to stop the car on its own at speed under 20 mph.
The production of the 2012 Fiat Panda will commence this October at Alfa Romeo’s Naples factory that has been updated by Fiat. In UK, the car is scheduled to go on sale in April next year and will be priced from 8500 pounds.
Source: Fiat via Autocar
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