Fiat flagship top choice again for art exhibition

The Fiat’s London flagship dealer has once again been chosen as the venue for a top international art exhibition.

Wigmore Street-based Fiat Marylebone was designed with the potential to host art and fashion shows as well as display cars, and has just been used for a reception introducing the Italian artist Franco Brescianini.

Around 100 guests, including art experts, celebrities and Fiat customers, enjoyed a champagne welcome while viewing Brescianini’s work – an exhibition entitled Profili Femminili. The display was laid out across the flagship’s lower floor, which can be transformed into a minimalist white art gallery.

Franco Brescianini was welcomed to the flagship by Tony Dittli, managing director, Fiat Marylebone before the exhibition opened. It was followed by an auction in aid of the Safe Hands for the Mothers charity.

“I am delighted that once again Fiat Marylebone was asked to host an art exhibition,” says Tony Dittli. “It lends itself perfectly to these occasions and was ideal to showcase Franco Brescianini’s fine work.”

Visit the Fiat dealer online

TV STAR ANGELA OPTS FOR 500C

The actress was hoping for a few more weeks of sunny weather as she collected the keys to her Fiat 500C, from the stunning Wigmore Street, London, dealership earlier this week (5 October).

Angela, who has been a fan of the 500C since its UK launch in July this year, has chosen a 1.2 Pop version in Cha Cha Cha Azure with Ivory roof, and is looking forward to hundreds of happy miles behind the wheel.
“I have a house in London, but I am still working on Waterloo Road in Manchester, so I shall be up and down the motorway quite a lot in the next few weeks,” says Angela. “But I’m looking forward to those long journeys now – and when I reach busy city centres the 500C will be ideal for the crowded streets.
“The Fiat 500 has really caught the imagination. You can see why it has become so popular – and the addition of the convertible adds a new dimension. My two young children are going to love driving around with the roof down.”
Configure your own 500C here

FIAT BRAVO THE SMARTER CHOICE FOR ENERGY SAVING TRUST

Fiat’s successful mid-range Bravo models have been provided to the Energy Saving Trust as training cars for the eco-friendly advice organisation’s Smarter Driving courses.

Smarter Driving is a fuel-saving, environmentally-friendly style of motoring that is being introduced to companies throughout England by the impartial advice group’s instructors. By following the Energy Saving Trust’s advice, delivered through the DriveSense fleet trainer network, company drivers can save an average of 15 per cent on their annual fuel consumption – equivalent to an average £250 per person.

The Energy Saving Trust has recently taken delivery of two Fiat Bravo 1.6 Eco MultiJet and one 1.9 Sport models – an ideal choice as the Eco is already one of the most economical in its class, returning 62.7mpg on the combined cycle and listing a CO2 figure of just 119g/km. The Sport’s figures are 50.4mpg and 149g/km.
Bravo’s lively performance, simple controls and ease of driving will also be useful for the hundreds of delegates taking part in the training – the Energy Saving Trust course lasts just 50 minutes and some companies have up to 500 employees ready to enrol.
For more smarter driving ideas, check out Fiat EcoDrive
 
From l to r Bob Saynor, programme manager, Energy Saving Trust Smarter Driving, James McMenamin, national sales manager, Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd, Dominic Marder, managing director, DriveSense Ltd.

Punto Evo 2010 Unveiled!!!

Unveiled in a world premiere at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show, the 2010 new Punto Evo makes its debut on the italian aircraft carrier Cavour.
Hit the jump to watch the images that include the presentation of the car on the decks of Italy’s newest aircraft carrier, Cavour, in La Spezia, Italy.

The new Punto Evo is destined to repeat the success of its predecessor and become the new pacesetter for innovation, safety and style, thanks to its many innovative features.

Innovation - MultiAir Technology

The Punto Evo expresses its technical excellence first and foremost through a wide choice of Euro 5 engines, including a 1.3 second generation Multijet diesel and a 1.4 petrol engine with the revolutionary MultiAir technology developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and eventually to be incorporated in all Fiat Group engines. Fiat’s innovative and conventional powerplants are also joined by dual-fuel methane and petrol units to create the most complete and ecological range of engines in the segment.

Safety Features

In the area of safety, the Punto Evo sets new standards thanks to 7 airbags, including a driver knee airbag. The Punto Evo is one of very few cars in its segment with a driver knee airbag fitted as standard on all versions. Other innovative safety systems are also available, including Hill-Holder to help with hill starts, adaptive 'cornering' front fog lights that switch on automatically with dipped headlights according to the angle of steering, and Fiat’s tried and tested ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) systems.

Interior

The new Punto Evo is even more attractive thanks to the work of Fiat’s Centro Stile. The interiors (fascia, seats and instrumentation) have been completely renewed to become even more prestigious and elegant, and the outside has been given a thoroughly restyled look too.

Respect for the environment

The environment is one of the main issues driving product development, and ensures that the Fiat range is the greenest in Europe. The Punto Evo is no exception to this rule.
The new MultiAir engines prove the point. Compared to a conventional petrol engine of the same size, a MultiAir engine develops more power (up to 10%) and torque (up to 15%), while consuming significantly less (up to 10%) and emitting less CO2 (up to 10%), less particulates (up to 40%) and less NOx (up to 60%).
In the same way the second generation of Multijet diesel engines also offers more accurate combustion, with benefits for consumption, emissions, NVH and drivability. This has been achieved through a new common rail injector that modulates fuel injection into the combustion chamber and gives, for the Euro 5 engines, an improvement of around 2% in consumption and CO2 emissions on the homologation cycle, and a reduction in NOx emissions of up to 30%.

Style and comfort

The Punto Evo is more stunning than ever thanks to the work of Fiat’s Centro Stile. In particular, the interiors of the new model have been completely redesigned to represent the most evolved expression of Italian style, with top quality materials and superb attention to detail. The result is a bright and elegant cabin with completely renewed fascia, seats, storage compartments and instrumentation.
On the outside, both the front and the rear have been thoroughly restyled, as shown by the attractive lines of the new bumpers and the incorporation of innovative and original headlights and taillights. The latest design has also “stretched” the car to a total length of 406 centimetres, so that its winning characteristics of driver and passenger comfort remain unchanged. The other external dimensions remain the same, with a width of 169 cm, a height of 149 cm and a wheelbase of 251 cm.

Smile and Win Competition

We've been busy snapping the festival's brightest smiles – is yours below? The biggest smile, as chosen by you, wins a fantastic Fiat 500 mini-break – so vote for your favourite now!

Visit http://www.fiat.co.uk/bigsmile/smileandwin/ for more information.

Fiat Group Sales Results

The continued success of the Fiat Group in the UK is underlined today with the release of August’s new car sales figures.

Sales of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Abarth models have all shown notable increases, resulting in a superb 5.14 per cent market share for the Group in the UK – its greatest share since May 2001.

With 3,026 units sold, Fiat posted a 4.52 per cent market share for August, Alfa Romeo sales of 344 gave it a 0.51 per cent share while Abarth’s 59 sales resulted in a 0.09 per cent share, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

It means that since its launch in the UK in January 2008, the popular Fiat 500 city car has now sold more than 26,000 units in Britain, while the new Alfa MiTo has roared to more than 3,000 units since its launch in January this year. Abarth has contributed more than 850 sales of cars since its July 2008 introduction into the UK.

Further indications of the Group’s success are shown in private and fleet sales figures – Fiat’s are up 86 per cent and Alfa’s have risen by 59 per cent. On private sales alone, Fiat has seen a rise of 174 per cent, to make it third best-selling manufacturer for the month, with Alfa rising by 233 per cent. The market average is 45 per cent.

Year to date, the average private market share is down by 12.3 per cent. Fiat’s share has increased by 5.4 per cent and Alfa’s is up by 88 per cent.

“This is a remarkable series of results for the Fiat Group which highlights once again the growing popularity of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Abarth vehicles in this country,” says Andrew Humberstone, managing director, Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd. “This is part of the overall business strategy we implemented two years ago and we are beginning to see the fruits of this in terms of brand, market share and positive residual value movements.”

Visit http://www.fiat.co.uk/ for more information on new cars and models

FIAT Punto Evo at Frankfurt Motor Show 2009

The Fiat Punto Evo, the evolution of the Grande Punto, will make its debut at the next Frankfurt Motor Show. It is destined to repeat the success of its predecessor and become the new pacesetter for innovation, safety and style, thanks to its many innovative features.

The Fiat Punto Evo, the evolution of the Grande Punto, will make its debut at the next Frankfurt Motor Show. It is destined to repeat the success of its predecessor and become the new pacesetter for innovation, safety and style, thanks to its many innovative features.

The epithet “Evo” identifies a level of car design that is capable of satisfying even the most demanding customers in terms of technology, driving pleasure and respect for the environment.

The Punto Evo expresses its technical excellence first and foremost through a wide choice of Euro 5 engines, including a 1.3 second generation Multijet diesel and a 1.4 petrol engine with the revolutionary MultiAir technology developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and eventually to be incorporated in all Fiat Group engines. Fiat’s innovative and conventional powerplants are also joined by dual-fuel methane and petrol units to create the most complete and ecological range of engines in the segment. With reduced consumption and emissions in mind, the new Punto Evo also offers Start&Stop, the system that switches off and restarts the engine in stop-and-go traffic. Start&Stop is being introduced as standard on all Euro5 petrol and diesel engines. Another system making its first appearance on the Punto Evo is “Blue&Me–TomTom”, the new portable satellite navigation unit that lets you manage telephone, navigation and information functions on a practical colour touch-screen.

In the area of safety, the Punto Evo sets new standards thanks to 7 airbags, including a driver knee airbag. The Punto Evo is one of very few cars in its segment with a driver knee airbag fitted as standard on all versions. Other innovative safety systems are also available, including Hill-Holder to help with hill starts, adaptive 'cornering' front fog lights that switch on automatically with dipped headlights according to the angle of steering, and Fiat’s tried and tested ABS, EBD (Electronic Brake force Distribution) and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) systems.

Finally, the new Punto Evo is even more attractive thanks to the work of Fiat’s Centro Stile. The interiors (fascia, seats and instrumentation) have been completely renewed to become even more prestigious and elegant, and the outside has been given a thoroughly restyled look too.

Technical innovation

The Punto Evo expresses its technical excellence first and foremost through a wide choice of engines Euro 5, including petrol units equipped with the revolutionary MultiAir system and second generation Multijet diesels.

Developed and patented by FPT – Fiat Powertrain Technologies – MultiAir technology will gradually be adopted by all engines fitted to Fiat Group cars. The heart of MultiAir is a new electrohydraulic valve management system that reduces fuel consumption by controlling air directly via the inlet valves (without using the throttle). MultiAir reduces emissions (thanks to improved combustion control) and also improves performance by boosting both power and torque.

Similar results have been achieved in diesel versions thanks to the adoption of second generation Multijet units across the range. These engines incorporate new common rail injectors that, thanks to a balanced hydraulic servo-valve, control the quantity of fuel injected into the combustion chamber with improved precision, and in a faster and more flexible sequence than in the past.

The choice of engines available for the Punto Evo is the most complete and ecological in this market segment, and even includes two alternative fuel engines, a methane and an LPG unit.

The new Punto Evo is even equipped with the latest version of the Blue&Me system. “Blue&Me–TomTom” is a fully integrated infotainment system that lets you manage telephone, navigation and information functions on a practical colour touch-screen. The system is the result of a partnership between Fiat Group Automobiles and TomTom, European leader in portable navigation systems, and integrates with the car’s other systems thanks to the Blue&Me system developed in conjunction with Magneti Marelli. The new system also incorporates “eco:Drive Info” for real time information on your driving style and useful suggestions for reducing environmental impact and optimising consumption by changing gear and using the accelerator to suit the nature of the route.

Visit Fiat UK's website for more information on Frankfurt Motor Show 2009