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What is it?

This is the Punto Abarth, the first of the new-generation Abarths to go on sale in the UK. It is not, apparently a Fiat - look for a Fiat badge and you won’t find one anywhere.

This is because Abarth has a fine racing, rallying and road car heritage and, though it has always been linked heavily to Fiat, and owned by Fiat Auto since 1971, the Italians are keen to give it its own distinct brand image - so a warmed-over Punto T-Jet would simply not be on.

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It's not A Fiat, please stop calling it that. 

Autocar:

It is not, apparently a Fiat - look for a Fiat badge and you won’t find one anywhere.

The V5 states the manufacturer is 'ABARTH'  Please edit your article for accuracy.  Bad research makes for poor journalism.

Come on, man, it's a Fiat!

julianphillips:

Come on, man, it's a Fiat!

It's a product of Abarth & C. S.p.A. Italy.  Which is a company of the Fiat group.  The Alfa Mito is being produced in the Fiat Mirafiori factory and is based on a Grande Punto too.  Is that a 'Fiat Grande Punto Alfa Romeo Mito'? 

Was the last Skoda Superb called a 'VW Passat Skoda'?  No, although it was a Passat in all but name. 

The C1/107/Aygo all have their own brands. 

Why can't the Abarth Grande Punto?

I just think its fair to give credit to Fiat for creating this brand and sticking to it with seperate branding, showrooms and workshops. 

 Yep, fair enough.

James Read:

Semantics. Its a sporting Fiat and 'twas ever thus. To all intents and purposes this is more like Mercedes and AMG but we don't call them AMGs, do we ?

Or Lexus-Toyota, Infiniti-Nissan.

The thing is Abarth has a heritage and history that goes back way before the two names mentioned above were even considered, but people still refer to them by their brand name. Abarths have always been developed Fiat models, but should be viewed as a car in it's own right.

I agree with everything you say.  Because as the V5 says Abarth rather than Fiat, then it's an Abarth. 

If a Merc AMG was an AMG on the V5 rather than a Merc then that what it shall be called. Imagine the issues Toyota would have had back in the day if the UK press had called their Lexus LS400 a Toyota?

All of these are slightly different situations, but you can't argue with the V5.  This means that EU type approval would have had to have been sought as a separate brand.  It may have been fastracked as it is based on an existing model, but nonetheless Fiat have spent alot of money developing and launching this new company, when they could have done it half-assed again like the sticky badge versions of the older Puntos and the Stilo.

All 10 first wave dealers have demos now.  Get down there and have a blast!

James Read:

Ah, I see. So where do I go to try one. I can't seem to find any Abarth dealers (unlike Lexus etc.). They wouldn't be found at Fiat dealers would they ?

You just want me to link to my blog dont you?