Phrases and quotes play an important role in the auto industry just as it would anywhere else! And among everything else, the phrase ‘never say never’ has always proved to be as true as the Sunday morning gospel. Its something like this, even in the most unlikeliest of situations, there is no way you can ever rule out slim chances can go on to become success stories.
And now this saying seems to prove correct if one takes into consideration the reports, though unconfirmed, of two renowned brands like Fiat’s in-house tuning firm, Abarth and the Austrian brand KTM getting together on a secretive project.
The news that has made many in the industry circles to sit up and get into speculating mood is centered around a whole new car that the two companies plan to develop together for a launch sometime around 2013. Unfortunately, the companies are not letting us know the details of this car but what we did manage to get to know is that the car would be a two seater mid-engined car that uses a rolling chassis which seems much about similar to the present running X-Bow. Also, the upcoming car may have its powertrain borrowed over from Audi though there are also reports of Abarth to be keen to use the Fiat MultiAir turbocharged petrol engine that has a capacity of 1.8 liter and can produce power in excess of 200 hp. As for the Italian tuning house, it is expected to add several new features to the car which includes a unique bodyshell which will be built around the X-Bow’s current carbon fiber monocoque platform. So these additions would definitely make the car score on user friendliness while also endowing it with the qualities of a standard road car.
And this beauty is expected to hit the roads with a sticker price of around £42,000 – £50,000 which comes out to about $67,000 – $75,000. Also, this beauty will supposedly hit out by 2013.
Source: topspeed