The Italian carmaker could brind a completely new Punto to the market, but instead of that Fiat chose to considerably revive it, introducing the Punto Evo in 2009. The Italian brand’s in-house tuner revealed soon got its hands on the car and brought forth the Abarth version of the car to the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.
Fiat’s Punto ‘Evo’ Abarth has been given the ‘E&S’ treatment, with the Esseesse conversion finally arriving on these shores, almost 10 months after the kit was revealed at the Paris motor show last September. Like these, after just a half of year they succeded to boost the power from 160 hp to 180 hp and produce the esseesse-badged version, which made its debut in Paris last year.
This performance kit which increases the 1.4-litre turbocharged engine’s power to 180bhp (from 165bhp) can either be specified when you order the car, or can be fitted within 12 months or 12,500 miles of ownership (as long as it’s done by an Abarth-appointed dealership).
The kit costs around £3k (prices vary depending on regional labour rates) and should take the price of an Abarth Esseesse to a whisker under £20k. For these money, you’ll get that extra power, which is enough for the Punto Esseesse to hit 62mph from rest in 7.5secs and a top speed of 134mph. Beside this, you also get uprated brakes, springs and dampers.
Source: Pistonheads