FIAT 500 now to come with hugely impressive 2-Cylinder engine- 12/07/10
FIAT have announced their brand new engine offering with their popular retro mobile, the 500. To go with the open top version, 1.2, 1.4 and 1.4 Turbo Abarth versions, Fiat are ready to sell the 500 with an ultra modern take on the old-school 2 cylinder engine, reports Autocar.
This engine is 900cc, turbocharged and consists of just 2 cylinders. However, they have priced this model at almost the same level as the current 1.4 model, which is nearly £1500 above the entry level 1.2 model.
Headline figures for the 900cc 2 cylinder engine are deeply impressive. They can match the 1.4 petrol 4 cylinder N/A engine for performance, hitting 0-60mph in 11sec and topping out at 108mph. This is mainly due to the tiny turbo they have employed, which eliminates turbo lag and offers a swell of torque at low revs.
The reason the price is comparable to the 1.4 is that for similar performance, there are 30% increases in fuel economy, tax breaks (which for Londoners should mean zero tax and zero congestion charge) and simplified, long lasting internal parts which should also limit engine servicing requirements and therefore ownership costs.