CarBrandLogos archive · Fiat · 1993

FiatPunto

Fiat's supermini for a quarter of a century, and the last one it built alone.

The story

A defining chapter in Fiat history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Fiat Punto, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

The Punto replaced the Uno in 1993 and had to do it in a class that had become the most competitive in Europe. Giugiaro's design kept the tall, upright proportions the Uno had proved but softened them, with a distinctive vertical tail lamp treatment that made the car recognisable from behind at a glance. It won European Car of the Year for 1995 and immediately became one of the continent's best-selling cars, helped by a broad range that ran from bare three-door hatchbacks to a convertible and the quick GT with a turbocharged engine.

" 12 - ITALY - Fiat Punto 2012 08 · Pava · CC BY-SA 3.0 it

Design and engineering

A second generation followed in 1999, and in 2005 the Grande Punto arrived — again drawn by Giugiaro, and the car that introduced the sharp-nosed design language Fiat used across the range for the rest of the decade. That car was significant beyond Fiat: its platform, developed with General Motors, underpinned the Vauxhall and Opel Corsa as well, and later the Jeep Renegade and Fiat 500X.

1998 Fiat Punto SX Selecta 1.2 Rear · Makizox · CC BY-SA 4.0

In production

The end was less dignified. Fiat kept the Punto on sale with only cosmetic updates for well over a decade, and by 2017 Euro NCAP crash-tested a current example and awarded it no stars at all — the first car ever to receive that result. Production stopped in 2018 after twenty-five years and around nine million cars, with no direct replacement in Europe until the Grande Panda arrived to cover the segment. The Argo took over in Latin America.

1998 Fiat Punto SX Selecta 1.2 Front · Makizox · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1993–2018

Body

3-door hatchback

Technical specification

The Punto, in detail.

Production: 1993–2018
Class: Supermini (B)
Body style: 3-door hatchback; 5-door hatchback; 2-door convertible#tag:ref; The first generation only.; group="nb"; 3-door van
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive
Manufacturer: Fiat Auto (1993–2007); Fiat Group Automobiles (2007–2014); FCA Italy (2014–2018)

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