Fiat indulged in a bit of piracy for the launch of the new Punto Evo, taking over the Italian navy's finest new aircraft carrier. MARK NICHOLwas on board
THE SYBARITIC world of international motoring journalism takes its hacks to some of the most salubrious locales in the world; no mini-bar is out of bounds and no pocket-sized tube of Pringles too overpriced to put on a car manufacturer’s slate.
So imagine the horror of being handed the room key to your latest gratis palace of rest when it’s accompanied by a stark warning: “Don’t stay in the shower too long or the military will turn up.”
What? That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it? I was planning on charging my laptop, my camera and my phone, having a long bath, then emptying all the mini toiletries into my rucksack. And why is there a full-scale military helicopter in the lobby?
This is weird. And not weird like the time Suzuki took us to dinner and made us watch a sixtysomething-year-old man dancing around a chair wearing a see-through shirt, all so we’d say the Alto was a good car. And not weird like having casual conversation in the Scottish Highlands with a man dressed in full abominable-snowman apparel, whose job it was to hang around the new Skoda Yeti and wave.
Nope, this is weird because Fiat, in all its might and wisdom – and with a little help from its friends in the Italian government – has chosen to launch the new Punto Evo, nee Grande Punto, on Italy's newest and finest naval aircraft carrier, the Cavour.
Apparently, the sequence of letters and numbers on the little blue key fob we're given in the "lobby" is a genuine reference for the military, so they know where to come and rescue us should the worst happen – you know, if the maids haven't put enough tea bags near the kettle, something like that. Really though, we're under strict instructions not to use the shower for too long, because the steam can upset the smoke alarms, which presumably will lead to a Titanic-like "women and children first" abandonment.
The room itself is a design exercise in space efficiency, like the result of an Ikea competition to see who can squeeze an entire house into the en suite bathroom of a Days Hotel. To get to it, I have to turn left at the AB-212 helicopter, past the SCLAR H anti-missile rocket launcher, through an air-tight hatch in the floor and down the near-vertical steps, past an array of sinister gauges, back up a couple of floors in a hermetic lift, then down another blindingly well-lit corridor.
The Cavour is the Italian navy’s shining light and the jewel in the country’s technological crown, with enough fire power to destroy anything conceived of on this planet. It has enough poke to outrun, well, nothing much faster than a lawnmower actually – but 35mph isn’t a bad top speed for something that’s 240m long, weighs 27,000 tonnes and is capable of carrying 1,200 people and 24 aircraft. It took about eight years to build in two parts, which then were joined together to form the most impressive cut-and-shut job we’ve ever seen.
It’s said that car launches aren’t as they used to be. An appropriate anecdote persists about Fiat sending a chartered flight full of car hacks to Orlando back in 1983 for a week to drive the Uno for just four hours. That’s the same Fiat Uno that won 1984 World Car of the Year, by the way.
We didn’t get to fire nuclear missiles at errant seagulls or anything, but taking control of a multimillion-euro active aircraft carrier and filling it with journalists so they can see a mid-life update of a Supermini is lavish, to say the least. The recession hasn’t killed everything just yet it seems.
It’s a fact that’s markedly evident the moment Fiat shows us the Punto Evo in the metal for the first time. Not content with simply driving the car into the bowels of the vessel, Fiat tears up every over-zealous health-and-safety inspector’s rulebook by literally raising the spectators to the roof.
As all the speeches covering the new engines and design tweaks wrap up, the entire gaggle of seated press was surrounded by men in white uniforms, the lights shut off completely and a feverish rock soundtrack turned up to 11.
The floor began to move up, and up, and up. Around 50ft later and back in the light, we were at the base of the aircraft launch ramp, watching a group of Evos dance around yet another helicopter, each one ever in danger of tumbling overboard and into the icy Genoese water.
But is it a World Car of the Year 2010 performance?
The launch, perhaps, but the car, no. It is good though, and it almost justifies the spurious Cavourlink fed to us by Fiat top brass: something about looking forward while respecting tradition.
On second thoughts, it entirely justifies it, because it turns out the “old” Grande Punto will be sold alongside the new Punto Evo when the latter goes on sale in January. Essentially, the older car will become the base model, with the new one likely to slot in at a higher price point, with its better quality, nicer cabin, impressive TomTom integrated satnav holder, new exterior design flashes and cleaner, punchier engines.
Two versions of the exceptionally smooth and refined new MultiJet 2 diesel, alongside a 1.2-litre petrol and 1.4-litre turbocharged MultiAir will appear. The latter is punchy and rev-happy, and certainly one to recommend to those who don’t mind the extra tax penalty.
Whatever you choose, the Evo rides with cushioned compliance, which means it’s nowhere near as racy as its name suggests, but will prove a spacious and comfortable little family hatch.
Or maybe it just seemed that way after a night in one of the Cavour's matchbox cabins...
Evo vs Cavour
Fiat Punto Evo
Engine:1.4-litre turbocharged MultiAir petrol; five-speed manual
Peak power:135bhp; 206Nm
0-100km/h:8.5 seconds
Emissions:129g/km Economy:5.6 l/100km
Price:estimated to start at €17,000
Cavour
Engine:Combined Gas and Gas (COGAG), two axles, variable pitch propellers, four gas turbines; diesel
Peak power:88MW (118,000bhp)
To p speed:30 knots (35mph)
Range:11,265km at 16 knots
Tank capacity:2.5 million litres
Fuel economy:22,193l/100km
Price:€150 million (est)
