A possible Abarth Panda? no way!

Among all news coming from Fiat-Chrysler group regarding third quarter results, which will be soon analyzed in this blog, the guys from Autocar UK published today that a possible Panda supercharged could arrive soon. According to the publication, Fiat may be working on a sporty version of the new Panda adding a 105 hp TwinAir engine, which will be also available in the larger 500L. This would accompanied by some exterior and interior changes ir order to get a better look. It would be the successor of second generation Fiat Panda 100hp, which was on sale for some years and got a good impression in specialized press. A better Panda is not a bad idea at all, well the model is pretty interesting and could find some buyers wishing to have one but looking for more fun. In fact, it would be a good idea specially now when the Punto gets old without any clear successor, and buyers begin to go to other car brands. The supercharged Panda could be offered as something between the regular ‘A-Segment’ and ‘B’ one. What should not work is the idea of bringing it to life under Abarth logo. Yes, it would a product that could fit in Abarth range as it would have a turbo engine and people could differentiate it from regular Pandas. Yes, Abarth has a good brand awareness and image, and needs urgently more models. But the Panda does not breathe Abarth’s philosophy even though it had a powerful engine. It is just a small family car conceived as that. Fortunately it has already become the referent of the segment thanks to its main characteristics: small outside, big inside with an affordable price. Those are not Abarth values, and a possible Abarth Panda would not only confuse buyers but would damage severely the image of the good Abarth.