Fiat has shown off teaser pictures of its Viaggio compact family car for the first time. It’ll be seen in full at the Beijing motor show later this month – and it’s being built in China to boot.
What are the details on the Fiat Viaggio?
For a start, the exotic-sounding name simply translates as ‘voyage’. However, the Chinese market will get an entirely different nomenclature, with the Viaggio being rechristened ‘Fei Xiang’, meaning ‘flying’. Put away those notions of Back To The Future hovercars though, this is far more conventional.
This is simply a Chinese market version of the Dodge Dart recently unveiled in the US, itself spun from the familiar Alfa Romeo Giulietta. The four-door, five-seater fits exactly into China’s biggest selling segment, the small saloon market, and offers a 1.4-litre turbo engine in 118bhp and 147bhp states of tune.
These will be mated to either a five-speed manual or Fiat’s own Dual Dry Clutch Transmission (DDTC).
What about the style of the Fiat Viaggio?
The teaser pictures released by Fiat show a familiar family face, and Audi-esque LED tail lights dominating the rear. Prices will be announced shortly before the Viaggio goes on sale in the autumn of 2012.
As with so much of the Western metal being shown off on Beijing’s show stands, China will be the key market for Fiat, who will be looking to tap directly in to the demand for Western vehicles, especially those with low emissions, in order to avoid China’s high tax rates.