Fiat has chosen the upcoming Istanbul Motor Show to launch its important new C-segment car, the Linea. If you’re wondering “why Turkey?” it’s because Turkey is considered mainly a sedan market, and Fiat wants to make inroads to the fast-growing auto sector. The Linea is produced in collaboration with Tofas, the Turkish joint venture between Fiat Auto and a local company and will also be manufactured in the Tofas plant in Turkey. Production of the Linea will begin in the second half of 2007, with a projected annual run of 60K units.
Designed by the Fiat Style Centre, the new Fiat Linea share many of the same styling cues as other Fiat models such as the Punto and Stilo. The Linea is one of the largest cars of its segment, measuring 4.56m long, 1.73 m wide, 1.5m tall and with a wheelbase of 2.6 m. This extra space means that there’s more room for both driver and passengers, in addition to having a luggage compartment with an impressive 500L capacity.
Fiat claims there will be a wide range of gasoline and diesel engines that combine coupled to both manual and automatic transmissions.
If you can imagine this car without the trunk you’ve basically got the new Fiat Bravo, the official announcement of which shouldn’t be too far away.
