60BHP is too little for the new FIAT 500

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60BHP is too little for the new FIAT 500

Whats the min BHP for a Sei Sporting replacement needed to sell it to you?

  • 45

    Votes: 1 2.9%
  • 55

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 60

    Votes: 2 5.7%
  • 75

    Votes: 3 8.6%
  • 80

    Votes: 8 22.9%
  • 90

    Votes: 8 22.9%
  • 100

    Votes: 7 20.0%
  • 120

    Votes: 1 2.9%
  • 130

    Votes: 1 2.9%
  • 150

    Votes: 4 11.4%

  • Total voters
    35

DaveP

New member
Joined
Jan 28, 2004
Messages
68
Points
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Location
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Ive heard FIAT are going to bring out the new 500 with a mere 60BHP engine, this is wrong, IMHO, the big mistake with the Sei Sporting was not uprating the engine with the additional bulk - lost sporting feel compared to the Cinq.

Anyway, at least what would you be prepared to tolerate in a Sei replacement?
 
For a Sporty car...100BHp.

1108cc MPi, Low Pressure Turbo, and the car must be the same weight as the Cinq \ Sei Sporting!

That would be fun!!

PS: The Cinq and Sei Sporting weigh the same according to Porter Publishing.

Although the 55BHp Cinq Sporting felt fairly Sporty...yu need to be used to underpowered cars...like the Cinq SX!
 
Im amazed, the Sei Sporting lunges on corners when the Cinq Sporting doesnt, is it a weight distribution issue?
 
i voted 80. A sei sporting with a 60bhp 1242cc is fast, so a modern engine with 80bhp should be fine for a sporty small car. Much more power and you're going to aiming for the wrong market and pricing people out insurance wise
 
I've voted 90, it'd make it quick without being too mad. What's important though is flexibility - 90bhp at 7500 revs would be great but quite probably have bog all bottom end torque. Bags of mid range make the car an easy drive, it can get wearing if you have to be thrashing the nackers off it every time you need to make a little progress.

An example being an old **itroen BX 16v I used to have. 7.4 secs to 60, 136mph top end and 160 BHP it had. Figures there look great, yeah?

Downside being the torque curve. Was ok up to 5000 revs, then the curve became TableTop Mountain. At this point, it took off like it'd just had it's arse branded, right the way to the machine guns at 7000 revs.

"Great!" you say.

Yeah, at times would be my reply. To make any progress - i.e. to pull out quickly into a faster stream of traffic, or get into a small gap on a roundabout, you had to knock on the door of Mr Rev Limiter. Fun, but becomes wearing after a while. Bags more mid range would have made progress less frantic, plus when your mum - in - law and family is in the car if you're thrashing the nuts off it it doesn't always impress.

Mind you, when MIL asked:
"Why did you trade in the Cavalier for this?"
my reply was:
"Because it wouldn't do this" - then dropped 3 gears, nailed it to the limiter in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th.

I could tell she was really impressed :)

So much so that she didn't ask again:D
 
They would have to put one of those new MultiJet lumps in there! I heard great things about those. I'd be impressed to see a 1.1 Sporting model and then a special edition 1.2 tuned Abarth model
 
They need an entry level engine and the 1.2 is ideal for that, thing with the cinq and sei sports is that they were cheap to buy and insure. If they had bigger engines or turbos then that would have killed them IMHO as they are really fun cars. Ive had both from new and can honestly say they were both the same in terms of performance, but the cinq did feel slightly better balanced in bends, but only just. However the superior build of the sei made up for that. But... I never took to the Sei like the Cinq and I sold it after just over 2 years.
 
I agree, but having driven my 1242, I just cant see why Fiat bothered with the 1108cc!

But a mentally tuned 1242cc would be fun, wonder why im planning for 90-100BHp from a 1242cc? :D
 
I assume here the poll and discussion is about the Trepiuno ie retro 500 - which I can't wait to see as the concept pics have been great. They apparently are doing a number of engine options start off I think is 1.2 and then the top of the range will be the 1.6 Abarth which apparently will rival the Mini Cooper and will be over 100 bhp I think anyway. I'm putting my name down for one of them when they are due out in 2007/8 or something - in Broom Yellow of course :D
 
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