Fiat has announced that its next model set for Australian launch will be named Ritmo and it will make its debut at the 2007 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney on 11 October 2007, providing the Italian car maker with a mid-size five door hatchback to compliment the award-winning Fiat Punto, which returned Fiat to Australia last year.

Named Bravo in most markets, Australia is one of the markets in which Fiat is using a different name due to another car maker already having the ‘Bravo’ name registered.

“Ritmo, like Bravo, is a name that was used for one of the new model’s predecessors, a car that not only provided Fiat with strong sales in the 1970s and 80s, but which also produced what is often named as one of the world’s best remembered TV commercials of all time, “Hand-built by Robots,” explains David Stone, General Manager for Fiat Cars in Australia. “That advertisement marked the achievement that the original Ritmo was the first car to be built almost entirely by robots, now an industry standard, and demonstrated the Fiat Group’s domination in the automated car production line market with its ‘Robotgate’ production lines.”

The new Fiat Ritmo will build on the style, performance and advanced diesel technology seen in the Fiat Punto, with the Australian line up including a 110 kW 1.9 litre Multijet Turbo Diesel and a new turbocharged version of the 1.4 litre engine from the Punto. Boasting an impressive 110 kW, the new 1.4 litre T-JET engine is a light, compact high performance engine that also delivers significant fuel economy gains over engines that offer similar power from larger, heavier power units.

Like the Punto, the new Ritmo has a five star Euro-NCAP safety rating and will be a fully equipped and featured car that offers a spacious and stylish interior to match its refined and chic exterior.

“The Ritmo name is derived from the Italian for ‘rhythm’,” explains David Stone. “It is often seen in the phase ‘ritmo de vida’ which directly translates as ‘the rhythm of life’ and which is used to describe things such as music, dance, art and theater that bring pleasure, excitement and joy to life, a clear indication of the role that Fiat believes the Ritmo will play in the Australian car market with ritmo de vida also set to include driving!

Full pricing and specification details will be announced when the Fiat Ritmo goes on sale in Australia in October.