THE new Bravo goes on sale in mid-year and boasts a new range of powerful petrol engines developed by Fiat.

The new range of T-JET turbocharged engines are designed to be both powerful but economical.

The power output will range from 120 bhp to 150 bhp and they have been built with lightweight materials. The engines come on stream as the Italian company hopes to repeat the same success with the Bravo as it had with the Grande Punto, a top-seller throughout Europe.

The Bravo hatchback will get its international outing in Rome next month. The body style has been designed by the Fiat Style Centre in Turin where engineers were told to create "beauty with substance".

The result is a very streamlined car with a huge amount of interior space. The loading capacity is 400 litres.

Chevrolet muscles up

BORN in America and heading to Europe is Chevrolet's mid-sized muscle car.

The ultra WTCC is a concept car that cost 2m to develop. It is to be the basis of an image builder for General Motors on both sides of the Atlantic. The former Daewoo, now Chevrolet, brand needs a big attraction to gain interest in the medium-priced family market and the eye-catching styling of the WTCC does the job.

It has a strong wedgy shape, short overhangs, steeply raked windscreen, bulging wheel arches and spoilers. A production version will lose some beef but insiders say 80 per cent will remain. Based on the next generation of the Astra, the first fully fledged model for sale will be seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show next year. A range of engine, petrol and diesel will be available in three- and five-door hatchback.

More news for the GM family A compact SUV Opel is being planned based on the Chevrolet Prism Y which was unveiled at the Sao Paulo Motor Show in Brazil. It will compete with an all-road Ford Focus and a new model from VW.