Behold - the mighty Fiat Punto Cabrio, ELX variant no less (top of the line). We all have that one friend who perhaps shouldn’t be allowed access to the internet/be allowed to make adult decisions by themselves. This car belongs to one such friend, who we are now selling it on behalf of.

Friend bought said car in 2018 and you can see why. Its iconic, smooth Bertone styling, phenomenal exterior colour, fabulous interior condition and sheer rarity (only 11 of these currently taxed in the UK today!) lured them in. The original interior had already been well cared for and preserved throughout its nominal 60,000 mile life, but the exterior was looking a bit tired and there was a small amount of rust coming through underneath.

By this point they were smitten. They set about, on a carte-blanche basis, essentially cosmetically restoring the car and frankly went a bit too far and spent a disproportionate amount of money on it - but hey, their loss could now be your gain! This wonderful little Punto is in exceptional condition now.

Car Care of Kensington were tasked with mechanically going through the car and attending to anything it needed or may need in the near future, as it had been sitting idle for a while before Fried bought it. CCK have replaced the timing belt, water pump, front brake discs and pads, rear brake drums, rear brake cylinders and rear brake shoes shoes, all brake flexi hoses, all brake hard lines, brake master cylinder, tyres, both front lower suspension arms, full service, fuel filter and more. They also installed new shock absorbers and coil springs all around that have lowered the car by about 30mm. It does not look at all “lowered” - more it sits at the height it looks like it was always supposed to, these always sat too high from new in our opinion.

As mentioned above, the Punto’s underside was then given a once over with no stone left unturned and in reality only a small amount of welding was required, further credit to the seemingly easy life this car had lived. We were then tasked with fully respraying the car in its original, factory optional “Verde Garden” to a high standard. In for a penny, and all that.

The Cabrio’s then original grey soft top convertible roof was in a bit of a sorry state, though it was still watertight, it was sun bleached and beginning to wear. Friend, rightfully, opted to have it replaced with a totally bespoke new Tan roof, that had to be specially made as they never came in this colour. This cost literally thousands of pounds. The work was carried out by soft top gurus CE Moore in North West London. It looks the absolute dog’s danglies against the glistening metallic green body paint.

Naturally, as is often the case with such passion projects, Friend then drove the car *once* (no, we’re not joking) and then put it into paid storage with us for a few years. We have kept the car running, often moved around to avoid tyre flat spots etc. for the duration of its time in storage. When they finally remembered they owned it about a month ago, they instructed us to go through the car and check everything over and get the car MOT’d and ready to be sold. They’ve now moved away from London and remembered they also own cars with prancing horses of the German and Italian variety on the bonnet that perhaps they’re more likely to use than this wonderful Punto (I know, we think they’re mad too). We have just been through everything on the car in our workshops. It wanted for nothing but we have changed the fluids for good measure and replaced the battery, even though the car had only covered 20 miles (yes TWENTY) since its last service. It will come with a fresh MOT as part of the sale. Every system works as it should on the car including that beautiful, eye-wateringly expensive, electric soft top roof.

Quite simply, this car is going to make you smile. Its ridiculously disproportionate condition catches the eye of anyone and everyone, niche car enthusiast or otherwise. It is an utter joy to drive and I’ve even contemplated keeping it for my other half as frankly for this money, nothing comes close in terms of style, condition, usability and fun factor. It’s a “restored”, 2+2, Bertone styled Italian cabriolet for crying out loud! We know whichever lucky so-and-so ends up with this car will be the envy of their mates and leave here smiling all the way home, and for many more miles thereafter.

As with all of our vehicles, we have a digital folder available on request containing more images, walkaround videos, pictures of the underside and scans of the service history. The car can be viewed by appointment at our West London showroom.