The Fiat Punto is a supermini car (B-segment) produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1993 to 2018, spanning over three generations. The third generation of the car was marketed between 2005 and 2009 as the Grande Punto, and between 2009 and 2012 as the Punto Evo, until the single-word Punto name was reintroduced. , nearly nine million units had been sold globally. Production of the first generation Punto was 3.429 million units, second generation 2.96 million units, and third generation 2.67 million units. First generation (176; 1993) Internally codenamed Project 176, the Punto was announced in September 1993, as a replacement for the aging Fiat Uno, and launched at the end of 1993 or the beginning of 1994, depending on the market. The Fiat Punto was voted European Car of the Year for 1995, defeating rival Volkswagen Polo by only 78 points. The official launch of the Punto in the United Kingdom was in October 1993, at the London Motorfair. The Punto was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, and originated as a 1990 design proposal for Renault's project X57, which would become the Renault Clio. When Giugiaro's proposal was not chosen, he took the design to Fiat, who accepted it. The Punto was available as a three-door or five-door hatchback, a two-door cabriolet and a three-door panel van. As the majority of the new Fiat group models, the suspension was all independent, composed of MacPherson struts at the front and trailing arms at the rear. Entry level in the Punto range were the 1.1 and 1.2 L petrol engines and the 1.7 diesel engine. The 1.2 engine's actual capacity is 1242 cc, available in three versions. The first, was fitted in the Punto ELX 75 and produced at 6000 rpm while the second, fitted to Punto ELX 85 produced at 6000 rpm. The third was a engine which eventually replaced the 1.1 engine. Sporting versions A Sporting model was also available with a 1.6 8v updated 128 SOHC engine, producing , later replaced in 1997 by the 1.2 16v FIRE engine used in the 85 ELX, and a power drop to . GT versions The top of the range model was the 1.4 GT, using an evolution of the turbocharged 128 SOHC engine originally found in the Fiat Uno Turbo Mk II, capable of running over and reaching in 7.9 seconds, and came fitted with a five speed manual gearbox.