Series boss Alan Gow has played down talk that the Abarth Grande Punto could feature on the Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship grid lateꦦr this season.

Reports last week suggested that If Motorsport was evaluating plans to build a pair of Grande Puntos tꦅo the BTCC's new NGTC regulations, with a view to ent𒉰ering the cars into the series later this year.

However, Gow now has p𝓀layed down talk that the Grande Punto could be one of the first cars bꦉuilt to the new rules, insisting that the car was too small to fit into the regulations.

"Nobody, from any team, has contacted TOCA and enquired about entering a Fiat Punto (of any model) in the BTCC," he wrote on his forum on the official series website BTCC.net, "so I'm rather bemus💝ed to be𝄹 reading about such a 'project'.

"However let me just clarify something. The car would certainly not be eligible - under ꧟either the current or the new BTCC (NGTC) regulations - as it doesn't even come🥂 close to meeting the minimum dimensions.

"It's simply not 'Grande' enough..."