2023 Fiat Topolino unveiled as tiny, city-only electrical runabout

Fiat took a visit to the heritage properly to launch its personal model of the quirky Citroën Ami unveiled in 2020. Referred to as Topolino, the electrical two-seater (it isn’t legally thought-about a automobile) shares its fundamental proportions with its French sibling however contains a retro-inspired exterior design.

The identify wasn’t chosen randomly: Topolino (which suggests “little mouse” in Italian) was the nickname given to the unique 500 constructed between 1936 and 1955. The primary-generation mannequin’s contribution to the challenge stops there. Designers as an alternative drew inspiration from the second-generation 500 to distinguish the modern-day Topolino from the Citroën-branded mannequin, and we might argue the entrance finish is much more retro than the brand new 500’s. It is characterised by a pair of small, spherical lights, smaller flip alerts, and a chunk of trim formed like a metallic bumper.

Thick ropes change the doorways whereas creating a visible hyperlink between the Topolino and the beach-friendly 500 Jolly and 600 Jolly constructed by Ghia, amongst different coachbuilders, from the Nineteen Fifties to the Seventies. Fiat hasn’t launched photographs of the again finish but, and it is holding the inside beneath wraps in the intervening time. The seats look so much just like the Ami’s, nevertheless, and we’re anticipating a lot of the inside modifications might be trim-related.

Equally, the Italian model is not able to publish technical specs. For context, the 1,070-pound Ami measures 95 inches lengthy, 55 inches extensive, and 60 inches tall; it matches behind a Ford F-250 Tremendous Responsibility geared up with the longer of the 2 obtainable cargo containers. Energy comes from an electrical motor that attracts electrical energy from a 5.5-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack to make eight horsepower. Driving vary checks in at about 45 miles, which underlines the mannequin’s positioning as a low-speed, city-only car, and if you happen to maintain your foot down you will ultimately attain a high pace of 27.9 mph. These using mower-like specs place the Topolino within the quadricycle phase.

Inbuilt Morocco, the Fiat Topolino will go on sale in choose markets within the coming months. Pricing hasn’t been introduced however it’s of little curiosity to us, as a result of nothing suggests this tiny EV will obtain clearance to journey to the US. Throughout the pond, it is affordable to imagine pricing will begin within the neighborhood of €10,000 (about $10,700). Hold an eye fixed out for it the subsequent time you are on a Mediterranean island.

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