One of the most iconic Fiat nameplates, the original 500 – commonly known as Topolino – is back with an electric twist.
Meet the Fiat Topolino, an all-electric quadricycle based on the Citroën Ami that marks a further step in the Italian brand's path towards electrification. Targeting young customers and city lovers, the Fiat Topolino is the brand's fourth battery-electric vehicle after the New 500, the E-Doblo and E-Ulysse.
The Topolino brings back a name that once paved the way for urban mobility. Produced by Fiat from 1936 to 1955, the Fiat 500 – a.k.a. the Topolino – was an ideal solution for Europe's crowded and narrow city streets.
According to Fiat, the new Topolino perfectly embodies the dolce vita and Italian spirit. It clearly looks like a Fiat, at least when seen from the front – the automaker has released only one photo of its new EV, but it’s enough to realize that we’re actually dealing with a Citroën Ami in disguise.
Compared to the Citroën Ami and Opel Rocks Electric – itself a rebadged Ami – the Fiat Topolino features significant styling changes at the front.
It adopts a brand-specific smooth fascia with two big round headlights and two smaller round turn signals placed immediately underneath – on the Ami and Rocks Electric, the turn signals are right below the windshield.
Overall, the Fiat Topolino sports a friendlier face than its siblings from the Stellantis stable, and clearly reminds of the bigger Fiat New 500.
The Topolino is shown without doors in this photo, and that's likely because what we're seeing here is a beach buggy variant similar to the Citroën My Ami Buggy. Besides the lack of doors, the tiny EV also features a folding fabric roof, a throwback to the original Topolino.
Fiat did not reveal more photos the Topolino, but the rear end is likely to feature a similar styling treatment as the front, while the interior should be largely identical with the Ami.
The all-electric powertrain is likely the same with the Ami, which is powered by a 5.5-kilowatt-hour battery pack feeding energy to an 8-horsepower (6-kilowatt) engine. The Citroën Ami has a range of 47 miles (75 kilometers) on the World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) and its top speed is limited to 28 mph (45 kph).
According to European regulations, quadricycles can be driven with or without a license by anyone over the age of 16.