A Tiny Italian Bundle of Fun Rebooted by Silent Classics
There are many questions in life for which we have thus far failed to find a satisfactory answer. For example: why does toast always land butter-side down? Or what precisely is the purpose of a rubber chicken? And most pertinently on this occasion, what happens when you take a classic Fiat 500 – a car only marginally larger than a ripe melon – and stuff it full of EV batteries and magnets instead of a noisy two-pot and Italian expletives?
Well, dear reader, the answer is now apparent to us, and it constitutes a frisky mouse on steroids wearing a tin suit – alternatively known as the Silent Classics Fiat 500e.
Space: The Incredibly Cramped Frontier
Now, the original Fiat 500 was not so much a car as it was an exceptionally ambitious space-hopper. Two grown men climbing into one would seem like attempting to accommodate a dance troupe in a thimble.
In fact, the tiny tiddler must be a distant relative of the Tardis, as this lanky motoring journalist (over six foot with legs longer than a list of a Prime Minister’s broken promises) easily folded himself into the driver’s seat, without feeling entirely cramped. This car is a miracle of packaging only rivalled by IKEA’s flatpacks. Just don’t mention the rear seats!
Beside me sat Silent Classic’s CEO and Director, Jack Kerridge, a marvellously affable engineering wizard; and a man with the patience of a monk (despite my best [worst?] efforts at the wheel) and the optimism of a visionary who seems to be in on cosmic truth the rest of us aren’t yet privy to.
The Drive: Chuckability, Performance and Enhanced Brakes!
With the enthusiasm of a 10-year-old tanked up on toffee, I took to the tight and twisty city track like a tifosi after two shots of espresso. The original 500cc two-cylinder air-cooled engine in the back would only manage a raucous but wimpy 13bhp in its day, less than a coffee blender.
The 44kW AC motor in this reincarnation offers 59bhp and 160Nm of torque. Wowsers. That’s a significant boost in a package of insignificant weight. The 21kWh battery offers a range of 120 miles. With no performance figures to hand, I can report 0-62mph in “delightful astonishment” and a top speed of: “surely it was never meant to do this?”
“It wasn’t really engineered for performance,” Jack ruefully suggests and is duly ignored as I barely slow before wrenching it hard into the next corner and prodding the right pedal to set it charging off again like a scolded squirrel. Jack emits a noise somewhere between a nervous laugh and a short prayer in binary.
In a car like this, you can go fast enough to get the red cells coursing, but never quick enough to fear death – “speak for yourself!” Jack would surely interject, though. Watch the video and you’ll note his expression goes from surprise, to abject fear and finally resigned queasiness. I really should have slowed down, but I was frankly too busy enjoying myself to notice!
Unlike other classic conversions, there is no pretence of a manual box; it just has a lever offering forwards, backwards and a vague central position of neutral. You get a rackety handbrake, two pedals and a traditional key to start. But there’s a sympathetically styled digital display, displaying speed and battery percentage, along with regenerative braking and an uprated optional disk brake upgrade – thank God! Frankly the only thing you’ll miss is power steering, but then you can skip “biceps day” at the gym.
But you know what? It was brilliant! Agile, responsive, and grippy in the way that only limpets with a wheel at each corner could be.
Budget Conversion for a Budget Classic!
You’re intrigued, right? Suddenly, you’re imagining the possibilities, working out the lifestyle choices and pondering the price. Well, the V2 kit conversion is expected to cost around just £15,000, well below the usual £30-50k most classic conversions tend to cost.
Fiat built nearly four million of these cars over nearly two decades from 1957. So there’s plenty about still and you can pick up a classic Fiat 500 in fair nick for anywhere between £6,000 to £10,000. So we’re talking about £25k in total for a chic urban electric tearaway in a world where many soulless EVs tend to tout a price tag of about £40k! It also just manages to undercut the price of a brand new Fiat 500e – hmm… watch the video and then tell me, which would you rather rock?
Of course, you have to give up on the space, comfort, safety, tech, connectivity… should I go on? But none of that matters because the new cars can’t compete with the 500e’s retro cool, unflappable charm, and colossal charisma. Here, you’re driving something that makes strangers smile, pensioners reminisce, and children point.
Practical? Logical? Should you be hunting for classics to convert?
With EV battery technology evolving even faster than smartphones, you might argue that it’s too early to convert classics to electric. You might be right. But Jack is confident about his tech. He firmly believes that one of his classic 500 conversions is good for 150,000 miles – that’s about six times around the world!
While I’m not entirely convinced, the great thing about a plentiful and still relatively affordable classic like the original 500 is that you can take that chance. And while it wouldn’t be an easy process to swap out the battery tech, it surely would be possible to upgrade as and when, for example, when more efficient and safer solid-state batteries arrive.
In any case, this car laughs in the face of convention. For city-dwellers, it makes a lot of sense, and while it doesn’t shout “I’m saving the planet,” the fact is that there are few options more environmentally-friendly than repurposing an existing, already long-lived classic with recycled EV batteries and future-proofing it for generations to come!
The Fiat 500e by Silent Classics is what happens when nostalgia meets nerdiness, when sustainability gets a sense of humour, and when two grown men willingly jam themselves into a shoebox-shaped pod for a spin around the future and a few big laughs along the way.
If you found this useful, interesting or fun, consider supporting me via Patreon, Ko-Fi, or even grabbing a copy of one of my books on Amazon. Every bit helps me keep creating independent automotive content that actually helps people.
Support independent car journalism 🙏🏽☺️ grab my books on Amazon, take up membership to BrownCarGuy on YouTube, or join me on Ko-Fi or Patreon.
👉🏽 Channel membership: https://www.youtube.com/browncarguy/join
👉🏽 Buy me a Coffee! https://ko-fi.com/browncarguy
👉🏽 Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/BrownCarGuy
MY BOOKS ON AMAZON!
📖 Want to become an automotive journalist, content creator, or car influencer? Check out my book: How to be an Automotive Content Creator 👉🏽 https://amzn.eu/d/7VTs0ii
📖 Quantum Races – A collection of my best automotive sci-fi short stories! 👉🏽 https://amzn.eu/d/0Y93s9g
📖 The ULEZ Files – My all-action thriller set in a dystopian ULEZ future! 👉🏽 https://amzn.eu/d/jhADkOt
Big Thanks to my Supporters!
Stratigency – Book your FREE 15-minute strategy call now: 👉 https://meeting.calendarhero.com/BCG15#DriveToScale
Design5IT
Tom Conway-Gordon (https://www.instagram.com/anycoloursolongasits_black/)
And others! 🙏🏽☺️
Discover more from Brown Car Guy
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Leave a comment