Fiat 500e Gives New Buzz to Brand Lineup
One of Italian automaker Fiat’s latest editions takes the brand in a very Californian direction, picking perhaps the most appropriate venue to debut: the 2012 L.A. Auto Show.
The car has a 111-hp electric motor with 147 lb-ft of torque. Less torque than might be expected of an electric drivetrain, the car uses a 24 kW battery pack and can travel an estimated 80 miles, although the brand says staying around town will generally mean rolling past 100 miles on a single charge. That battery will also refill in less than four hours on a 240-volt charging station.
But there’s more different on this car than just the electric drivetrain. Fiat also managed to increase the car’s aerodynamics by 13 percent over the normal 500. It managed that by tweaking the car’s mirror caps, side sills, front fascia and even adding a spoiler to extend the roofline.
Apart from body tweaks and a new propulsion system, the car also gets a three color options including the orange you see here. There’s also a black anda white color scheme. Similarly, there are different color options for the interior, although only two in this case: black and “steam.”
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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