MAY 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 25F
iat is marking its 120th anniversary with the fully
electric, slightly bonkers and remarkably versatile
Centoventi concept. The name – Italian for 120 – may
major on heritage but, like the Citroën Ami One featured last
month, it’s a car for the future. And unlike the tiny French
runabout, the Fiat is more than just a city car. It might be
just 3680mm long, but the Centoventi is packed with neat
features, including range-extending modular battery packs,
swappable body parts, and dozens of accessories, including
3D printed parts for maximum geekage. Could this preview
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Do you really
want your car to
advertise your
fast-food guilty
pleasure to pay for
your parking?
It’s squircle
central inside,
and a bugger
to dust
Tough 4x4 ,
beach buggy,
courier van...
you choose
The Centoventi’s Messenger Tailgate
is an LED screen bridging the rear light
clusters. It wouldn’t allow you to project
obscene instructions to other drivers,
but could perhaps display safety
messages and even advertising.
‘On the move it might say “Baby
Onboard” or a brake message, and
maybe it could enable communication
between autonomous cars,’ says Busse.
And advertising? ‘Let’s say an agency
knows where your car is parked through
an app, and a nearby bakery or a burger
joint buys that space to advertise,
helping you pay for parking,’ says
Surely a Lego car made real. The boxy
shape is produced in one colour, with
buyers choosing from four inter-
changeable bumpers, roofs, and wheel
covers, with wraps replacing paint.
Design boss Klaus Busse says
the challenge was to democratise a
traditionally expensive electric vehicle
without making it feel cheap.
‘The shape,’ he says, ‘was born of ne-
cessity: the wheels are big, but narrow
for low rolling resistance, the windows
are all upright [reducing the sunlight
heating the interior and therefore
air-con use] and clean surfaces make
wrapping cheap and easy.’
The four different roofs ‘click into
place, like a docking station’, with
buyers able to choose from a poly-
carbonate hardtop, a canvas roof, an
Bigger batteries mean more driving
range but also more weight – a waste
if you’re only doing short trips. The
Centoventi offers a modular solution to
this conundrum.
As standard it comes with just one
battery mounted under the floor,
giving a range of 62 miles. Another
four are available to buy or hire, each
offering 62 miles extra for up to 310
miles. Three would be mounted under
the car by the dealer, alongside the
first battery. The fourth would be
mounted under a seat, and could be
removed to charge at home.
Fiat says the car’s weight distri-
bution and handling are unchanged
no matter the number of batteries
because the roll centre is between the
two axles and the batteries are below
the centre of gravity.
Your phone can clip in and pair with a
10-inch instrument binnacle or you can
upgrade (even after purchase) to the
20-inch Lingotto system – its shape
inspired by Fiat’s famed former factory
in Turin. ‘I see two groups of consumers:
one likes everything built into the car,
but the other says “I’m paying all the
data for my phone already, why invest in
another screen?”,’ says Busse.
Seat foam is sourced from the Milan
Furniture Fair (‘exquisite to sit on, you
can play with the density, washable,
UV proof’) and accessories can be 3D
printed. ‘You could go to the dealer,
order from a website, or buy the data
and print it yourself,’ says Busse.
‘It’s a positive approach to minimal-
ism, not austerit y.’
Busse. The design boss admits these
are theories for now, and there are legal
hurdles to clear.
integrated roof box, and a solar panel.
It’s production-viable, even with the
complexity of crash testing.
‘You start with the convertible roof,
as that’s the most challenging to
engineer,’ Busse explains.
He won’t confirm the concept
previews a new Panda, but ‘you cannot
ignore the Panda if you talk about our
history and democratising our history’.