Multiplina concept was previewed in a Fiat presentation, and enhanced here by Autocar
Multiplina is a four-seat sibling to the Topolino – with the same footprint as the original Fiat 500
Fiat will launch a new tiny four-seat EV called the Multiplina, which will feature retro styling cues and be around the same size as the 1950s 500, as part of its continued focus on small vehicles.
The new urban runabout has been previewed with the Multiplina Concept, shown during a micromobility event at the Vatican City.
The 2028 production version will sit above the Italian firm’s current two-seat Topolino but below the current Fiat 500 and the affordable electric city car due to be shown later this year.
Plans for a four-seat microcar were first hinted at with mention of a new ‘Quattrolino’ model during a Stellantis strategy presentation last month.
Fiat boss Olivier François showed an image of the new Multiplina (enhanced above by Autocar) during a presentation and said it would be revealed later this year, likely at the Vatican in October or November.
François said the Multiplina would “be super-important for us, because it’s really the missing link between Topolino and the traditional city car”.
The new Multiplina concept takes its name from the 600 Multipla of 1956, which Fiat called the “original people mover”, but the firm also noted that it has a similar footprint to the 500 of 1957. That would make it just under three metres in length, compared with 2.53m for the Topolino.
While the Citroën Ami-based Topolino sits in the L6 quadricycle category, the Multiplina will be built to the L7 regulations, allowing it to be more powerful and faster.
The Topolino is limited to 28mph and gets a range of around 46 miles from a 5.4kWh battery, but Fiat claims the Multiplina will be able to reach a top speed of 55mph – the maximum allowed under the L7 regulations – and offer an “extended range”, which should make it a far more versatile offering, able to operate outside of city centres.
The Multiplina will use the same basic platform as the Topolino and the three-seat Tris commercial vehicle, but this will be extensively reworked to offer more space, range and a larger battery.
The styling of the new concept makes clear callbacks to the original 600 Multipla, including the overall silhouette, vertical nose and round headlights.
François said it would “play a lot on our DNA and be rooted in our style”, adding that it shows that “Fiat will be the brand within Stellantis that will really go all in on micromobility”.
The expansion into ‘urban mobility vehicles’ – the category below full-sized cars – is part of Fiat’s continued focus on small and affordable vehicles, centred around the existing 500 and Panda, the latter of which continues to be sold in Italy.
The forthcoming Grizzly is a Dacia Duster-rivalling C-segment SUV and will be the largest vehicle the firm will produce.
The Topolino was launched three years ago in italy but is only now being introduced in the UK, where it will be priced from £8995.
Commercial division Fiat Professional also now offers the Tris, a three-wheeled commercial delivery vehicle.
Fiat to help Vatican go electric
Fiat has also agreed a new partnership with the Vatican City State, the world’s smallest country, to provide dedicated fleet of 30 light electric micromobility vehicles.
The mix of Topolino two-seaters and Tris trucks will be used to support daily operations in the city state, an enclave within the Italian city of Rome. The home of the Catholic church measures just 0.19 square miles.
The new vehicle fleet is intended to help the Vatican City State meet its goal of a zero-emissions vehicle fleet by the end of the decade, as part of a programme called Ecological Conversion 2030.
The first 20 vehicles in the fleet were presented to the governate of the city state by Fiat boss Olivier François.
What was the original Multipla?
The original 600 Multipla was produced from 1956 until 1967, with Fiat shifting around 240,000 examples.
Described by Autocar in 1957 as “one of the most original and ingenious small car designs to appear since the war”, it featured the drivetrain from the 600 and the front suspension from the 1100.
It measured just 3531mm long yet could seat six people, in part because of its boxy design (we wrote that “the outline of the Multipla is no more than a modified rectangle” but praised its “attractive, chunky look”) and the fact the driver’s seat was located directly above the front axle.
Fiat subsequently revived the Multipla name for a radically styled – and much larger – Bravo-based MPV in 1998.
