The Cutest Existential Crisis on Four Wheels
Image Credit: Stellantis.
I spend my days writing about the future. I'm talking about electric hypercars that can flatten your internal organs with a tap of the accelerator, and giant, silent SUVs that have more computing power than the first supercomputers. It's all very impressive, very serious, and very… big. But today, something landed in my inbox that reminded me that the future doesn't have to be so serious. It can also be wonderfully ridiculous.
Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to my new obsession: the Fiat Topolino Vilebrequin edition. And yes, it's a car. Sort of. It's more like a golf cart that went on a very, very chic vacation to the French Riviera, met a luxury swimwear brand, and decided to have a makeover. And what an adorable result it is.
Image Credit: Stellantis.
This little bundle of joy is a special edition of Fiat's already charming Topolino electric microcar. Fiat teamed up with the French brand Vilebrequin, famous for its posh beachwear and fondness for sea turtles. The result is a car - and I'm using that term with a giant, affectionate wink - that is pure summer. It's based on the open-sided "Dolcevita" version, which means there are no doors, just some lovely rope barriers to stop you from tumbling out after one too many glasses of rosé.
It features a crisp white and blue color scheme, a roll-back canvas roof for maximum sunshine absorption, and fabric seat cushions decorated with Vilebrequin's iconic turtle print. It is, without a doubt, the single most charming vehicle I've seen all year. It makes you want to throw on a pair of oversized sunglasses, tie a silk scarf around your hair, and trundle down to a pebbly beach in Saint-Tropez. The CEO of Vilebrequin called it "the definitive summer toy," and for once, a CEO is not exaggerating.
Image Credit: Stellantis.
Before you start measuring your garage and checking your bank account, let's talk about what this little beachcomber can actually do, because the performance figures are… something else. The Topolino Vilebrequin is capable of a top speed of 28 miles per hour. Twenty-eight is the correct number. I guess a particularly athletic squirrel could give this tiny shopping cart a run for its money.
Power comes from a puny 6-horsepower electric motor fed by a 5.5 kWh battery pack. For context, the battery in a big Ford F-150 Lightning is about 24 times larger. This petite powerhouse gives you a range of up to 47 miles on a full charge, which is more than enough for a full day of gelato runs, trips to the market for fresh baguettes, and finding the perfect spot to pretend to read a book while people-watching.
Image Credit: Stellantis.
We have established that it's not exactly a cross-country tourer. It's a specialized tool for a specialized job: maximizing joy over short distances where the scenery is the main event. And if you're driving this car, you're not in a hurry. You've already won at life. The price for this slice of rolling paradise starts at around $15,800, which is a lot for a glorified go-kart, but can you really put a price on this much happiness? The only catch? It's a "collector's edition" only available in France and Italy. Of course, it is. The rest of us will just have to look at the pictures and dream.
This adorable little machine isn't just a quirky one-off. It's a tiny, turtle-printed sign of a much bigger trend. The Topolino is part of a family of micro-EVs from parent company Stellantis, which also includes the Citroën Ami and Opel Rocks-e. And they are making a lot of them. Production of these little guys is on track to hit 70,000 units this year.
Image Credit: Stellantis.
Stellantis just announced they are pouring $1.4 billion into their assembly plant in Morocco to more than double its production capacity. They're going from making about 230,000 vehicles a year to over half a million, adding thousands of new jobs in the process.
I love the raw power of a high-performance EV just as much as any other driver, but there's something appealing about a vehicle that embraces its tiny limits. The Topolino Vilebrequin doesn't even try to pretend to be anything it's not. It got me thinking - the automotive world has been focused on going faster and getting bigger for a very long time. Maybe what we really need is to go smaller and happier?
