This adorable little Fiat 500 will soon be available as an electric city car

As compact and adorable as the current Fiat 500 electric is, a car restoration company in Italy is planning on revealing a fully electrified version of the even more compact, impossibly adorable original Fiat 500.

The Real Italian Car Company – whose fine work we sampled recently – explained to TopGear.com there are plans to electrify the Italian classic, turning it into a zero-emission, congestion and ULEZ charge-exempt runaround.

The team is currently analysing a number of proposals from various suppliers, though at this early stage they’re still determining the overall vehicle concept.

“We’re going into the realms of proper engineering, it’s not back-of-a-cigarette-packet stuff,” said TRICC’s Anthony Peacock. “We’ll set out the parameters like weight, range and packaging, and see where we go from there.”

The proposals hail from the UK, the USA and Italy, with a range of different options – batteries and a motor in the rear boot, for example, or up front, or indeed front and back. “Like all electric cars it’s a trade off,” he said, “between weight, range and space.

“A huge number of batteries gives you a lot of range, but that increases the weight. And do you really need 200 miles of range in a car like this? And while the concept of having batteries front and back might balance the car, we need to think about luggage space.

“We’re leaning towards the solution with the batteries in the boot at the moment, but it’s early days,” he added.

The plan is to have a working electric Fiat 500 prototype by early next year. “We have to do it in a sustainable, scalable way,” Peacock said. “It’s got to be with the right partner.”

In the meantime, they’re busy fulfilling the increased order bank of original, restored combustion-engined 500s. Want to know how they turn out? Find out here.

Photography: Olgun Kordal