A fully loaded Fiat Topolino from Belgian coachbuilder Cavalier runs about €30,000, roughly $33,300. That’s the same money as a new Honda Civic Hybrid in the United States.
The Civic seats five, cruises on the interstate and carries a full warranty from one of the largest automakers on earth. The Topolino seats two and makes 8 horsepower.
Cavalier’s upgrade packages start at €12,000 ($13,300) and climb to about €20,000 ($22,200) for the full treatment. The base Topolino starts just under €10,000 ($11,100) in Italy.
Do the math. The top Cavalier package costs twice what Fiat charges for the car underneath it.
In the U.S., where the Topolino lists at $13,995, the conversion still costs more than the donor vehicle.
Fiat built the Topolino as a city appliance with charm. It’s a tiny electric two-door that harks back to when cars were small, light and fun. Cavalier has decided that charm deserves a luxury invoice.
The work starts with paint. Buyers choose from ten two-tone schemes, from Ivory White over Sage Green to Deep Black with Deep Bordeaux Red. Light Silver Grey with Warm Terracotta Orange is the one to get.
Thirteen single-tone colors cover anyone who finds two-tone too cute.
Sixteen-inch forged wheels with distinctive center caps fill the arches. An optional Night Package swaps the Topolino’s exposed grey exterior trim for painted black pieces.
Inside, the plastic gives way to Nappa leather and Alcantara on the seats, steering wheel, door cards and headliner. A panoramic glass roof switches from clear to opaque on command.
There are also leather grab handles, wool floor mats and configurable ambient lighting. This is yacht trim in a car whose stock version asks owners to clip a smartphone to the dash for a display.
Cavalier fixes that with a 3.7-inch central screen. It’s small, but it’s a screen.
The firm also promises a bespoke Bluetooth audio system. It hasn’t said how many speakers it includes.
The more useful changes are the ones you can’t see. The factory Topolino uses a 5.5-kWh lithium-ion pack good for 47 miles (75 km), feeding a single front-mounted motor.
Cavalier offers a 10.8-kWh battery that stretches range to 93 miles (150 km). That nearly doubles the car’s reach and turns it from an errand runner into something you could actually commute in.
A revised control unit raises top speed from 28 mph (45 km/h) to 43 mph (70 km/h). Still no highway, but owners will no longer be the rolling roadblock on a 40-mph arterial.
Then comes the detail that will raise eyebrows. Cavalier offers a 2-kW Webasto diesel heater.
In an electric car.
The logic holds up. A small battery drains fast when it has to warm a cabin in a Belgian January, and burning a little fuel saves range. It also means a zero-emission city car can leave home with a tank of diesel on board.
None of this makes the Cavalier Topolino a bad idea. The bigger battery and higher top speed fix the two real complaints about the stock car.
The price, though, puts it in a strange spot. Cavalier is betting there’s a buyer who wants a microcar, loves it enough to triple its cost, and doesn’t want a Civic Hybrid for the same check.
Cavalier hasn’t said how many it expects to sell.
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