2012 Fiat 500 Abarth- Only 10,887mi. Fastest Bolt-on Fiat On The Road on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Recharge Wrap-up: Renault-Nissan at COP22, BMW launches Cruise e-Bike

The Renault-Nissan Alliance has been chosen to provide a fleet of electric cars for the UN's COP22 Climate Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco. The group will provide 50 passenger EVs – the Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf, and Nissan e-NV200 – to shuttle delegates to and from conference venues. The Alliance will also provide more than 20 charging stations to support the shuttle fleet. The group provided electric shuttles for the historic COP21 summit in Paris last year. Read more from Renault-Nissan. FCA, Iveco, and gas grid company Snam have signed an agreement to boost natural gas as a cleaner alternative fuel for Italy. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, FCA and Iveco will work together to develop CNG vehicles, while Snam will invest in CNG supply facilities like filling stations to support a growing fleet. Italy leads Europe in the amount of natural gas consumed for transport, with 1 million vehicles currently on the road. Read more at Green Car Congress. LG Chem has officially announced it will build a battery plant in Poland to the tune of about $340 million. Located near Wroclaw in southwestern Poland, the plant is expected to produce 100,000 batteries a year for 200-mile EVs beginning in 2019. The plant could help Poland in its goal to reduce pollution by introducing a million EVs on its roads by 2025. "We will turn the Poland EV battery plant into a mecca of battery production for electric vehicles around the world," says UB Lee, President of LG Chem's Energy Solution Company. Construction begins in the second half of 2017. Read more from Automotive News Europe. BMW has introduced the Cruise e-Bike. Its Bosch Performance Line electric motor provides electric assistance at speeds of up to 15 mph. The battery can be either be removed or remain on the bike for charging, which takes 3.5 hours for a full charge. "BMW aims to be the leading provider of premium mobility services, and our bicycle collection furthers that mission," says BMW Accessory and Lifestyle Manager Eric Riehle. "As we enter the holiday season, these bikes make the perfect present for those wishing for their first BMW." The BMW Cruise e-Bike costs $3,430. Read more from BMW.

The right way to own and operate a vintage Fiat 500

Annetta Calisi and her husband have restored their Fiat 500D to the same specification with which it left the factory in 1964. The result is a cheeky yellow cinquecento that looks the part of a 1960's movie star car. For that matter, so does Annetta, who dresses appropriately mod for this latest Petrolicious video, The Speed of Sunshine.
At one point in the video, the lucky owner mentions, "I keep saying 'fun' don't I?" which does a fine job of summing up what it must be like to own this little rascal. Watch below, and smile.
Have you seen the rest of the really well-made Petrolicious video series? If you like classic metal, well shot and well recorded, you should check out our tag page, here (we think you've earned a little video break).

Is this 1983 Fiat Spider EV conversion worth Porsche 911 GTS money?

$140,000 can buy a lot of car. Nothing about Fiat Spiders built in the 1980s would be described as "a lot," unless you're referring to the quantity of maintenance that is sometimes required just to keep them on the road. In that context, this eBay find, a 1983 Pininfarina Spider America EV conversion, might be a bit of a two-for-one. Not only do you get a lot more power, but you might even get a lot more reliability.  Sure, you could score a brand-new Porsche 911 Carrera GTS for the price of this humble Italian roadster, but the fine folks of Roadster Salon think they might be able to make it worth your while.  This conversion retains the stock five-speed manual transmission, but mates it to a dual-motor electric drive unit that produces an unspecified amount of horsepower and more than 200 pound-feet of torque. Admittedly, those numbers don't really stack up nicely against the brand-new Porsche's, but, hey, at least it's a manual? The power unit itself is supplied by Electric GT, which has carved out a niche for itself developing electric "crate motors" that are as close to plug-and-play as possible, which should be a point in favor of this conversion's overall build quality, as custom fabrication would have been kept to a minimum.  Roadster Salon will also go over the suspension and steering components, updating them to modern standards (and ostensibly to support the extra power from the EV conversion), so you're getting more for your money than just some electron-pumping spinny bits.  So, it's much fancier than your run-of-the-mill 1980s Fiat Spider; you just have to spend a lot more money for the privilege. Like, an astronomical amount. Oh, and the car hasn't actually been built yet; what you're bidding for is a build slot in a forthcoming 2020-21 production allocation.  If you desperately want your own Fiat Pininfarina Spider America EV but can't stomach the $139,995 price tag, we have great news. Roadster Salon will sell you an "EV Junior" variant, which retails for just $89,995 — a bargain! Alternatively, you can wait for Electric GT to finalize its crate Fiat crate EV motors for mass production and just slap one together yourself. How hard can it be?