Fiat's Multiplina Microcar Has a Weight Problem to Solve Before 2028

Fiat is close to locking down the design of the Multiplina, a four-seat microcar that made its first real public appearance at the Paris motor show. The small electric runabout was previously seen only in a single teaser image earlier this year, and its styling has changed since then. Fiat's head of design, François Leboine, told Autocar that the car is now "close to production". It is due on sale in 2028, but the engineers still have a stubborn problem to solve, and it comes down to weight.

The Multiplina is not a conventional car. It is a quadricycle, which means it is homologated under a different set of rules. The Citroën Ami and Fiat Topolino sit in the L6e class, which caps them at 8bhp and 28mph. The Multiplina is being developed for the L7e class, which allows up to 20bhp and 56mph. The catch is that L7e also sets a maximum weight in running order of 450kg, only 25kg more than L6e allows.

That leaves very little headroom. The Multiplina is essentially a stretched Ami, which already weighs a claimed 417kg. Adding two extra seats, more structural metal and a bigger battery for more range than the Ami's 46 miles pushes it past the limit. Leboine said the team is working to strip mass out of every part of the car, borrowing the mindset of race car engineers who will drill a hole in a component if it saves grams.

The styling is a deliberate nod to history. The silhouette, vertical nose and round headlights all recall the 1956 Fiat 600 Multipla, which the company billed as the original people mover. Fiat also points out that the new car has roughly the same footprint as the 1957 Fiat 500. That puts it just under three metres long, compared with 2.53m for the Topolino. The Multiplina will sit between the Topolino and the 500 in the range, filling what former Fiat boss Olivier François called the missing link between the Topolino and a traditional city car.

The project fits Fiat's wider push into small, affordable vehicles, built around the 500 and Panda. The company is betting that micromobility will be one of its strengths within Stellantis. The Topolino, which has been on sale in Italy for three years, is only now arriving in the UK, priced from £8,995. Fiat Professional also offers the Tris, a three-wheeled delivery vehicle built on the same underpinnings. The Multiplina's success will depend on whether Fiat can keep it under 450kg without losing the four-seat practicality that sets it apart.