Fiat has quietly revealed the final design for its upcoming Multiplina city car, which will feature retro styling cues and be around the same size as the 1950s 500, as part of its continued focus on small vehicles.
The new urban runabout was previewed in a single picture earlier this year, but has now made its debut on Fiat's stand at the Paris motor show, alongside the larger Multiplay concept which channels the spirit of the quirky 1990s Multipla MPV.
Due on sale in 2028, the Multiplina will sit above the Italian firm’s current two-seat Topolino but below the current Fiat 500 and an affordable electric city car due to be shown later this year.
Former Fiat boss Olivier François said recently that the Multiplina would “be super-important for us, because it's really the missing link between Topolino and the traditional city car”.
The new Multiplina concept takes its name from the 600 Multipla of 1956, which Fiat called the “original people mover”, but the firm also noted that it has a similar footprint to the 500 of 1957. That would make it just under three metres in length, compared with 2.53m for the Topolino.
While the Citroën Ami-based Topolino sits in the L6 quadricycle category, the Multiplina will be built to the L7 regulations, allowing it to be more powerful and faster.
The Topolino is limited to 28mph and gets a range of around 46 miles from a 5.4kWh battery, but Fiat claims the Multiplina will be able to reach a top speed of 55mph – the maximum allowed under the L7 regulations – and offer an “extended range”, which should make it a far more versatile offering, able to operate outside of city centres.
The Multiplina will use the same basic platform as the Topolino and the three-seat Tris commercial vehicle, but this will be extensively reworked to offer more space, range and a larger battery.
The styling of the new concept makes clear callbacks to the original 600 Multipla, including the overall silhouette, vertical nose and round headlights.
