Fiat shows electric car to which owner can add batteries
Fiat presented the Concept Centoventi at the Geneva Motor Show. The owner can customize this modular car as desired, which also applies to the battery capacity. The driver can expand it by adding up to four extra batteries.
Fiat reports that the Concept Centoventi has a set of modular batteries that allows a ‘great degree of flexible use’. The car comes standard with a battery that enables a range of 100 km. However, if the driver wants a longer range, he can add up to four batteries. This brings the maximum range to 500 km. Fiat does not report whether this stated range is based on, for example, the wltp standard often quoted in Europe.
The owner of the Centoventi can purchase or rent the extra batteries. Three of these additional batteries are placed under the floor of the car. Fiat seems to suggest that this can only be done by a service provider and not by the driver himself. To add the extra batteries, a sliding rail is provided which should make placement and installation relatively easy. This rail offers space for three batteries. In addition, an extra battery can be placed under the seat. This can be placed and removed by the owner, and can be charged at home, like the battery of an electric bicycle.
The dashboard is formed by a single piece with holes, so that occupants can easily attach all kinds of accessories, such as a cup holder or a glove compartment. There are two options for the instrument panel. With one option, the smartphone, in combination with the primary 10″ screen at the handlebars, forms the ‘heart of the system’. The other option is a more traditional solution, where a second integrated screen with a screen diagonal of 20″ is present.
The standard version of the car has an open roof, like a convertible. However, users can also opt for several roof options, including one with an integrated solar panel capable of delivering 50W of energy. According to Fiat, the car can be kept cool when parked. The solar panel also supplies the necessary power for the tailgate, which is a digital screen on the outside.
With this screen, the car becomes a ‘real social media device’, with which occupants can communicate with the outside world, according to the manufacturer. When the car is moving, the screen on the back only shows the Fiat logo, but when the car has come to a stop, the driver can choose the ‘messenger’ mode. Fiat also sees opportunities to use the digital tail lift as an advertising board, so that, for example, the costs of parking can be recouped.
For now, the Centoventi, Italian for 120, is a concept car of which it is not yet known when it will go into production. It is also unclear what the car and the various battery options will cost. Fiat describes the Centoventi as ‘the least expensive electric battery car on the market’, pointing out the modular set of batteries and the fact that the car would be very easy to clean, repair and maintain.