Little real autonomy and high price. Does it remind you of anything, if we talk about electric cars? In many cases, this is what we tell ourselves today when we talk about the vast majority of cars with this power supply. Yet it was the same ingredients that led to the failure of the Fiat Panda Elettra, the first full electric of the Lingotto, released 30 years ago.
Although it was not about a native electric, but only a conversion of an existing model (it was made by Fiat with the Austrian Steyr-Puch on the basis of the Panda 750 CL), the Panda Elettra it was a small revolution, Fiat’s first step in the then futuristic electric market. It had a 9.2 kW engine, while the battery pack consisted of 12 6V lead-acid elements (which took up most of the rear of the car). Compared to the petrol Panda CL, the Elettra stands out for its reinforced braking circuit, different suspension settings and oversized tires.
The gasoline tank is maintained to power a small burner connected to the radiator of the heating system. Transmission takes place via the Panda’s normal 4-speed gearbox, with relative clutch. Three maximum speed indicators are then inserted on the speedometer for the first three gears: respectively 15, 25 and 40 km / h. The Panda Elettra could reach 70 km / h with a 0-40 pass in 10 seconds and overcome slopes up to 25%. With an average cruising speed of 50 km / h, the range stood at 100 km / h. In addition, the car is equipped with an automatic energy recovery device during braking and descending.
It comes from the inside eliminated the rear bench – the car thus becomes a two-seater – while the front part of the passenger compartment remains virtually unchanged. The on-board computer is located in the lower part of the dashboard and provides information on the state of charge of the batteries. The car is equipped with a battery charger as standard which recharges in about 8 hours and can be connected to the common 220V household socket. When it went out, it was expensive (25 million and 600 thousand lire, not a little for a two-seater town). Despite the evolution of 1992 (with the release of the Panda Elettra 2, with a 17.7 kW engine and lead-acid batteries replaced by nickel-cadmium elements), the car went out of production in 1998. Since then, at home Fiat and then FCA, we are back to hearing about battery-powered cars only now, with the 500 Elettrica.
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