We all remember the Volkswagen e-Golf improved by Kreisel Electric with a 55,7 kWh battery and able to charge from 0 to 80 % in 20 minutes (via 150 kW CCS). Now Scuderia-E gives a similar treatment to the Fiat 500e.

Carlos Noya from the Spanish website FCE wrote an interesting article about the Fiat 500e improved by Scuderia-E and it’s worth reading.

Scuderia-E is a company dedicated to electric car conversions created by Gianfranco Pizzuto (co-founder of Fisker Automotive).

This company imports used Fiat 500e units from the USA, where they are officially sold by Fiat, then sells them in Europe.

There are three variants available:

Normal Fiat 500e with 24 kWh battery: 17.000 € (VAT exclusive) Fiat 500e with CCS capability and 40 kWh battery: 25.000 € (VAT exclusive) Fiat 500e with CCS capability and 56 kWh battery: 49.000 € (VAT exclusive) – limited to 49 units

To build the 40 and 56 kWh battery packs, Scuderia-E uses cylindrical 18650 cells from Sony. Furthermore, the Fiat 500e gets fast charging capability with the introduction of a CCS (type 2 variant) socket, which enables it to charge from 0 to 80 % in just 20 minutes.

The original battery pack made with Samsung SDI prismatic cells will be used in energy storage systems in developing countries.

Now my thoughts on this…

Considering that in Europe VAT is around 20 %, this makes the 40 kWh version cost 30.000 €, then you still have to pay for transport and possibly other fees. The new Nissan Leaf offers much better value for the money. However, this project is important to show what’s possible to do with current battery technology.

While I think that Fiat is a lost case, I still have hopes to see this automaker to improve the Fiat 500e and start selling it worldwide. Samsung SDI will introduce 120 Ah battery cells this year and if Fiat decides to use them, it can give a 43 kWh battery to the Fiat 500e for a 164 miles (264 km) EPA range. Complement it with fast charging via a CCS connector and it’ll be a very nice electric car.

The dinosaur Sergio Marchionne, FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) CEO retires at the end of this year. Improving the Fiat 500e before retiring it’s one of the few things that he can still do to leave a positive legacy.

What do you think about this project? Will it push Fiat to release a much improved 2019 Fiat 500e?

More info:

http://forococheselectricos.com/2018/01/scuderia-e-un-fiat-500e-bateria-de-56-kwh.html

http://www.scuderia-e.com/index-en.html