Fiat Bugster is no enviro-pest
Offbeat buggy emits zero emissions, makes extensive use of recycled materials and makes its world debut this week in BrazilBrazil: a country best known for the samba, the world's best soccer team (arguably) and bikinis that seemingly use less fabric than the average hanky. However, less well known is that the large South American nation is also one of the world's top 10 automotive producers, with particular expertise in flex-fuel vehicles.
So feast your eyes on this, the appropriately named Fiat Bugster, which was jointly conceived by the marque's Brazilian and Italian divisions.
With more than a passing resemblance to the KTM X-Bow (more here), the Bugster is billed as "an off-road car designed to make saving the planet outrageous fun."
The offbeat buggy does away with combustion power altogether, with lithium-ion batteries providing charge for the 59kW/220Nm electric motor. Drive is relayed to the wheels by the same Dualogic transmission used by the Punto.
Fiat says the batteries can be charged at home by simply plugging into an electrical socket and, given that the 93 lithium-ion batteries are the heaviest part of the drivetrain, Fiat's Italian/Brazilian boffins housed them amidships to provide the Bugster with the best possible weight distribution.
The result, says Fiat, is a car with better handling and more fun factor than most electric vehicles to date -- excluding, perhaps, the US-built Tesla.
The Bugster's environmentally friendly credentials are bolstered by elements such as a tool kit made from recycled plastic and reinforced with natural sisal fibres.
In addition, the seats are made from foam produced with 30 per cent recycled soya bean oil, while the body panels use clay modified by ‘nanotechnology' to ensure chunks don't fall off every time the Bugster encounters a pothole.
The Bugster makes its world debut this week (on October 30) at the Sao Paulo Motor Show and Fiat boasts it's the latest in the company's "long history of environmental advanced cars".
It's not an idle boast though, as among the company's offerings for the Latin American market is the Siena Tetrafuel, which can run on pure ethanol, a petrol/ethanol blend, pure petrol or compressed natural gas. Not only can the car digest each of the four fuels, it automatically switches to whichever energy source is most suitable for the driving demands being placed on it.
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