Cars may be getting larger by the day but one manufacturer is bucking that trend with the Volpe — a vehicle so tiny we’re not sure whether you’d drive it or wear it.
The Volpe (‘fox’ in Italian) is one metre wide and 1.6 metres tall, making it one of the smallest cars on the planet. It’s so tiny, in fact, it’s possible to park the thing in the gap between two parked cars at the side of the road. If, for some reason, you can’t find a space large enough, it’s actually possible to drive the Volpe into your office building, ride the lift and to park it next to your desk.
Sadly, the Volpe’s not the prettiest of cars. It was penned by Italian design firm Zagato — the folks responsible for the Aston Martin V12 Zagato amongst other works of automotive art — but they were clearly having an off day when they came up with this thing. Our first instinct upon seeing it was to burn it with fire, but we settled for closing the browser momentarily while we composed ourselves.
According to The Sun, the Volpe is the brainchild of Romano Artioli, former owner of Bugatti and Lotus. Don’t expect sporty performance, though. Consumers will be offered a choice of two Volpe editions — a battery electric model with a 30mph top speed and 43.5 mile range, and a range extended electric vehicle that uses a small petrol engine as a generator to recharge the batteries. The latter will do 50mph and will travel 236 miles before it needs refuelling.
If you can get around the looks, it’s clear the Volpe has a lot going for it. It’s small, can cut through traffic like a hideously deformed knife through butter, is easy to park, carries two occupants in tandem and should only cost around €6,900 (£5,628) when it hits Italian shores in 2013.
What do you think? Is it a gimmick for hobbits only or does a car of this stature have a place in our society? Let us know on our Facebook page or in the comments below.
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