2006 Fiat Panda MultiEco Concept
Since its divorce and cash-paid settlement with General Motors, Fiat
has done some serious thinking about the future. After a near-death
brush with accountants, the brand has moved well ahead, bouncing back
from the sorry state it was in just a year ago with several new
products for the Fiat brand and its luxury/performance subsidiary, Alfa
Romeo, destined to enter North America by 2008.
One of the key vehicles
behind the Italian firms rejuvenation is the Panda, a city car so
impressive that it bowled over judges, winning European Car of the Year
back in 2004 when it debuted. Though it is powered by an assortment of engines suitable for small
kitchen appliances, Fiats think big motto and practicality
strong-card helped this tall, boxy, but extremely affordable Panda put
young Europeans on wheels.
Given its outright popularity, Fiat has explored different
themed routes with the Panda. The companys first modification was to
allow the little machine to head for the hills by jacking up the
suspension, fitting it with a torquey MultiJet diesel motor and a
lightweight all-wheel drive system. The result? A Panda at
home in the wilderness. Fiat also added some colorful cladding and
some new bodywork, spot lamps and a safari-style roofrack system to the
Panda 4X4, and called it the Simba Concept. It was such a successful prototype that Fiat decided to produce it, giving it the name PandaCross. Its an appropriately cute
name for such a cute vehicle.
In more recent times, Fiat has become
more serious about the environment; this years Geneva Show served as a
platform from which the brand launched a variety of new alternative fuel
technologies, including a prototype hydrogen-powered Panda, a
near-production methane-powered Panda, and this, the Panda MultiEco.
As the name suggests, the MultiEco lumps together Fiats advancements in the environmental powertrain department. The MultiEco
uses the fundamentals of the methane-powered Panda and combines it with
other existing ecological engine technologies. By the way,
methane-powered cars arent anything new; in terms of the automotive
world, methane fuel is natural gas, also known as CNG, a cleaner fuel
than petrol. Coincidentally, the MultiEco runs on methane, one of the
primary emissions of the black-and-white, bamboo-eating Panda. All
silliness aside, what the MultiEco brings to the table is a new engine
thats able to run on gasoline, CNG, or a mix of the two, and in the
near future, hydrogen will be added to that list.
Built on a modular and flexible chassis with a tall body, the
Panda was an easy conversion to natural-gas power. Its frame allowed
for two new tanks - one longitudinally, one transversely - to be
fitted giving it a capacity of 13 gallons, without detracting from the
interior volume or cargo space in any way whatsoever. The MultiEcos
powerplant is a converted version of the Pandas FIRE (Fully Integrated
Robotized Engine), featuring a new belt-operated starter (BAS). This
innovative starter-alternator provides instantaneous starts for the
idle-stop mode, and is a similar system to that used in hybrids.
Before the
Pandas green-generated power hits the front wheels, it is mated to a
robotized clutchless manual gearbox, similar to the unit found in the
smart fortwo. This style of transmission combines the power and efficiency of a manual with the convenience of an
automatic, without the third pedal of the former or the energy-sapping torque
converter of the latter.
To make the most out of these incremental changes, Fiat has improved
the Pandas exterior by ways of material and styling. Using recyclable
thermoplastics to replace standard steel body panels, lightweight seats plus carbon-fiber and steel for the fuel tanks, Fiat shaved an
impressive 202 lbs off the curb weight of
its production contemporary.
To further enable the car to reach its claimed 217-mile range, the Pandas body spent some time in the windtunnel,
yielding more aerodynamically efficient bumpers, mirrors and other
extremities. Of course, to give it a bit of glamor for its Geneva
debut, the car was finished in pastel blue paint scheme with unique
blue-tinted headlamps and tail lamps. The Panda MultiEco also rides on
low-rolling resistance tires with a new compound developed by Pirelli
that reduces energy loss, but provides consistent grip in wet and dry conditions.
The Panda MultiEco doesnt so much bring anything new to the
game of green automobiles, as it perfects existing mechanical know-how.
The combined efforts of Fiat allow the MultiEco to cut its carbon
dioxide emissions by up to 42 percent as compared to the gasoline version,
which is roughly equal to 5.3 oz/mile. For comparison, a 2.0-liter gasoline-powered compact car (e.g. a VW Golf or Ford Focus) emits around 10.5 oz/mile. Further benefits of natural gas include cleaner emissions
than gasoline, and the reduced cost of natural gas means that the
MultiEco is roughly 63 percent cheaper to run in relative costs per mile.
As was mentioned, the MultiEco is Fiats concept demonstrator vehicle
for a milder, natural-gas/gasoline bi-fuel powered Panda that goes on
sale later this year. Too bad that nothing like this will be available on our side of the Atlantic.