Fiat Panda Gigante 4×4 Elettrica

“The official car to do whatever you want”. This is what a famous spot said some time ago to advertise one of the countless iterations of the beloved Pandino. But will it really be like this?

The Fiat Panda was born in 1980 by the hand of Giorgetto Giugiaro, who was charged with creating a competitor of the small French cars that was dimensionally slightly larger than the previous 126. The name by which it was called before being marketed, Rustica, was entirely representative of a spartan vehicle, of course, but above all full of clever architectural solutions: to expand the internal volume, the body was squared, and all the windows, even the windshield, were flat to reduce costs; the seats were thin, and, before the installation of a classic rear bench, there was a tensile structure consisting of a fabric that connected two removable tubes, configurable as a simple seat, a flat loading surface or even a cradle.

The sales success of the Panda was overwhelming, because it was aimed at a wide audience of users thanks to the numerous versions produced over the years, including the famous 4×4, equipped, as the name suggests, with all-wheel drive. Precisely this success allowed the Panda “141” to cross fashions, managing to remain on the market until 2003, when it was replaced by the “169” model which has carried out a nametag that reaches the present day.

Officine Amarcord wanted to test the fame of the Italian city car, trying to take the concept of factotum to the extreme: it was decided to make it a recreational vehicle, different from what we have seen so far, a functional development for outdoor activities. Let’s start with what immediately catches the eye, the exterior: ok, it’s a green car, this not only for the body color, but also for the totally electric propulsion, entrusted to two motors, one per axle, which can be seen from underneath the raised bodywork. Moreover, it is not only raised, it is also enlarged, by 50 mm on each side to be precise, if the color is not enough to make it visible; and at this point, how to resist installing twin wheels at the rear? Indispensable. Finally, the trunk has been remodeled to make even more space inside; yes, now let’s see what the interior looks like.

Apart from the unmissable instrumentation with digital display, the rear section of the Panda Gigante has been deprived of the seats and reupholstered to serve as a shelter from the elements, a real makeshift bed; the car’s equipment includes a stove that is also accessible from the outside, a sink with integrated water tank and a tap that can also be used as a hand shower outside the car. Do you remember the initial claim? Well, Officine Amarcord, with the Panda Gigante, helps to make it true, and provides everything you need for a zero-emission trip.

The set-up is complete, the adventure can begin.