Iconic Fiat 500 enters electric era with retro revamp

Turin: In a workshop in Turin - the historic home of Italian carmaker Fiat - vintage 500 models are getting a makeover with electric engines.

Classic Fiat 500s, made between 1957 and 1975, are being brought "into the 21st century", said Giovanni Gentile, owner of Officine Gentile.

Outside the workshop, rusty hulks of the tiny, curvy cars are lined up waiting their turn.

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Inside, sparks fly as workers cut and weld the metal. The cars then get re-painted, re-wired and the electric engines are installed.

The charging socket is hidden behind the vintage Fiat symbol at the front of the car.

Many of the re-vamped cars are painted in pastel colours and some are convertibles.

The retrofitted cars sell for around 40-50,000 euros, with convertibles for up to 80,000 euros.

The original Fiat 500 became a design icon and some 4.2 million models were made.

They are still popular with vintage car enthusiasts the world over and regularly attract large rallies around Italy and beyond.

The model was relaunched in 2007 with some modern tweaks and is now also sold electric.

Giorgio Pagliero, sales director at Officine Gentile, said the workshop wanted to maintain "the legacy and historic nature" of the cars while giving them "a second life".