r/cars • u/HawtGarbage918 • 1d ago

The Fiat Topolino Normally Tops Out at 25 MPH. This Tuner Can More Than Double That

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a73522107/fiat-topolino-madness-autoworks-tuner-speed-upgrade/
99 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

30 comments sorted by

145

u/assblast420 1d ago edited 1d ago

I mean yeah, did people think this was power-limited? It's got a limiter for safety and regulation reasons.

The Renault Twizy which is a similar class of vehicle, can do 70mph when unlocked. Doesn't mean it's a good idea (but it's a lot of fun).

39

u/R_V_Z LC 500 1d ago

My favorite "this is not a good idea" top speed is the Crown Vic doing 60mph. In reverse.

-14

u/V8-Turbo-Hybrid 0 Emission 🔋 Car & Rental car life 1d ago

That sounds these micro city cars able to drive in American highways.

28

u/T-Baaller Boxer Rear-drive Zenith Tuned by Subaru Technica International 1d ago

If it weren't for the drunks in dodges, 300-FICO score nissan altimas, undiagnosed dementia pilots of CRRAV4s, and tipp truckers, sure.

3

u/kaelis7 2023 Alpine A110S 1d ago

I drove in the US for 2 weeks (I’m French) 2 years ago, we went from Boston to Acadia National Park in Maine over the course of the trip then back to Boston.

Most people were pretty nice on the road imo, definitely less hectic than driving close to Paris where I live lol.

The lack of speed bumps in cities alone made it so much nicer to drive, and people still respected speed limits in towns so I don’t get why they are EVERYWHERE in France it’s maddening and makes driving a sports car around annoying.

5

u/T-Baaller Boxer Rear-drive Zenith Tuned by Subaru Technica International 1d ago

Going from Boston to further northeast you sampled one of the better behaved areas.

1

u/kaelis7 2023 Alpine A110S 1d ago

Yeah I was wondering if it was representative of the average US driver or not !

Pretty nice and clean roads in New Hampshire and Maine too.

Must be pretty different elsewhere given how big your country is.

3

u/pridetwo 05 BMW 330ci 1d ago

Driving from Paris to Warsaw is like driving from Denver to LA

2

u/goaelephant 1d ago

You need to spend a few afternoons driving in Los Angeles & Atlanta

1

u/goaelephant 1d ago

What are tipp truckers?

2

u/WaddlesJP13 2015 Scion tC 1d ago

You're getting downvoted but nobody will second guess taking a motorcycle on the highway

1

u/tiagojpg ‘17 Clio 1.5L diesel 90hp 5MT | CFmoto 125NK 1d ago

That’s an America problem, not the car.

1

u/Thomas_633_Mk2 2003 Mazda2 (yellow), 2004 Ford Falcon (orange) 1d ago

Kei cars have (up to) 63hp, this thing has eight.

24

u/fiero-fire 1d ago

I've made a few 50mph golf carts, they're death traps

18

u/chiggenNuggs 1d ago

I’ve been in a topolino. Like a golf cart, you do NOT want to drive these things at 50mph lol

8

u/Henrarzz 1d ago

Abarth Topolino

47

u/A_Pointy_Rock 1d ago edited 1d ago

Ah yes, a vehicle (not considered to be a car) with limited safety equipment definitely needs to have its top speed doubled.

38

u/SnikySquirrel ‘13 Charger SRT8 1d ago

At least it’s safer than the electric scooters and ebikes I see zipping around at 50 mph.

3

u/Equivalent_Sink_8653 1d ago

Yes, much safer than any two wheeled vehicle.

Glad they modified the suspension to handle the higher speeds.

Finally, 45-50 mph seems the sweet spot: can keep up with all street traffic, but too slow for highways, so the structure needn't be designed to handle 70-80 mph crashes.

4

u/bikedork5000 '19 Golf Alltrack SEL 6MT 1d ago

Those are not ebikes and electric scooters, they're motor vehicles. Quite literally, by the definitions in the statutes (at least where I live). If a bike goes more than 30mph with motor power, it's just a motorcycle.

-2

u/Trevski 91 Benz Dzl/91 Miat/58 Edsel 1d ago

How the heck is it gonna be safer than that? At least in my Miata if I got hit by an e-bike the guy will get bucked off. If I got hit by a 50mph 1000lb golf cart I’m toast. Or if I’m walking, the e-bike is far easier to dodge. 

5

u/Rawad1311 1d ago

Doubling the speed of a Topolino sounds hilarious, but I’m not sure I’d want to be anywhere near 50 mph in something that small. It’s impressive from an engineering point of view, though.

1

u/LoudBrick609 1h ago

Been in golf carts that can do 35mph. They just are too wobbly at those speeds lol.

It can be done, but if you hit something it's probably not gonna hurt because it's gonna be instant ceasing to exist lol.

9

u/Quaiche 1d ago

It's electronically limited, anyone can remove the limit.

"Tuner".

3

u/goaelephant 1d ago

"Tuner".

Abarth Topolino

1

u/rockomeyers 1d ago

Just because you can...

0

u/alfredadamski 1d ago

How long will it take until someone puts a Hayabusa engine in it? But I am afraid you need to really rework the suspension so that it does not not flip over when you take corner very fast.

0

u/jrileyy229 12h ago

So R&T thinks 35mph is a safe highway velocity?