The electric Tazzari Zero has been available in Italy for a couple months. It was at the Geneva motor show 3 weeks ago, and starting from tomorrow, it’s also available in France. A very small vehicle, it has about the same dimensions as the original Mini. The one from 1959, not today’s Mini which is much larger. And like the british car, the Tazzari Zero is as cute as it is compact. It’s even funny to look at. It’s a car that makes you smile at first, even if it’s not legally a car. The Zero is registered in Europe as a “heavy quadricycle”. That would make it a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) in the USA. Basically, it’s a low speed vehicle. But it certainly doesn’t look like one, and actually, it’s not that slow.

Top speed can change with regulation, 25 or 35 mph, but the italian model can go up to 55 mph, thanks to a 15-kW motor with 110 lbs/ft of torque. The lithium-ion battery has a capacity of 13.2-kWh, which is not much, but as the whole vehicle makes less than 1200 pounds, it gives a range of 85 miles when driven conservatively. We guess it’s adequate for a city runabout. Manufactured in Imola, in the heartland of Italia, not far from Ferrari and Lamborghini, the Tazzari Zero is advertised as a sporty vehicle. That is much surprising for such a low-powered vehicle, and we hope to test-drive one very soon (this week) to find out what it can do.