Sexy Star Wars Stormtrooper-themed Fiat 500e
The closer we get to the theatrical debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the more dubious the merchandising becomes. So far we’ve seen Star Wars-themed bicycles made in China (probably not screen-accurate), a Death Star waffle maker (okay, that one is sort of cool actually), and an almost unbelievable variety of Crocs.
This Stormtrooper-themed Fiat 500e expands the promotional — if not the merchandising — universe to cars, and believe it or not Lucasfilm, now part of the Disney Industrial Complex, has partnered with six other automakers to produce Star Wars-themed promotional vehicles, as if Star Wars needed any more awareness campaigns at this point.
The 500e in question is styled after the redesigned First Order Stormtroopers, as opposed to the ones from the original trilogy and the ones that were created with some regrettable CGI in the regrettable prequels. In addition to the exterior wrap, everything on the inside is either black or white, right down the seats, which are upholstered in Alcantara. The First Order insignia is displayed on the two-tone steering wheel, and the dash itself features a Star Wars logo as well.
We’re not too sure about the immediate association of the exterior design with Stormtroopers, but the two-tone interior is actually pretty neat visually. That’s not a bad look for the interior of a production Fiat 500.
This would actually be a nice interior option for production 500 hatches, not just the electric model.
The 500e hatch uses electricity instead of the force (so it doesn’t have to rely on that Midichlorian nonsense), and offers an estimated 87-mile range on a full charge. The EV is powered by an electric motor instead of a Twin-Ion Engine that’s good for 111 hp and 147 lb-ft of torque, with the front-wheel drive hatch boasting a 0 to 60 mph sprint time of 9.1 seconds; it’s the four-hour recharge time that’s more relevant, so it’s probably not the most ideal car to make the Kessel Run. Nor can one smuggle a whole lot in its cozy interior, obviously.
The 500e starts at $32,780, though it has not really broken into the “the big time” of EV and hybrid cars in terms of sales. The appearance of the First Order Stormtrooper 500e, therefore, will do much more for public awareness of the Fiat 500e than for Star Wars.
The appearance of this car in LA begs the question: how long does it take to charge a lightsaber, and does the 500e have a USB port for that?