Turin, Italy
Designed by Davide Cannata and Antonino Barrone at Icona Design Group Turin for Micro Mobility Systems AG., the new Microlino 2.0 Electric Car—the ideal mix between motorbike and car—has been named the 2021 Car of the Year by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The Swiss-manufactured Microlino 2.0 was also recently recognized with a Good Design® Award for 2021.
First in its class, the Microlino features a self-supporting unibody that improves safety and driving behavior compared to the tubular frame of other vehicles in its class.
The new car features a lightweight aluminum body with a reinforced steel door and independent suspension on all four wheels.
It also has a more powerful and efficient motor with three battery types with higher energy density and a sports mode that will turn heads at the traffic light.
“The astonishing all-electric Retro Bubble Car,” states architecture critic Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, “is not only sustainable but is also absurdly “ultra-cute” and extremely lovable bringing panache and fun back into the idea of urban mobility.”
“I can see thousands of them zooming in and out of the urban environment like a futuristic scene straight from the 1960s animated space-age sitcom ‘The Jetsons’.”
“The cartoony four-wheeler resembles a modern 1950s-era BMW Isetta, and anyone who was yearning for the nostalgic good old days will instantly want to have one of these.”
Featuring a 25-hp motor, the two-seater is slated to be offered in three battery flavors/trims: Urban with a 6-kWh battery, Dolce with a 10.5-kWh battery and Competizione with 14-kWh of juice on tap.
These three versions will serve up projected ranges of 60, 109, and 143 miles, respectively, allowing the bubble car to exceed the ranges of some much larger electric models currently on sale.
The good news with batteries of this size is that charging time should not be an issue either—the company says that the Microlino can be recharged with a wall outlet in just four hours.
The Microlino 2.0, of course, won’t be venturing out on the autobahn with its top speed of 56 mph.
Microlino 2.0 offers seating for two, positioned side by side, with one door upfront for passengers, and a hatch for the admittedly snug 8.1-cubic-foot cargo area.
And like on the new Ford Mustang Mach-E, Icona Design Group has eliminated the front door handle completely to simplify the design even more.
To open the door, you need to unlock the car with the key and press a small button below the headlight. This will pop up the door just enough for you to grab the door to fully open it seamlessly.”
“For urbanites who might still want a small city runabout, but may not own a full parking space for something larger than a motorcycle, the Microlino 2.0 is absolutely ideal,” comments Narkiewicz-Laine.
“Speaking of parking spots, a total of three Microlinos can fit into a single parking space head-first, which is one item that Smart used as its selling point as well—with an asterisk or two.”
“Speaking of parking spots, a total of three Microlinos can fit into a single parking space head-first, which is one item that Smart used as its selling point as well—with an asterisk or two.”
“The car is 100% with 65% lower energy consumption and needs less energy during both production and driving than any other car.”
“It also uses 50% fewer parts with less energy consumed and less maintenance required.”
“As a real and affordable Democratic solution to future transportation and the urgent concerns for the environment and for the general population of urbanites that inhabit our cities,” continues Narkiewicz-Laine, “Icona Design Group’s new bubble car will dominate European streets.”
The cars are to be built in Italy and are expected to go on sale in Switzerland first before other EU states with a starting price of around €12,000.
Project: Microlino 2.0 Electric Car
Designers: Icona Design Group Turin
Manufacturer: Micro Mobility Systems AG
