What if the smallest Fiat also became the most radical? A designer who used to work for Mercedes-Benz has just asked this very question. With the TopolinoXS, Wini Camacho is not simply proposing an evolution of the Italian micro-citadin. Instead, he's imagining a new way of conceiving urban mobility: minimalist, modular and fun.
A Topolino that changes body in seconds
Before talking about the Abarth version, here's the TopolinoXS. The base remains recognizable: tiny proportions, round shapes and a friendly spirit faithful to the little modern Fiat. But the whole concept is based on a simple idea: remove rather than add.
Roof, windscreen and windows can be removed. In this way, the car transforms from a closed coupé to an open roadster, and then to a fully open targa-style mini-car. One car for many uses, designed for the city where versatility is more important than power.
The designer himself speaks of a «less-is-more» philosophy taken to the extreme: adding value by removing parts and complexity. Even the headlights are part of this logic. Cut into the bodywork, they form two large LED circles that give the vehicle an almost living face. At the rear, hundreds of programmable micro-LEDs transform the lights into a customizable luminous screen.
A minimalist yet technological interior
The interior follows the same approach. The steering wheel has a fixed central hub: screen, controls and security remain stationary as the wheel turns. This is an unusual choice, which means that information can always be read without the steering wheel obscuring the dashboard.
The car is electric, compact - around 2.4 meters long - and rechargeable at home. It can even be accessed via connected objects worn on the body, not just a smartphone. Two versions have been imagined: the sleek PURO, and a much more provocative version...
The Abarth version
Camacho obviously couldn't resist the idea of a sporty version. The TopolinoXS Abarth adopts aerodynamic elements, scorpion-signaled wheels and a black-red livery far more aggressive than the original city car.
The project is above all an exercise in style, showing how a microcar could become an emotional object rather than just a practical one.
A designer's view from Mercedes
What makes the project even more interesting is its author. Wini Camacho spent over twenty-five years at Mercedes-Benz, including several positions as senior exterior designer and design manager in Europe and China. Now independent, he explores the use of AI in automotive design and defends a philosophy he calls «0», based on maximum simplification to imagine new solutions. The TopolinoXS fits perfectly into this approach: a car designed to do more with less energy and fewer materials.
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