Mattel arrives at the LA Motor Show with a life-size Barbie Extra EV
What kid hasn't wished that their toy car was a full-sized road-going vehicle? Mattel showed some serious commitment to that idea by unveiling a full-sized EV version of the Barbie Extra Car based on the Fiat 500e that looks exactly like the toy car, Roadshow has reported.
Now showing at the LA Auto Show, the Extra Car is sitting on a Fiat 500e chassis, with an all-electric powertrain offering 100 miles of range and a healthy 147 pound-feet of torque — enough to let a human-sized Barbie Extra and her pets, accessories, etc. zoom around town. At the same time, Mattel used CAD files to duplicate the body of the toy car precisely and scale it up in foam to fit on the Fiat undercarriage.
Some of those details include sparkly silver paint and wing-shaped doors. The 20- and 22-inch (front/rear) pink and rainbow-hued wheels were apparently 3D-printed and hand painted. The headlights are gold and star shaped, which, nice touch. Sure, the whole affair is designed to promote Mattel's lineup of Barbie Extra dolls and accessories, but it should make the auto show a bit more accessible for kids.
[original story: Engadget]