Calling your retrofitted little runabout a tender is apparently all the rage these days. The yacht-based theme was recently adopted by BRABUS, which paired a smart fortwo with one of its warp-enabled SLRs. Now, Castagna does the same with Fiat’s retro-fied 500. In fact, this isn’t the first time that the Milanese coachbuilder has created such a machine, using the MINI Cooper platform just a few years back in the same exact way. In its transformation from sporty little coupe to a larger vessel’s dinghy, the roof, tailgate and top are jetisoned in favor of a canvas covering with which to escape the heat. On the inside, the normal guts are removed and replaced with teak wood and wicker trim along with all new seats. As a concession to emissions, the gasoline powerplant is yanked in favor of sails a new electric motor and batteries that are supposedly capable of powering the tender some 80 miles at speeds up to 86 miles per hour. No rowing required.
[Source: Channel 4]