@@coastaku1954 fuck ya the drive train could probably take the stress of towing no joke but you'd kill the battery's unless you upgraded to bigger battery's
The reason for the 4kw max power and 40km/(25mph) top speed is simply that in Italy this allowed it to fall within the Quadriciclo Leggero (light cyclecar) category, which is a class of vehicles that can be driven without a license. In other words, the Zele was considered a four-wheeled moped. For a long time it was common to see tiny 50cc cars in Italian towns, but now this category is occupied almost entirely by small EVs, so in this respect the Zagato Zele was a precursor.
@@alexandrecouture2462 I think it was the French microcars that got that reputation. Since you don't need to licence to drive them they are a common fallback for drunks that have had their licence taken away.
It is the future, in the past, pulled off with high tech stuff, and manages to be a Jalopy fresh out the factory. These little cars are the best Jalop vehicles.
This has a better suspension though. It is equipped with sport suspension! Remember: Zagato doesn't design cars without at least some premium elements!
The original dashboard was molded pebble-finish black plastic. You have to operate one with the relays & resitors to get the genuine experience. The Elcar was from one of the brothers trying to diversify the company. It probably shared nothing but the 'Z' badge with the design studio. The suspension was set up for a belly full of lead and acid. If it has lithium batteries and a fraction of the weight thats going to effect the ride. Yes, the interior appointments were rather spartan. You forgot the thumb-pump for the windsheld washer fluid.
My parents had one of these standing around in the backyard (defunct and half the parts missing), I remember playing "driving a car" in it as a child, seeing you opening and closing the sliding windows brings back memories... "Our" specimen was called a "Delcar". I even found an old photo to compare. My dad got it because he helped in a company that tried to establish these as a "advertisement carrier" novelty car in the local area. It ultimately failed because it had not your nice electronic throttle, but just a switch choosing between 12, 24, 36 or 48V, killing the gearboxes again and again.
My elderly uncle has a fascination with the Trabant for some reason! He went all the way to East Germany about 20 years ago and walked around looking for someone who owned one, offering them money to take him for a ride in one and let him try driving it. He found someone pretty easily. He wanted to buy one, but the cost of having it made so it could be road legal in the UK and the price of the shipping put him off in the end. He drives a 1959 Morris Oxford, but also has a Vauxhall Astra for rainy days and long journeys. lol
I had to laugh out loud, when you finally realised it was indicating km/h not mph! You could see out the window that it was running pace, not 25mph :D I guess km/h feels like mph in that little nugget of a city car. Makes me want to want one for around town.
@@DrathVader There was a movie I saw several years ago (don't remember the name) where a small group of teen boys got together in an old 4-door sedan. They were all members of the Blue Flsme Club. Each would describe what they had to eat- broccoli, cheese and eggs, for example- then light one off. Well, they had a new member, some Arabic kid. He's describing what he had- hummus with goat'eyes, or something- then, all of a sudden long shot of the car, wait a couple seconds, then you see this enormous blue flame explosion, blowing all of the glass out., 😫😋😅😅😅
Back in the mid-70's Popular Science did a side by side comparison of this and the Citi-Car. I think they asked if they were the future of electric vehicles. Great video.
I love the "outro V2". If thats what you call it. The wheelspin just shows how worth the engine rebuilt was. Also, I really like these short-ish videos about these weirdly awesome cars. :)
I also like the "battery in a drawer" idea. Actually, I thought of that idea in the past and now realize that (as with all my other inventions) someone else thought of that several generations ago.
I was at the Lane Motor Museum fairly recently; I really enjoyed it! One of my favorite automobile museums, mostly because of the large amount of quirky cars they have.
The squeaking door noise when turning the wheel end to end is a typical old Fiat thing. Either the strut bearing rubber or the stabilizer rod rubber grommets gotten hard.
Le vetturette guidabili con il "patentino" per motorino sono abbastanza comune. Questa era una delle prime a usare la trazione elettrica al posto del tradizionale monocilindro a due tempi.
If anyone is curious about what CaptHollister said, like I was, here is Google's translation: The cars that can be ridden with the moped license are quite common. This was one of the first to use electric traction instead of the traditional two-cylinder one.
@@MaryAnnNytowl ...or you could have just read my other comment which basically explained the same thing with more detail, but in English...😁 Btw, Google mistranslated the last part. I didn't write "twin-cylinder engine", I wrote "single-cylinder two-stroke engine". Never trust Google Translate.
You should have parked by the Larc LX out back to make the car look even smaller. This place was my favorite accidental discovery while vacationing in Nashville last year!
Anvil Devil beat me to this: "It's terrible! I love it!" - Robert about every ill conceived EV ever" but that's why I watch this channel. I haven't found anyone else who loves badly designed cars like this man.
I loved my tour of the Lane Motor Museum! Easy to spot the big landing craft thing in the back lot. It's HUGE! And everything else they have is small. I could spends a lot of time there.
I always find it weird that no matter how much people say an electric car is bad they get in one and even if it is something like this, they still love it. modern ones don't come with all these bad things but it's hilarious to watch this bad car have so much love. Reminds me of the Volkswagen beetle, tiny but full of love.
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge There's not many of them left out of not very many sold. I had 2- a '78 and an '81, both from new. The last one I saw was, sadly in a junkyard here in San Diego about 8 years ago.
He knows. Many Americans have incorporated some (Mexican) Spanish into their own to the point that when they see "el" they can't help thinking "the". Can't be helped, I guess
I honestly love your enthusiasm for these cars and I love the videos you make on them! I saw the Trabant on a trailer connected to your truck @ 5:02 so I was wondering when you would make more videos about it, I do love the Trabant!
I had a great time while I was at the Lane earlier this year. Was doing some coverage for ECS Tuning, they ended up picking a story on the SZ Zagato... but I got to drive the VW XL1 and boy, what a similar experience! Just at parking lot speeds, bumpy and not a lot of power! At least the XL1 has A/C
At one of the strata I cut the lawns for, I've seen one guy who likes to park his smart car on his entrance sidewalk, because the thing fits. And I thought Smart cars were "lunchbox cars." This thing even LOOKS like a lunchbox!
Lane Motor Museum: I love that place. We shot 40gigs of video there last year, just an AWESOME place to see. oh... and we love your channel as well...lol... 😀👍👍✌️
I actually like the minimalized dash. I've driven quite a few golf cars, and their dashes are usually littered with warning stickers, are made of horrible plastic, and have the weirdest style switches they could find, while lacking any lights or gauges. This is more aestethic and functional. (A lovely exception is a Melex 666... Lovely one. All metal dash, a proper glove compartment, lights, switches, stocks, the works. Almost like a real car.)
Just buy one and use it also as a golf cart and electric lawnmower, with attachments of course. Amazing how close to the ground the battery compartment was. Can you imagine going over any bumps bigger than a squirrel.
Yeah, Robert, if you'd taken that out on Murfreesboro Road, you would have gotten smashed like a bug on a bumper. Still, definitely better build quality that the CitiCar, door fit issues aside.
this makes the Trabant look like a fine tuned muscle car.
well it is a fine tuned muscle car lol
@@raven4k998 By east German standards it probably WAS a muscle car
@@coastaku1954 fuck ya
the drive train could probably take the stress of towing no joke but you'd kill the battery's unless you upgraded to bigger battery's
@@coastaku1954 in east germany it was a privelage to own a trabant it was an uprgrade from a bike
@@thepurdychannel8866 It was the every car to them, right? A taxi, a family car, a sports car, a luxury car, if you have nothing to compare it with
It has wood panels, just like a Rolls-Royce!
And a cheap 80's mobile home.
Probably also hand-built, like a Rolls-Royce!
Sight correction: It has a wooden panel, singular.
Fiberglass, like a Corvette!
It's electric just like a _Mustang!_
And mustangs are fast.
I like the doors because it’s safer to fall out than be a passenger
falling out at 25km/h you'd get a scratch, but just barely.
It's like falling off a bicycle, but more bumpy.
That would make it the only safety feature. Well, the only 2 since there are 2 doors.
Jared Jeanotte Hahaha. Jokes like that don't come around that often.
@@danielzunigagutierrez6300 Painfully true.
lmaooo
The reason for the 4kw max power and 40km/(25mph) top speed is simply that in Italy this allowed it to fall within the Quadriciclo Leggero (light cyclecar) category, which is a class of vehicles that can be driven without a license. In other words, the Zele was considered a four-wheeled moped. For a long time it was common to see tiny 50cc cars in Italian towns, but now this category is occupied almost entirely by small EVs, so in this respect the Zagato Zele was a precursor.
I don't think 'dashboard' has ever been quite this literally interpreted.
It's an instrument table.
Could be a Crashboard!
"It's terrible! I love it!" - Robert about every ill conceived EV ever
@blacknester And to meet with these regulations many of these vehicles are unbelievably poor in both design and build quality
@blacknester I heard a thing about ''alcoholic's cars''' Is it that?
@@alexandrecouture2462 I think it was the French microcars that got that reputation. Since you don't need to licence to drive them they are a common fallback for drunks that have had their licence taken away.
It is the future, in the past, pulled off with high tech stuff, and manages to be a Jalopy fresh out the factory. These little cars are the best Jalop vehicles.
12 volts systems, 4 tires, humongous depreciation, it matches a Rolls in a few aspects.
"I just noticed that's in kilometers per hour. Hmmm... [...] Things feel faster in here."
He definitely died inside after that.
18.64 mph*
Me with my E-Bike driving up a hill with 25 km/h
It's an electric golf cart they gave a cabin. Except even golf carts have shocks and better suspension...
...And a golf cart has room for golf clubs.
and lighter bodywork.
This has a better suspension though. It is equipped with sport suspension! Remember: Zagato doesn't design cars without at least some premium elements!
aging wheels is forgotten weapons of cars. This is the best possible timeline
Gun Jesus pulling up in a Trabi with the trunk full of guns. CROSSOVER TIME!
@@MrLM002 Except every one of the guns would be a Zip 22.
@@MrLM002 and talks a out them as if he was MREinfo.
@@josepherhardt164 Nah.
I would pay to make this series of comments a reality...
If I had any money.
Foiled again...
It looks like a washing machine but the wooden dash board means it's actually a luxury car. Electric nonetheless...
It's hand made, just like Rolls Royce
I think My washing machine hasore torque in Rinse Mode,, than this Beautiful Attrociti. Lol
my modern washing machine look miles better than this car
Rather than a hearse when I die, I want my coffin to be tied to the end of this and dragged down the road at 20 miles an hour instead
You'd be lucky to get up to 10 mph.
Even better, then the wildlife can get to me and ride on top like they're on a parade float
That’s such a cool idea 😂😂
Random41 hello pervert
@@Random-nf7qb ewww
"So, I bought an Italian car."
"Oh cool. Alfa?"
"No."
"Ferrari?"
"No."
"... Lamborghini?"
"No...."
"Then what?"
[Sighs in The The Car]
A Zagato! That'd sound great, up until you actually see this box of crap... :D
It's _very rare!_ Nobody bought them!
You couldn’t even get a speeding ticket in a school zone with this of you tried
Neil does not think he needs the stopping power of winter boots so there he goes sliding down the driveway yet again with his shovel hehe
@@raven4k998 what
@@jaydottt_transitfanner I was being silly joking about an ad on the video obviously if you didn't see the exact same ad you'd not get the joke
That giggling at the bump is why I love this channel.
The original dashboard was molded pebble-finish black plastic.
You have to operate one with the relays & resitors to get the genuine experience.
The Elcar was from one of the brothers trying to diversify the company. It probably shared nothing but the 'Z' badge with the design studio.
The suspension was set up for a belly full of lead and acid. If it has lithium batteries and a fraction of the weight thats going to effect the ride.
Yes, the interior appointments were rather spartan.
You forgot the thumb-pump for the windsheld washer fluid.
My parents had one of these standing around in the backyard (defunct and half the parts missing), I remember playing "driving a car" in it as a child, seeing you opening and closing the sliding windows brings back memories... "Our" specimen was called a "Delcar". I even found an old photo to compare.
My dad got it because he helped in a company that tried to establish these as a "advertisement carrier" novelty car in the local area. It ultimately failed because it had not your nice electronic throttle, but just a switch choosing between 12, 24, 36 or 48V, killing the gearboxes again and again.
5:01 Trabant makes a cameo
My elderly uncle has a fascination with the Trabant for some reason! He went all the way to East Germany about 20 years ago and walked around looking for someone who owned one, offering them money to take him for a ride in one and let him try driving it. He found someone pretty easily. He wanted to buy one, but the cost of having it made so it could be road legal in the UK and the price of the shipping put him off in the end.
He drives a 1959 Morris Oxford, but also has a Vauxhall Astra for rainy days and long journeys. lol
Oh a trailer... typical
good eyes
4;48 Also some kind of amphibious landing craft.
If you have an accident in one of those it doubles as you coffin, they dig a hole and lower you and the car in.
Talk about a handmade Italian coffin lol
I had to laugh out loud, when you finally realised it was indicating km/h not mph! You could see out the window that it was running pace, not 25mph :D
I guess km/h feels like mph in that little nugget of a city car.
Makes me want to want one for around town.
30 mph? Just how aggressive of farting are we talking here?
Remember to pack coke and mentos...
Aggressive enough to make @regularcarreviews proud
You could also pack a lighter, all that methane combustion ought to amount to some additional thrust.
I believe we are talking Eric Swalwell levels of ripping one off. 😫🤪😳🙃😆
@@DrathVader There was a movie I saw several years ago (don't remember the name) where a small group of teen boys got together in an old 4-door sedan. They were all members of the Blue Flsme Club. Each would describe what they had to eat- broccoli, cheese and eggs, for example- then light one off. Well, they had a new member, some Arabic kid. He's describing what he had- hummus with goat'eyes, or something- then, all of a sudden long shot of the car, wait a couple seconds, then you see this enormous blue flame explosion, blowing all of the glass out., 😫😋😅😅😅
Back in the mid-70's Popular Science did a side by side comparison of this and the Citi-Car. I think they asked if they were the future of electric vehicles. Great video.
"Oh my God, the door is opening"
I lost it :D
Greetings from an italian petrolhead, who didn't even know about this tiny wonder ;)
Maybe cause it lacks petrol?😅
@@datadavis nope, I have an EV myself. A german one tho 😎
You're doing a better job than Jalopnik on this museum
or Regular Car Reviews
Neither of those are particularly high bars
I'd like to see a collaboration between him and Jason Torchinsky from Jalopnik. They seem to have the same affinity for weird cars.
I really like Torch's videos, especially from the Lane Museum.
When a kid on a bicycle can beat you in a race...
I think you meant tricycle. :)
*bigwheel
Yah no doubt
And a demolition derby
I like how you lean fowards when trying to attain top speed, like if you were on a Moped.
I would've done it aswell.
I love the "outro V2". If thats what you call it. The wheelspin just shows how worth the engine rebuilt was.
Also, I really like these short-ish videos about these weirdly awesome cars. :)
I really like these quick looks at quirky early electric cars. I wonder how many more of these you can find.
I also like the "battery in a drawer" idea. Actually, I thought of that idea in the past and now realize that (as with all my other inventions) someone else thought of that several generations ago.
I apologize on behalf of italy. Those were dark ages and we never talk about that . . .
Dark Ages is an understatement
@Sparky Runner fine you play with the police and I will play with the hot Italian gypsy girls
"The the car" oh my god
admit it you want one secretly
"it's a silly name"
*_cut to a trebant going offroading_*
Trabant.
My first thought when I saw the stripe in the middle: Ah, this is where you crack it open to get inside. Both halves then hinge apart - clever!
"The TheCar" Some Jeremy Clarkson level descriptions right here.
I was put in mind of a moving Porta Potty. Your obvious (and frankly puzzling) amusement makes for another fun video.
I was at the Lane Motor Museum fairly recently; I really enjoyed it! One of my favorite automobile museums, mostly because of the large amount of quirky cars they have.
That WheeGo is starting to look really good.
I'm so happy he went to The Lane museum. It's perfect for him
The squeaking door noise when turning the wheel end to end is a typical old Fiat thing. Either the strut bearing rubber or the stabilizer rod rubber grommets gotten hard.
It’s just one step up from a modern electric wheelchair.
I need a fiberglass turtle shell to build a tiny electric car underneath!!!
I love that you're a fan of small quirky cars! I am as well. We're a rare breed in the US.
I wish we had interesting Electric cars like that here In Australia. I’d love to own one.
Buy a Lightburn Zeta, it was made by a washing machine company, although it did have a petrol engine. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeta_(automobile)
I'm Italian and I've never seen or even heard pf this until now
Minoz, Sorry your luck ran out.
Just blame its existence on the communists like we do the CitiCar.
Le vetturette guidabili con il "patentino" per motorino sono abbastanza comune. Questa era una delle prime a usare la trazione elettrica al posto del tradizionale monocilindro a due tempi.
If anyone is curious about what CaptHollister said, like I was, here is Google's translation:
The cars that can be ridden with the moped license are quite common. This was one of the first to use electric traction instead of the traditional two-cylinder one.
@@MaryAnnNytowl ...or you could have just read my other comment which basically explained the same thing with more detail, but in English...😁
Btw, Google mistranslated the last part. I didn't write "twin-cylinder engine", I wrote "single-cylinder two-stroke engine". Never trust Google Translate.
I really need to go to Lane Motor Museum. I live about 30 minutes away.
You have no excuse.
none.
Wait didn’t RCR go there too
You should have parked by the Larc LX out back to make the car look even smaller. This place was my favorite accidental discovery while vacationing in Nashville last year!
I adore your passion for washing machines on wheels.
Your reviews are just awesome, they make me laugh every time. Your sarcasm and Witt are fantastic in these situations. Please keep true posts up !!
Anvil Devil beat me to this: "It's terrible! I love it!" - Robert about every ill conceived EV ever" but that's why I watch this channel. I haven't found anyone else who loves badly designed cars like this man.
Somebody had a yellow one in West Seneca, NY (suburb of Buffalo) back in the 70s when I was a kid. You really never forget seeing one of these.
Zagato, una delle migliori tecnologie Italiane...
This particular model seems to be part of Stance Nation...
"The jerks", well honestly it probably jerks less with linear throttle control than the old on-off switch 🙃
1:19 "but I suspect you have to be going slighty downhill while agresively farting to archive that" I DIE THERE
I loved my tour of the Lane Motor Museum! Easy to spot the big landing craft thing in the back lot. It's HUGE! And everything else they have is small. I could spends a lot of time there.
I saw the little thing in the background on a trailer behind the F-150. You giving it to the museum?
"Surprisingly uncomfortable".... I think Robert has finally lost a few screws..
KM/H thanks! Finally 90% of the world can understand one video of yours!
3:28 am and I'm watching Electric box on wheels. I love it
1:25 There's a Citroen 2CV with two front ends, wonder how that's driving :-D
Slightly downhill while aggressively farting.
Sounds like the average mid-life crisis :D
Please accept this thumbs up.
Nothing "slightly" about the downhill xD
You are hands-down the most adorable car vlogger in the game.
I always find it weird that no matter how much people say an electric car is bad they get in one and even if it is something like this, they still love it.
modern ones don't come with all these bad things but it's hilarious to watch this bad car have so much love.
Reminds me of the Volkswagen beetle, tiny but full of love.
Weird with a Renault 5 that was called the Le Car in the US of A. Also The Car translated.
Wait the R5 was sold in the US? I thought that was the R19 that was called Le car
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge It was the Renault 5, but they called it Renault Le Car for the US market
@@osen1123 Weird, how come I have never seen a single american one?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renault_5#Renault_Le_Car
@@GlamStacheessnostalgialounge There's not many of them left out of not very many sold. I had 2- a '78 and an '81, both from new. The last one I saw was, sadly in a junkyard here in San Diego about 8 years ago.
EL stands for electric, not for “the”, also because El isn't a word in Italian, it's spanish
He knows. Many Americans have incorporated some (Mexican) Spanish into their own to the point that when they see "el" they can't help thinking "the". Can't be helped, I guess
It's called "comedy" and he's VERY good at it! 😉
I honestly love your enthusiasm for these cars and I love the videos you make on them! I saw the Trabant on a trailer connected to your truck @ 5:02 so I was wondering when you would make more videos about it, I do love the Trabant!
Oh my god, I want one so bad... I love quirky little cars like this.
Appears as if it was built in a dude's garage behind a trailer.
No offense to dude or trailers!
Also the video vehicle is adorable in its own unique way
Looks like a porta potty on wheels. I love it :)
I had a great time while I was at the Lane earlier this year. Was doing some coverage for ECS Tuning, they ended up picking a story on the SZ Zagato... but I got to drive the VW XL1 and boy, what a similar experience! Just at parking lot speeds, bumpy and not a lot of power! At least the XL1 has A/C
At one of the strata I cut the lawns for, I've seen one guy who likes to park his smart car on his entrance sidewalk, because the thing fits. And I thought Smart cars were "lunchbox cars." This thing even LOOKS like a lunchbox!
God bless Lane museum. They have the best toys around.
Lane Motor Museum: I love that place. We shot 40gigs of video there last year, just an AWESOME place to see.
oh... and we love your channel as well...lol... 😀👍👍✌️
I love this guy's laugh. It's pure joy.
0:54 That brief silence looks like I was expecting a phone call.
Temptng with the ramp down on the amphibious landing craft . Just screaming out or a photo op ! With that mighty Elcar !
This makes the Trabant look like a sports car. I love it
I'm so glad the majority of vehicles you show off never took off.
You're such a joyous geek. I so enjoy watching you.
I actually like the minimalized dash. I've driven quite a few golf cars, and their dashes are usually littered with warning stickers, are made of horrible plastic, and have the weirdest style switches they could find, while lacking any lights or gauges. This is more aestethic and functional.
(A lovely exception is a Melex 666... Lovely one. All metal dash, a proper glove compartment, lights, switches, stocks, the works. Almost like a real car.)
I love the sheet of wood dash! Makes me wanna do a custom job on my girlfriend's beat up accord.
Talk about Italian charm.
Regular Car Review went there to review the L.A.R.C. At 6:55 you can see it in the backround. I recognize the building and where it is stored.
You found yourself in that museum! I'm happy for you. 😃
Makes the Trabant look luxurious!
Just buy one and use it also as a golf cart and electric lawnmower, with attachments of course. Amazing how close to the ground the battery compartment was. Can you imagine going over any bumps bigger than a squirrel.
1:12 that orange mini on the left side looks nice
The black racing stripe makes it look FAAAAST standing still.
Cute little car.
Imagine going top speed and you see a bicycle overtake you.... or driving uphill and a pedestrian is walking past you XD
Looks like a plush and comfy ride.
Keep up the good work, we love these videos!
Yeah, Robert, if you'd taken that out on Murfreesboro Road, you would have gotten smashed like a bug on a bumper. Still, definitely better build quality that the CitiCar, door fit issues aside.
Daniel Bagger
I lost it when I read your first sentence. So funny, so true. Brilliant.
Most cool design ever!
These videos are precious 😄
I fucking LOVE this thing! Goddamn spatula for a gas pedal. Give this thing half a Tesla battery and a leaf motor and LET'S GO!
Wherever you are send them thanks from us for hosting you.
Absolutely love your videos get a kick out of these neat old vehicles
Robert! You're killin me! I love all these weird cars you show!
Audio's much better in this one, nice job
The beauty of this car is if it runs out of juice you can just push it the rest of the way
I love these things. Can't wait for the next one.
This car looks like, Worlds Cutest Frog - Desert Rain Frog 💖