This Hilarious 1961 Electric Shopper Can Get You To The Grocery Store And Back. But That's About ItInsideEVs[email protected] (Nico DeMattia)Wed, September 16, 2026 at 9:32 PM UTCAdd us on Googleelectric-shopper-2It's like if the Fiat Topolino came out in 1960s America.Citroen debuted the cute little Ami, the two-seat electric quadricycle in 2020. Fiat followed by giving the Ami an adorable new body style and a batter name, the Topolino ("little mouse," in Italian). However, despite both cars being relatively new, they've barely moved the low-speed electric vehicle ball forward since the 1960s. That's because, in 1960, the Electric Car Company from California launched the Electric Shopper, like this one that's currently for sale on Craigslist (h/t to Jalopnik), and its specs still hold up today.If you look at the Electric Shopper, it looks like something plucked right out of 1950s America. It might be the size of some large sneakers, but it has the sculpted headlights, tail fins, and white roof to match the rest of the cars of its era. It's hilarious and fantastic, and I'm not sure how anyone could look at it and not immediately want to drive it.electric-shopper-1Anyone who does drive it better have some patience, though. Its 1.5-horsepower rear-mounted electric motor isn't going make the Shopper quick, and its lead-acid battery doesn't give it much range. However, with around 30 miles on a single charge, its range isn't that much worse than the new Topolino's, which can go 46 miles. Considering the Shopper came out five decades before the Fiat, that's mighty impressive. And with a tiny old lead-acid battery, it probably costs almost nothing to charge up. The Shopper's 18 mph top speed is only just a hair away from matching the Topolino's initial U.S. top speed of 19 mph. Admittedly, the Fiat will get an update soon that bumps its top speed to 25 mph, which will allow it to be legal on residential roads. I'm not sure if they had software updates in 1961...AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Shopper that's for sale is blue with a white roof and is said to have 129,000 miles on it. Is $12,500 too much to ask for what looks like a Little Tikes Car for grown ups? Probably, but the seller states that there are only about 15 of these left in the world, and that this one is only one of seven documented cars. Two of which are in museums, the seller claims, one of which being the Route 66 Electric Vehicle Museum, and one was in the Peterson Museum for a bit. So it seems like an incredibly rare car. Does that rarity make it more desirable? For the right new owner, sure. But you can get a Fiat Topolino for about the same money, get a higher top speed, more range, more space for two people, and even cuter looks.Here be some similar storiesPeople Are Already Modding The Tiny Fiat Topolino. I Want One, BadlyCitroen Ami Buggy Review: An EV That Will Really Turn Some Heads