Clint Eastwood is one of Hollywood’s most iconic celebrities, but unlike many Hollywood stars, Eastwood is a well-known conservative who’s starred in many conservative movies. As such, some may stereotype him as someone who’d drive a big truck or powerful classic car, but instead, he’s been spotted in a tiny EV. Here’s a look at Clint Eastwood and his little Fiat 500e.

An overview of the now discontinued Fiat 500e

The idea behind the Fiat500e was pretty simple. It’s the famed Fiat 500, but with a battery-electric powertrain. Fiat mainly created this car because some states, namely California, demanded that automakers introduce zero-emission vehicles. As such, in 2013, Fiat created the 500e and sold it to California and Oregon, and only to those two states.

At the time, the 500e was an EV that cost around $32,000. This was pretty cheap at the time, as there weren’t many EVs in that price range. That being said, this little Fiat had a lot of issues. Since it was based on the 500, it was a tiny car, and it could only seat about four people. On top of that, the 500e was powered by a 111-hp electric motor, which allowed it to go from 0 to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds. 

Unfortunately, that motor was paired with a tiny 24-kWh battery. This only allowed the Fiat to get a range of about 84 miles. That’s enough range for city driving but not enough for anywhere else. These specs weren’t impressing many customers, as few people bought the 500e. As such, Fiat stopped selling the 500e in the U.S. in 2019.

Clint Eastwood and his Fiat 500e

Despite being a well-known conservative who’s spoken about his political views publicly, Clint Eastwood was one of those few Americans who bought a 500e. According to AutoEvolution, he was photographed by paparazzi driving around Venice, California, in his 500e. Ironically, Eastwood was photographed driving the little EV to the set of American Sniper, which was a film Eastwood made about one of America’s deadliest snipers.

This happened in 2014, and it makes sense why Eastwood would be driving around in a 500e at that point in time. California was one of the few places in the U.S. where there was charging infrastructure around, and many Hollywood stars were starting to buy and drive green cars to try to fight climate change. Fiat had only introduced the 500e the year before, so Eastwood was probably doing his part.

Clint Eastwood wasn’t the only celebrity to drive around in the little Fiat

According to Chrysler Group LLC through PR Newswire, Clint Eastwood was one of many celebrities who attended a charity auction that promoted going green. This charity auction, called “Into the Green,” featured celebrities signing their name on a 500e and then auctioning it off to buyers. The auction proceeds went to the Motion Picture & Television Fund, which helps provide healthcare, retirement living, and other services to the thousands of people that it supports.

Other celebrities that participated in this auction included Will.i.am, Jennifer Lawrence, and Hans Zimmer. It’s not clear how much the 500e that Eastwood signed ultimately sold for. However, it is known that another celebrity that participated in the auction, Hugh Jackman, had his 500e sold for $50,000. 

Since this charity auction happened in late 2013, and Eastwood was photographed driving around in a 500e in 2014, it sounds like he was convinced to buy a 500e for himself sometime during that auction.