Cuban mechanic adapts 1980 Fiat Polski to run on charcoal, travels 85 kilometers, reaches 70 km/h, and transforms scrap into mobility.
In March 2026, Cuban mechanic Juan Carlos Pino put on the streets of Aguacate a creation that seemed to come from another era. His 1980 Fiat Polski, originally gasoline-powered, started running on charcoal through a handmade system installed at the rear.
The adaptation arose while Cuba faced strict gasoline rationing, frequent blackouts, and a sharp increase in fuel prices on the informal market. Pino sought an alternative that would allow him to continue driving without relying solely on gas stations.
The result was a two-cylinder car equipped with an external 60-liter tank and a setup built with scrap and reused parts. In an initial test, the small Fiat traveled 85 kilometers and reached a maximum speed of 70 km/h.
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Juan Carlos Pino transforms scrap into a handmade system
Juan Carlos Pino was 56 years old when he presented the vehicle. According to Reuters, the mechanic assembled the equipment in his workshop, using discarded materials and reused components available in Aguacate, a city of approximately 5,000 inhabitants located about 70 kilometers east of Havana.
Pino had already built a machine from a motorcycle to milk three cows simultaneously. The experience with repairs and adaptations helped transform an old idea into a functional vehicle in the face of a mobility emergency.
Charcoal car uses gasification to power the engine
The Fiat does not burn pieces of charcoal directly inside the cylinders. The system uses the principle of gasification, a process in which a solid fuel is converted into a gaseous mixture capable of powering certain internal combustion engines.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization explains that the gasification of wood or charcoal produces fuel gas composed mainly of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and small amounts of methane. Once filtered, this mixture can replace liquid fuels in adapted engines.
In the Cuban project, the charcoal is processed in the rear equipment and the gas goes to the two-cylinder engine. The solution revives an old technology but applies the principle to a compact car built in Poland over four decades ago.
Fiat Polski travels 85 kilometers and reaches 70 km/h
Pino put the car into circulation on March 4, 2026. In one of the first tests reported by Reuters, the Fiat completed a journey of 85 kilometers and reached 70 km/h, performance sufficient for local commutes and regional routes.
The recorded distance demonstrated that the system was not just for starting the engine in front of the workshop. The car managed to travel a real route and transform a handcrafted experience into a practical transportation solution.
60-liter tank completely changes the small Fiat
The most visible component of the conversion is the 60-liter tank attached to the rear. The external structure visually surpasses the size of the original engine compartment and makes the car look like a small industrial machine on wheels.
The Fiat Polski used by Pino belongs to the Fiat 126p family, a compact model produced under license in Poland.
Stellantis states that the 126p was designed with rear-wheel drive, a two-door body, and a two-cylinder rear engine, a configuration compatible with the vehicle shown in Cuba.
The adaptation also preserved the compact nature of the model, despite the external equipment installed over the original rear.
Fiat 126p became a symbol of popular mobility
Known in Poland as Maluch, a term associated with the diminutive size of the vehicle, the Fiat 126p helped motorize millions of families during the last decades of the 20th century.
Polish production began in 1973 and ended in 2000. According to Stellantis, more than 3.3 million units were manufactured at the Bielsko-Biała and Tychy plants over 27 years.
Gasoline shortage drives Cuban invention
Pino’s creation is directly linked to the energy situation faced by Cuba in 2026. Reuters reported that blackouts had become frequent and gasoline was subject to strict rationing.
In the informal market, the price per liter of fuel reached approximately US$ 8, a value six times higher than the official price cited by the agency.
The combination of lack of supply, high cost, and need for transportation put pressure on residents, workers, and small producers.
Pino stated that he intended to apply the same principle to a tractor. For the mechanic, keeping agricultural machines running could help with planting and other essential activities, expanding the impact of the adaptation beyond personal transportation.
Gasifiers have already powered more than a million vehicles
Although it seems like a futuristic or improvised invention, the use of coal and wood to power engines has important historical precedents.
The FAO records that more than a million cars, trucks, buses, boats, and trains used gasifiers during World War II.
The technology gained traction because gasoline and diesel were restricted or directed to military operations. Civilian vehicles began carrying external equipment capable of producing fuel gas from wood, charcoal, peat, or coal.
After the war, petroleum-derived fuels became available again, and gasifiers lost competitiveness. Pino’s Fiat revives this logic: when gasoline disappears or becomes inaccessible, local solid fuels regain attention.
Performance turns prototype into real transportation
The maximum speed of 70 km/h does not place the Fiat among fast cars, but it allows for travel beyond that of bicycles or walking. In rural areas and small towns, this performance can meet daily tasks, transport tools, and short trips.
Even so, the 85-kilometer test showed that the car managed to maintain continuous movement. The project ceased to be just a workshop curiosity and came to represent a mechanical response to a supply crisis.
Handcrafted vehicle becomes an attraction on the streets of Aguacate
The passage of the coal-powered Fiat through the streets of Aguacate turned Pino into a local celebrity. Residents approached to take photos, observe the rear tank, and ask if the mechanic could build other similar systems.
One of the residents interviewed by Reuters called the project the “invention of the year.” The reaction shows how the automobile has come to represent more than technical adaptation: it has become a visible symbol of the improvisational capacity developed in the face of scarcity.
Shared technology helps creation leave the workshop
Pino stated that he had been thinking for years about building a coal-powered car. The first inspiration came from a deceased uncle, but the mechanic also acknowledged the influence of Argentine Edmundo Ramos, associated with the open dissemination of gasification systems.
According to Reuters, other Cubans sought Ramos for information to fuel generators and keep small businesses running during the energy crisis. Among those interested were merchants dependent on electricity to produce ice and operate equipment.
The circulation of this knowledge shows how an old technology can be revived by contemporary networks. In the Fiat, public information met local mechanical experience and repurposed materials.
Coal-powered Fiat transforms crisis into mobility
The project brings together a 1980 Polish car, technology popularized during periods of scarcity, and a Cuban workshop working with repurposed parts.
Its impact is not in creating a new energy source, but in the ability to combine existing knowledge into a machine adapted to local conditions. Pino identified an available fuel, revived an old principle, and integrated it into a simple car.
The Fiat traveled 85 kilometers, reached 70 km/h, and attracted attention with its 60-liter rear tank. Instead of stopping due to a lack of gasoline, the small two-cylinder car returned to the streets in 2026 as one of the most unusual handcrafted automotive creations of the year.
