Have you ever wanted to fold your car into a suitcase a la George Jetson, and never have to worry about parking? Well, this isn’t quite it yet, but it is a car that folds up when not in use to conserve space. Called Hiriko, meaning “of the city,” it’s an electric city car developed by MIT and Spanish government and businesses. The car’s rear can slide forward to fold up the cabin vertically. Thus folded, it occupies only two-thirds the space of a Smart ForTwo.
Hiriko uses two lithium-ion batteries to power wheel-mounted electric motors that allow for four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.
Ingress is via the front door, which swings open a la Isetta, and the car uses a joystick for control. With the drive-by-wire system, all mechanical control components have been eliminated. Test vehicles are being built, at reported cost of around $16,000 each. The vision is to franchise its production model for local production in different markets around the world. Market release is expected to be in 2013, if the earth is still around.
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