A folding car prototype designed to save on parking space was launched yesterday, with the hope of going into production spring 2013.
The two-seat Hiriko car is the result of a partnership between Basque businesses, MIT Media Lab (US) and the Spanish government, and will be launched by the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso in Brussels.
The tiny electric bubble car is powered by four-in-wheel motors, and each wheel is independently driven. The capsule-like car can slip under the chassis, and takes up two-thirds of the footprint that a Smart car does. The idea behind the car is to free up space ordinarily taken up by parked cars.
Trials will begin this Autumn with numerous American and European cities being involved. Cities said to be interested include Bilbao, Malmo and Boston. The trial will resemble the new electric car hire/share scheme Autolib of Paris
The driver and passenger enter and leave the car by a single door located at the front of the car, and the wheel will be replaced by a joystick (haptic-steering) arrangement. For extra manoeuvrability each wheel is steered by in-wheel electric motors.
Production of 20 test vehicles is underway at Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque country, with Ryan Chin, the researcher behind the concept claiming that Hiriko’s technology is five times better than Smart cars, with the green footprint being dramatically different.
Backing for the project is funded by grants from Madrid of up to 15m Euros (£13m) with each car costing 12,500 euro’s to build.