[Click here to view the video in this article]
We will no longer need to worry about parallel parking thanks to this two-seater ‘foldable’ electric car designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Spanish government.
Named ‘Hiriko’, it is a new electric urban car that is able to shorten its length from eight feet to five when parking.
According to The New York Times, about three and a half Hirikos could fit in a typical parking space.
The vehicle’s four wheels can turn 60 degrees left or right—allowing the car drive sideways and turn on its central axis—making parallel parking a breeze.
Instead of a normal steering wheel, the car has an aircraft-style yoke; pushing the stick forward causes the car to speed up; pulling it back makes the car slows down.
It will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, has a maximum travel range of about 75 miles and is capable of achieving a top speed of 31 miles per hour.
Twenty cars are already out on the roads as test vehicles and they will likely go sale in 2013 for about USD$16,400 each.
The group has plans to sell Hiriko to municipalities, such as Barcelona, Berlin and San Francisco, first.
Click to watch the video below:
[via The New York Times]
We will no longer need to worry about parallel parking thanks to this two-seater ‘foldable’ electric car designed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Spanish government.
Named ‘Hiriko’, it is a new electric urban car that is able to shorten its length from eight feet to five when parking.
According to The New York Times, about three and a half Hirikos could fit in a typical parking space.
The vehicle’s four wheels can turn 60 degrees left or right—allowing the car drive sideways and turn on its central axis—making parallel parking a breeze.
Instead of a normal steering wheel, the car has an aircraft-style yoke; pushing the stick forward causes the car to speed up; pulling it back makes the car slows down.
It will be powered by lithium-ion batteries, has a maximum travel range of about 75 miles and is capable of achieving a top speed of 31 miles per hour.
Twenty cars are already out on the roads as test vehicles and they will likely go sale in 2013 for about USD$16,400 each.
The group has plans to sell Hiriko to municipalities, such as Barcelona, Berlin and San Francisco, first.
Click to watch the video below:
[via The New York Times]