Tired of circling your local town centre for what feels like days to find a parking space, only to realise your bulky car won’t quite fit any of the vacant spaces? Well, you might be in luck.
The Hiriko Fold is a futuristic-looking twin-seater that can fold itself up to decrease its footprint, allowing it to park in the sort of space you would only contemplate in a Smart car.
An electric motor and battery pack gives the Hiriko Fold a maximum driving range of around 75 miles per charge, enough to get to your local supermarket and back a fair few times. Four-wheel steering allows it to turn on the spot, making it much easier to nonchalantly spin around when you get yourself into a tight spot.
A number of European cities are already trialling the mini vehicle, which is set to go on sale in 2013 with a price tag of £10,000. That’s extremely cheap for an electric car. Vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf cost in excess of £25,000. Better still, charging will be incredibly affordable — it should only cost a couple of pounds to top up its battery pack and it’ll be exempt from the London congestion charge and road tax.
We’re not sure how fast it will travel, but if it’s able to keep up with the general flow of traffic then it should prove popular.
Makers of the car describe it as a “new solution for the new urban mobility”. Do you think this is the future of inner-city driving? Let us know.
Source: Daily Mail
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