Foldable car from MIT and Spain set for 2013 launch

Is the Smart Fortwo too big for you? Are you having trouble finding a parking in the heavily congested city you call home? MIT has decided to solve this problem.

With help from Basque businesses and the Spanish government, MIT has developed an affordable foldable car to combat city congestion. There are many city-cars about these days to fight the good fight, but none that have the capability to minimise. It’s a great trick, and makes parking spaces especially easy to find.

Once you’re ready to park after a leisurely drive, the back end slides up into the front, making it significantly smaller to park. It surly would contract the cabin space, though, and would affect the way people parked. There is one door that opens from the front and the steering-wheel is replaced by a joy-stick.

As Top Gear pointed out, front facing doors can have their problems, like not being able to open if you park too close to something. And joystick steering can be very hazardous. Only gamers will know how to successfully moderate the steering input of a joystick, and 90’s gamers at that. It’s a cool idea, but just put a steering wheel in like everyone else.

Details are minimal, but the pricing is said to be around US$16 000, which is damn cheap considering the cost to make each of the 20 test vehicles was US$16 253. Maybe a cheaper production method was found?

For all the practical jokers out there, though, this car could be very fun indeed. And maybe in the future a sporty model will emerge.

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