Hiriko -- the folding urban EV designed at MIT

[NeilBlanchard]

The progress of this design has gotten to a point where they are now talking a specific date for production -- next year 2013. This car is a two seat (side by side) that is very short to begin with, but it can fold upward and in a parking mode, it takes up just 1/3 of a space.

Oh, the entry door is the whole front with the windshield, so very much like the Isetta. And the wheels each have an electric hub motor, and the tires are non-inflating designs. A lot of interesting concepts in one small car.

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/fold-up-car-of-the-future-unveiled-for-europe.html

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/futuristic-fold-up-car-makes-its-debut-1327432043-slideshow/hiriko-citycar-photo-174958841.html

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/technology/2012/01/mits-folding-electric-car-goes-sale-next-year/47932/

http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2012/01/5bc4b5ec82523b3833fe00871d2a08b5.jpg (http://gizmodo.com/5879489/mits-folding-city-car-is-finally-a-reality)
(click on image for link)

[randyd]

I like this photo:

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/YfBaCB_PDRkAMuiM7SCcHQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA --/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/gettyimages.com/hiriko-electric-car-launched-european-20120124-081034-986.jpg

A couple of full-sized politicians strains the suspension.

It also looks like the steering column rotates so that either passenger can drive. That must prevent a mechanical link between the steering wheel and the wheels. More innovation in that small package.

[NeilBlanchard]

Yes, I saw that the camber gets a little out of sorts with two passengers. This is probably a hand-built prototype, and I'm sure their engineers noticed, too.

[PatQ562]

I just took delivery of an Isetta 600 to add to my small-car collection. Using the front door is of course hilarious for onlookers to watch, but it's really not very convenient, and the Isetta's door is much larger than the one shown in the photos of the Hiriko.

Pat Q

[NeilBlanchard]

Right -- but they have not shown this process when the car is tilted up, yet. I think it is probably better.

Pat, is the Isetta 600 the four seater?

[randyd]

Wikipedia calls the Isetta, the BMW 600 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_600).

[shotgunslade]

Is this vehicle an offical NEV with the 35 mph speed limit?

[NeilBlanchard]

Randy,

That is the 4 seat Isetta. I think the Isetta was built by a couple of different companies. The 2 seat Isetta is this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta

[randyd]

Randy,

That is the 4 seat Isetta. I think the Isetta was built by a couple of different companies. The 2 seat Isetta is this one:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isetta

I was trying to help Pat respond. I defer to him. It's his car, (and some what off-topic) after all. :)

[SEGsby]

MIT's been working on this vehicle for a LONG TIME...

Makes it even more sad to see how the thing buckles when two people sit in it.

[rayfellow]

There is one photo of one of the two guys in the car, getting out in the front... I look awkward to me.

[smilingcat]

looks like its unequal length arm suspension. They are not all that easy to get it right and maybe the springs are too soft for it to sag as much as it is in the photo.

coil over shock is not the cheapest to maintain either. But it does save space. The sagging is a minor detail to fix. Just need a stiffer spring.

Minor nit picking I think. I'm more worried about side impact, front and rear impact even for city use.

------------
is the lower "A" arm sitting below the wheel? If it is, then that would be a equipment violation. See the lower "A" arm on the left side of the photo. Portion of it looks like its sitting closer to the ground than the lowest portion of the wheel.

[shotgunslade]

All nice speculation, but if it is a 35 mph NEV, my interest wanes significantly. Does anyone know if this is the case? Seems to me that this is very important aspect of the design.

[SEGsby]

What I've read, says 75 mile range, 40 mph top speed.

They were always intended to be NEV class vehicles, distributed in a rideshare context. The point of folding up, was to save space in urban rental spaces, until they were needed.

[PatQ562]

Yes it's the 4-seater, "the world's only 2-door limousine" (the refrigerator door in front, and one side door for the back). Unlike the Isetta 300, which BMW licensed from Isetta of Italy, and produced 160,000 in the early 50's with their single cylinder 300cc motorcycle engine, the BMW Isetta 600 was an in-house project using their flat-twin motorcycle engine. Unfortunately when released in the late 50's you could buy a VW for 200 marks less, putting an end to the "bubble car" era. BMW only sold a few thousand, so the 600's are pretty rare. They quickly repurposed the key mechanicals into a small coupe, the BMW 700, which looked like a smaller 2002 and sold quite nicely.

The Isetta still has some teething issues so I can't give a full driving report, but meanwhile, I have just bought a 1960 Austin Mini Countryman (the micro-woody), which is quite the little go-kart. Readers will recall that the Mini's brilliant designer, Alec Isigonis, specifically intended to eliminate "those wretched little bubble cars" by offering a real car with room for 4 adults in the smallest possible footprint. His packaging concepts (transverse engine, front wheel drive) live on in most of today's compact cars.

Pat Q