How do you allay your parking woes? You could walk or bike to your destination but sometimes, owning acar is
just plain necessary. But the lack of parking space can be a huge
hassle especially when you need to make multiple stops. Romano Artioli,
ex-owner of the Lotus and Bugatti brands, has developed a tiny
single-seater eco-friendly car that’s small enough to fit into an office
elevator. Measuring just 1 meter in width and 1.5 meters in height, the
Volpe weighs only 350 kg and can squeeze itself into the smallest of spaces.
Volpe, world's smallest car
So
tiny is the Volpe that it can zip about your workplace and even fit in
your office to be charged from your desk. The small car is meant for
city commuters and though it doesn’t touch high speeds – just 30 mph max
– it’s perfect for congested areas. There’s also not a lot of space for
baggage but unless you plan to cram in plenty of goods, the Volpe makes the ideal small city car.
Volpe electric car
Volpe, world's smallest electric car fits in an elevator and can be parked and charged at your work desk.
Artioli
worked with coachbuilder Zagato which is responsible for styling
limited edition models of Aston Martins. The idea was to design a car that could help ease traffic congestion which is becoming a daily nightmare for commuters.
To
further limit its size, Volpe sports scissor doors and a miniature
motor that’s street legal as a quadricycle. This means that anyone who’s
as young as 16 and has a motorcycle license can drive it. The eco friendly car will sell for about 5,600 pounds and is set to hit European markets by 2013.
The unique car has
generated quite a buzz in online forums with many praising it for its
aesthetics and functionality. As small as it is, however, it still
doesn’t beat the record of the Peel P50 microcar which measures just 54
inches in length and 41 inches in width.