The REDS EV city car is ugly, but purposefully so

The car's toaster-meets-city-bus design is the brainchild of Chris Bangle, a vehicle designer responsible for some of the more daring designs of the last 20 years.    

You might be familiar with the "flame surfacing" design language that first graced the E65-generation BMW 7 Series. That's Bangle.

The idea behind his wild design is that if an electric vehicle is to function in new ways, it cannot be designed like a traditional car.     

That explains why it looks the way it does.

The windshield has a counterintuitive rake, like a coach bus.     

It's a small little thing, measuring only a bit longer than a Smart Fortwo, but it's a fair bit taller, since the interior tries to double as some sort of quasi meeting space.    

When the driver's seat rotates around, the steering wheel flips toward the windshield to increase space.    

A 17-inch screen only makes use of its full real estate when the car is stopped. When in motion, it retracts to one third of its full size to boost forward vision.    

As we attempt to deal with urban congestion and the shift from internal combustion engines to electric propulsion, new ideas aren't just welcome, they could be necessary.    

In that light, maybe Bangle's on to something here, even if it looks silly as hell.    

Keep on scrolling to check out even more pictures of Chris Bangle's latest creation here at the LA Auto Show.