Mitsubishi has been working on electric cars for years, and the i MiEV Sport, shown at the 2007 Tokyo auto show, sits at the current apex of development.
Mitsubishi's work on electric cars has gone beyond making them reliable and eco-friendly to actually making them sporty. To enhance this concept's performance, Mitsubishi gave it S-AWC, the company's rally-proven all-wheel-drive system. And the little grilles in front aren't for cooling--they hide small turbines that generate electricity for the car's drive system.
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The drivetrain of the i MiEV Sport consists of two in-wheel electric motors up front and a single electric motor in back driving both rear wheels. All together, the motors produce 87 kilowatts.
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Each front in-wheel motor produces 20 kilowatts, almost equaling the rear motor's 47 kilowatts, a power distribution that should give the car very unique handling.
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The canopy over the top of the i MiEV Sport houses solar cells that give the car extra juice on sunny days. Mitsubishi says the car has a 200-kilometer range, but it doesn't specify whether that's on a sunny or cloudy day.
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A flap to the side of the license plate conceals the plug. The i MiEV Sport takes 8.5 hours to charge from a 200-volt source, but a specially developed quick charger can get its batteries up to 80 percent capacity in 35 minutes. The car is also built with a receiver in the undercarriage for a wireless charging system.
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There is as much tech in the cabin of the i MiEV Sport as there is in the drivetrain. When it's plugged in, it can use its powerline connection to send and receive data, so you can update its navigation system from your home computer, or upload some music to it.
