A vital ingredient required for small green initiatives to be successful is ambition. Sure, they must also show the ability to provide from a technical point of view, but there's plenty of that where EO Smart Connecting Car 2 came from.
Despite looking like a freshly severed Transformer head, the EO Smart prototype has got the moves almost like Jagger. Believe it or not, it can shrink, roll sideways and turn on a dime. It's like watching a clumsy robot having a go at ballet dancing.
Responsible for such an invention is a team of engineers working for the DFKI Robotics Innovation Center in Bremen, Germany. They took a shot at creating their version of a future city car, and the result was a two-door two-passenger lightweight vehicle good at gymnastics.
The EV uses four hub motors powering each wheel, which can be driven independently or together. Thanks to that solution, the wheels can go 90 degrees to the side, which makes the EO find a parking spot in places where a bicycle won't fit.
Despite the lack in technical specs, we understand that the prototype uses a battery pack that only needs four hours to perform a full charge and allows the EV to enjoy happy runs at up to 40 mph (64 km/h).
Range won't blow you away, as it is estimated at somewhere between 30-44 miles (48-70 km), but for city use we reckon it's pretty decent. Also, each vehicle can dock with other vehicles, forming a small train, which, on a personal note, looks more like the snake we used to control in Nokia's favorite mobile game.
Below, you can see the EV doing its tricks, which we must admit, are life-saving when you're looking for a parking spot in the crowded urban jungle.
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