Mitsubishi shows off tiny electric car

Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Motors said today that it would display two of its new electric minicars at the 2008 New York International Auto Show.

The cars are part of the company's "i" branded lineup, including the i MiEV, i MiEV Sport concept, which fall into a tiny car class called kei-class in Japan.

Mitsubishi said the kei-class is limited to a 660cc engine and a 132.9 inches long by 58 inches wide footprint.

The i MiEV uses a 330 volt lithium-ion battery developed by Lithium Energy Japan, a venture of Japan's GS Yuasa Power Supply and Mitsubishi.

Mitsubishi said the the 47 kilowatt electric motor offers improved performance over the 64 horsepower gasoline version, and said the little electric car can run for up to 100 miles on a single charge.

The i MiEV Sport concept car is a coupe variation on the i MiEV and uses multiple electric motors.

Mitsubishi said two 20 kW electric motors, one built into each front wheel, work together with a single 47 kW motor that drives the rear wheels.

In addition to the green inner workings, the concept car also sports heat-absorbing window glass to improve the efficiency of the air conditioning, as well as LEDs for the rear lamps and interior lighting.

And going over the top with clean energy, the carmaker said i MiEV Sport has solar panels on the roof, wind turbines in the front grill, and a regenerative braking system.

The non-coupe electric i MiEV, which is not a concept car and does not have wind turbines in the grill, is set to launch in Japan in 2009.