Fold-up car of the future unveiled at EU

A tiny revolutionary fold-up car designed in Spain's Basque country as the answer to urban stress and pollution was unveiled Tuesday before hitting European cities in 2013.

The "Hiriko", also known as "urban", is a four-wheel-drive electric two-seater with no doors. Its motor is located in the wheels and is capable of folding up for parking and is equipped with a state-of-the-art information system for permanent communication in an intelligent city environment. Dreamt up by Boston's MIT-Media lab, the concept was developed by a consortium of seven small Basque firms under the name Hiriko Driving Mobility. The prototype was unveiled by Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission president.

Demonstrating for journalists, Barroso clambered in through the fold-up front windscreen of the 1.5-metre-long car. "European ideas usually are developed in the United States. This time an American idea is being made in Europe," consortium spokesman Gorka Espiau told AFP. Its makers are in talks with a number of European cities to assemble the tiny cars that can run 120 kilometres (75 miles) without a recharge and whose speed is electronically set to respect city limits.