Mitsubishi i-Miev Sport looks to electricity

The tiny Mitsubishi i-Miev Sport concept brings three electric motors and no petrol engine to the environmentally-friendly car debate.

Unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo motor show, the i-Miev Sport concept is a development of Mitsubishi’s five-door i-Miev.

With just two doors and seating for four, the i-Miev Sport concept is a diminutive coupe with a distinctive design.

The front of the car isn’t drastically different to the rear, other than the red tail-lights in lieu of the white headlights.

Reinforcing the i-Miev Sport’s environmentally friendly credentials is the light-green interior hues and the white interior - “conveying a state-of-the-art and futuristic appearance blended with the tranquillity of the natural world”, according to Mitsubishi.

The i-Miev Sport’s minimalistic dash houses coloured panels that light up. The steering wheel houses a digital display replacing the more traditional, separate instrument cluster.

While the i-Miev Sport is a small car, it’s not lacking in attention to detail. Every element has been thoughtfully chosen to reflect the theme of the car, including the radical speakers that protrude from the doors.

Despite its compact dimensions, the i-Miev Sport has a relatively long wheelbase, meaning the wheels are extremely close to the corners of the car.

The batteries to power the electric motors are under the floor and take 8.5 hours to recharge, ensuring any production vehicle inspired by the i-Miev Sport would likely be confined to the city. The range of the car is just 200km.

There are three electric motors: two 20kW units in the front wheels and one 47kW motor beneath the rear floor, to power the rear wheels.

The sub-one-tonne two-door has a claimed top speed of 180km/h and can travel up to 200km in a single charge.

Click here to see our comprehensive feature on the 2007 Tokyo motor show.