Innovech International Mycar

Giorgetto Giugiaro has designed a tiny new city car which will be built by Honk Kong-based Innovech International, and marketed as a direct Smart FourTwo rival when it reaches the major European markets later this year. Expected to be sold for around 6,000 euros, a big discount to Smart's market dominating contender, the plastic-bodied 'MyCar' is just 257cm long, 140cm wide,150cm high and with a wheelbase of 169cm, allowing it maximum flexibility in tight city conditions.

Italdesign-Giugiaro designed the MyCar almost three years ago, and after an extended gestation period it is set to be built by Hong Kong based Innovech International at a new factory in China. The car weights just 320-350kg due to the extensive use of lightweight thermoformed plastic panels fitted to an extruded steel chassis, both of which are also very cost effective to produce. Like its Smart rival it is innovative in its use a quickly and easily removable hard top which allows it to be easily switched by the user to 'convertible' mode. The car's doors can also be specified with removable central panels. Chunky front and rear bumpers, bulbous wheel arch mouldings, and rugged sill protectors, all serve to give MyCar a visual stature which is well above its tiny dimensions, as well as serving to ably protect its body in tight city situations. Attractive 6-spoke, 15-inch alloy wheels complete its appearance.

MyCar will be available in Europe initially with several tiny petrol engines, although an electric power version is set to be added.

Five single-cylinder, air-cooled, rear mounted engine options will be offered, starting with a tiny 50cc unit. There will also be 125cc, 150cc, 180cc and 250cc petrol engines in the range. These will be fed to the rear wheels via a two-speed sequential gearbox. Top speed will range from 45km/h for the 50cc engine, up to 85km/h from the 250cc option. The electric version when it arrives will offer power outputs from 4kW  to 15kW.

Inside, the MyCar has been designed by Italdesign-Giugiaro to maximise all the available space. A single centrally mounted round instrument cluster incorporates a speedometer and fuel gauge. The seats are steel framed, seatbelts are fitted, there is a dashboard connector for an MP3 reader, nets to store small objects incorporated into the dashboard, while the passenger will have a strong alloy grab bar mounted directly in front of them across the dashboard.

Pick-up and van variants will also be offered when MyCar goes on sales in major European cities form later this year, with Innovech projecting a sales target of 1,000-2,000 units for its first year.

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