No, it's not the mulatto-mobile. This black-and-white four-door Prius-looking vehicle is the second concept car for the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show from the number one super best automaker from the land of the rising sun. It's called the 1/X and other than a name that also happens to have been the answer to a problem in the math section of the SAT (yes, we had the SAT way back then too), it's also pronounced 1/Xth — which we're told can be used as part of a sentence that goes: "The 1/X weighs 1/3 as much as a Toyota Prius and therefore emits only 1/3 of the emissions." All we know is the SAT flashback just gave us a huge case of the willies. Full 1/x-sized press release after the jump.
1/X
The 1/X (pronounced "one-Xth") is a concept vehicle that redefines from its very roots the idea of what it means to be environmentally considerate. Among its attributes, the vehicle-with a design that aims to harmoniously coexist with people and society-weighs only "1/Xth" that of other vehicles in its class.
* Maintains an interior space on par with that of the Prius, with an aimed-for fuel efficiency that is double and a weight reduced to 420 kilograms (about one third the weight of the Prius).
* Combines fossil fuel consumption-reducing FFV* technology and a plug-in hybrid powertrain with a displacement of only 500cc that allows charging from an external power source and a longer electric-motor cruising distance; thus, in addition to being adapted for energy diversity, emits less CO2 and contributes to the prevention of air pollution.
* Locates the power unit beneath the rear seat (for a midship, rear-wheel-drive system) to contribute to an innovative and highly efficient package.
* Adopts light but highly rigid carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) throughout the body frame to ensure superior collision safety, while allowing narrower pillars for a better field of vision.