美國麻省理工學院（MIT）的研究團隊日前一款即將問世的「摺疊式電動汽車」，未來將由西班牙巴斯克自治區7家汽車供應商組成的聯合公司來作市場行銷。
2009年開始，美國麻省理工學院媒體實驗室（Media Lab）和新能源協會（Denokinn）、巴斯克創新中心等事業夥伴，在電動汽車上市前，一同合作改良電動汽車的設計和修改相關技術。
這款兩人座迷你汽車命名為Branded Hiriko，是巴斯克語「城市」的意思。Branded Hiriko長2公尺、重450公斤。當四個輪子往內縮、駕駛倉向上摺疊時，車身底盤便因此縮小，所以可以減小停車空間。
1個標準規格的車位可容納3台電動摺疊汽車，可有效解決擁擠都市中擾人的停車問題。
這款電動車的車輪技術來自MIT，稱做「Robot Wheels」，每一個Robot Wheel都是單一驅動，讓車輪可做細微的轉動，如MIT稱作的「原地轉」(O-turn)。Robot Wheel 模組的電子化控制，是利用航空工業普遍採用的線控四輪轉向系統(by-wire systems)。
汽車由2顆鋰電池供電，其蓄電量可供行駛120公里長的距離，最高時速，會由自動電子調控到符合當地的時速限制。
許多城市對這項新發明興趣濃厚，像巴賽隆那、柏林、香港、舊金山、瑞典的莫馬市、厄瓜多爾共和國的基多市和加拉巴哥群島，以及巴思克地區的第二大城維多利亞。
各個城市及市民可以用大約12.500歐元的價格(相當於16,600美元)購買此款電動摺疊汽車。
這款電動車是由已故教授威簾米切爾（William J. Mitchell's, 1944-2010）所帶領的智慧城市研究團隊（Smart Cities research group）所設計，預期對塞車、能源和土地使用的浪費、空氣汙染和噪音問題、以及會導致全球暖化的二氧化碳排放量等問題，將身負重任。
A foldable electric CityCar has been created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab and commercialized by a consortium of automotive suppliers in Spain's Basque region.
Since 2009, the MIT Media Lab has collaborated with Denokinn, the Basque Center for innovation, from Vitoria, Spain, and their partner companies to refine the design and technology of the CityCar ahead of its commercialization.
Branded Hiriko, which means urban in the Basque language, these two-passenger micro cars are just two meters long and weigh 450 kilos. The passenger cabin can slide upwards as the wheels roll together, folding the chassis to minimize the car's footprint when parked.
When folded, three CityCars can fit into one traditional parking space, making parking much more efficient in crowded cities.
The Hiriko's electric motors are in the wheels, called Robot Wheels. Each Robot Wheel can be independently controlled, allowing the CityCar to execute tight maneuvers such as spinning on its own axis to achieve what MIT calls an "O-turn." The Robot Wheel modules are controlled electronically using by-wire systems made popular by the aerospace industry.
The CityCar runs on two rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with a range of 120 kilometers . Its top speed is curbed electronically to comply with speed limits in city centers.
Several cities have shown interest in the CityCar - Barcelona, Berlin, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Malmö in Sweden, Quito and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and Vitoria-Gasteiz, the second largest city in the Basque region.
Private citizens as well as cities will be able to purchase the folding cars at prices around 12,500 euros (US$16,600).
The late Professor William J. Mitchell's (1944-2010) Smart Cities research group designed the CityCar to take on the biggest issues facing cities - congestion, inefficient use of energy and land, air and noise pollution, and carbon emissions leading to global warming.
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