At first look, it seems like something out of a science-fiction movie. With and 80 horse power engine in each of its eight wheels 80 horse power engines in all eight of its wheels and a top speed of 230 mph, the car is turning heads. Even given its radical design, there is potential for the car to make an impact in the commercial car market. Currently, however, the Eliica (or the Electric Lithium-Ion Car) is only a concept car. It was designed by a team lead by Keio University professor Hiroshi Shimizu in Tokyo. According to Wikipedia, “the 5.1 m (17 ft) car runs on lithium-ion batteries (4 tracks of 80 batteries underneath its platform) and can accelerate from 0–100 km/h (62 mph) in four seconds (faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo). The Eliica’s official site (with slide show of car on homepage) says that the unusual design and eight wheels gives it several advantages over standard cars (video and another picture after the jump, too): “Using eight wheels rather than four means each wheel can be smaller, so more space is available above the floor. The larger tire footprint improves comfort and stability when cornering.” Much like the Toyota Prius, the car uses regenerative breaking to help recharge the batteries.

Professor Shimizu, who has worked on electric vehicle technologies for 20 years, set up a company in August called SIM-Drive to commercialize the concept and the technology. He is shooting for mass production by 2013. Ten Japanese companies have already signed on and he’s also talking with companies from Taiwan, Germany, the U.S., China, and South Korea. View a MarketWatch video of the car in action below.

- Justin Manger

Image Credit: http://www.eliica.com/