Sydney-Melbourne and back on one tank?

Dubbed the Loremo LS, this sleek plastic-bodied coupe uses just 1.5 litres of fuel per 100km, which means that it could theoretically travel from Sydney to Melbourne and halfway back before needing to pull up at a bowser -- and that’s despite having a puny 20-litre tank.

With such frugal consumption you might expect to find a horde of hamsters in the engineroom, but the Loremo’s propulsion is, in actual fact, provided by mid-mounted two-cylinder turbodiesel with -- wait for it -- a rippling 15kW. Drive is relayed to the rear wheels by a five-speed manual gearbox.

A sprightly kerb weight of 450kg means it makes the most of the few neddies at its disposal. Loremo quotes a 0-100km/h split of approximately 18sec and top whack is around 160km/h -- more than sufficient for our speed-limited roads.

Loremo also plans to build a ‘GT’ version with a three-cylinder turbodiesel engine that will halve the 0-100km/h time and deliver a V-max of 220km/h. But the catch is that it will use twice as much fuel. Still, 3.0lt/100km is hardly in the gas-guzzling category.

The mid-engined layout yields an ideal 50:50 weight distribution, even though the bicycle-like 105/70R14 tyres might not point to Ferrari-like cornering capabilities.

The car’s high-tech engineering extends way beyond its futuristic styling, which, incidentally, contributes to an ultra-slippery drag coefficient of 0.20. The lightweight thermoplastic body is also resistant to low-speed bumps and scrapes, so leaving it in crowded carparks promises to be an anxiety-free experience.

Its convention-defying design elements include the lack of side doors. So how do you get in the thing, you ask? Simply by crawling through the nose of the car -- an exercise made possible by a front-hinged bonnet and windscreen unit.

Likewise, the rear-seat passengers gain access via the rear tailgate, which pops up to a near-vertical position. And said passengers don’t face forward, like in a conventional car, as the steeply raked rear windscreen would have meant pygmy levels of headroom. Instead, back-seat passengers face rearwards, an arrangement that’s said to provide them with ample head and legroom.

Despite its ultra-econobox credentials, the Loremo is no poverty pack. The interior is bedecked in Alcantara trim, and standard kit includes dual airbags and a stereo. That said, goodies such as satnav and air-con are on the options list.

Is the Loremo just another pie-in-the-sky concept that’ll never be heard of again?

Apparently not. The manufacturer plans to have it on the streets of Europe by 2009, with prices starting at $18,770 for the LS, and around $25,000 for the GT. Any takers?