Toyota shows innovative ME:WE concept

It sounds like a Nintendo video game, but even though the Toyota ME:WE concept revealed in Paris is spruiked as "four cars in one", none of them are a mobile game station.

Toyota says the ME:WE concept -- configurable as a compact city-car, a convertible, an off-roader and even a ute -- was created as a cheap and clean solution to "the ecological threats posed by mass production and the growth of the global car fleet".

Powered by four electric motors, one in each wheel, with a battery pack under the floor, the curious compact car is a collaboration between prominent industrial designer/inventor Jean Marie Massaud and Toyota Europe's ED2 design branch.

The all-electric five-seat Yaris-sized vehicle is ultra-green in both operation and construction, which is reflected in the meaning of its name: 'ME' for personal freedom, 'WE' for social responsibility.

Weighing in at around 750kg, the light-weight prototype is built from recyclable materials: expanded polypropylene for the body panels and seats; a bamboo floor and dashpad; and an aluminium chassis platform.

Toyota and Massaud intended interior space to be maximised for passengers, with luggage stored on the roof in a neoprene sack. However, in 'ute' mode with the rear tailgate folded down and the rear seats removed, the ME:WE can transport longer loads.

The 'convertible' mode doesn't dispense with the roof, but allows occupants to sense the great outdoors by opening all windows - including the windscreen a la the Mini Moke. The default mode is 'city car', while the fourth configuration ('off-road') engages all four of the ME:WE's in-wheel motors to deliver all-wheel drive.

Simple polypropylene bench seats can be removed and used for a picnic bench, says Toyota, and the cockpit is similarly minimalist with only a small display indicating vehicle speed. Smart phone integration provides additional data, such as navigation.

Massaud began working on the ME:WE concept car in 2011 in response to the modern day passenger car that he describes as an "accumulation of constraints more than a source of freedom".

"Our lives and needs require more adaptability, simplicity and lightness. The car of today should be seen as a personal mobility solution that can deliver more," said Massaud in Paris.

The Toyota ME:WE will be part of the company's Le Rendez-vous exhibit on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in the heart of Paris until June 12.

Dubbed an "anti-crisis" car that can solve personal transportation needs by offering a high level of flexibility, Toyota says the car is unlikely to enter production but was designed to provide "insights into the future of the automobile" from designers outside of cloistered automotive industry.

Has it succeeded? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.