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Eco-friendly car

London: The race to produce ever smaller, eco-friendly cars, capable of weaving through congested city traffic, has narrowed. Engineers at Bath University, England, on Wednesday unveiled a project to build a three-wheeled, tilting micro-vehicle which is only a metre wide, has a top speed of 80 kmph, and runs on compressed natural gas. The Clever (Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport) car is planning to outwit the Smart car, overtaking it as the fashionable and environmentally less damaging way of getting about town. The design, still at a research stage, is being funded chiefly by the European Union, which has committed £1.5m to the project. Work is also being carried out by German, French and Austrian scientists. The first prototype is not expected to be assembled until late next year. If it goes into production, the vehicle — which will ``combine the safety of a car with the manoeuvrability of a motorbike'' — is budgeted to cost around £ 6,500. At three metres, however, it will be slightly longer than a Smart Car. The Clever's fuel consumption is predicted to be around 300 kim per gallon, a fifth of most cars. The gull-winged vehicle will carry two people, with the passenger sitting immediately behind the driver. There is a strengthened metal frame to protect occupants against side impact.

@ Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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