Armadillo-T electric vehicle concept folds up for easy storage

From postwar Packards to Beetles old and New, there are no shortage of cars that vaguely resemble the armadillo. Yet none, so far as we know, have mastered the shelled mammal's impressive vertical leap -- and none possess that oh-so-armadillian trait, the ability to curl up into a little protective ball.

Not more than once, anyway.

Apparently finding this lack of armadillo-ness to be the main factor holding us back from a future of efficient transportation, a group of researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology spent gobs of money on a very, very special prototype.

Yes, the Armadillo-T has hit the scene, and nothing will ever be the same. It doesn't jump, but according to the Wall Street Journal, the prototype EV starts off small (about the size of a Smart Car) and gets smaller, reducing its overall length to just 65 inches after parking. That means you can fit three of the neatly packaged parcels in the footprint of one standard parked car.

You might be wondering what happens if the car folds up with the occupant inside. A smartphone activation system is supposed to prevent that from happening, but the very nature of the transition from road-mode to storage-mode -- the rear of the vehicle flips up and to sit on top of, and partially enclose, the passenger pod -- means that locking your friend inside and initiating the transformation probably won't result in a busted spine.

And speaking of transformations, we guess the dual nature of the Armadillo-T technically makes it a capital-T Transformer, but its aesthetics -- and lack of weaponry -- leave us a bit cold. Maybe project leader Professor Suh's people could talk to Michael Bay's people and work up something more intimidating for Armadillo-T2: Production Version.

Anyway, forget about the car's golf cart-like looks and stance for a moment: This is (one more) prototype for a real, transforming car that has at least a ghost of a chance of entering production. Its mode of operation is different than the ones employed on the Renault Zoom concept MIT's Hiriko/CityCar project, which could possibly make it more viable to build and sell. At the very least, it's interesting to watch it in action.

Push the technology a bit further and there's no telling what'll happen: We imagine a family sedan that folds down to the size of a suitcase will remain out of reach, but maybe we can get an S-class that tucks into a nice leather steamer trunk.

By Graham Kozak