Toyota i-REAL

The Toyota i-REAL is a personal mobility concept that Toyota planned to put on sale around 2010, a development of the earlier Toyota i-unit and i-swing. Like them it is a three-wheeled, electrically powered, one-passenger vehicle that runs on lithium-ion batteries. In low-speed mode the vehicle stays upright and moves at walking pace at roughly the eye height of pedestrians. In high-speed mode it extends in length by leaning back and extending the single rear wheel to improve aerodynamics and stability, reaching 30 km/h, and it leans into corners to prevent tipping. Two joysticks, either of which controls the vehicle, drive it, and perimeter-monitoring sensors warn the driver of an imminent collision and alert people around it with light and sound. Richard Hammond drove it on the BBC programme Top Gear in 2008.