Mitsubishi i

[1][3][unreliable source] The innovative layout and styling of the i proved an immediate critical and commercial success, exceeding Mitsubishi's initial sales targets by 20 percent and winning thirteen awards in its first year.

[4][5] Although designed with the Japanese keijidōsha light automobile class in mind, the attention it generated led to its subsequent introduction in right hand drive markets in Asia, Oceania and Europe.

[7] One reviewer even speculated it to be an allusion by the vehicle's French-born designer Olivier Boulay to the Renault 4CV, France's popular post-war "people's car" with which the i shared its four-seat, rear-engined layout.

[11] The "i" Concept was powered by a 999 cc powerplant with the company's Mitsubishi Smart Idling (MSI) system, which turns off the engine automatically when the vehicle is stationary, and can restart it within 0.2 seconds.

[12] The second prototype, called the Se-Ro and exhibited at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show, previewed the production model's more conventional mechanical underpinnings, despite having a more radical appearance which bore little resemblance to the final design.

[13] Instead, its polished aluminium body was styled to resemble a zeppelin or airship,[14][15] which Se-Ro design head Shuji Yamada described as a realization of his fantasies of the future from childhood.

[16] The aviation theme continued with the name; Se-Ro, short for "secret room", was a veiled reference to the Mitsubishi Zero fighter aircraft of World War II.

[17] A lightweight steel (not aluminium) structure and a rear-engined layout allowed Mitsubishi to incorporate a larger front crumple zone, in order to meet current safety legislation requirements without compromising interior space.

[21] In common with many other mid- or rear-engined vehicles its fifteen-inch wheels have uneven-sized tires, 145/65 on the fronts and wider 175/55 on the rears, in an effort to minimise the chances of oversteer caused by the rear-biased weight distribution.

[24] The company has already exported the i to Singapore, Brunei, Hong Kong, and New Zealand,[25][26] where like Japan they drive on the left, and introduced it to the United Kingdom on July 1, 2007, with a price of GBP£9,000 and a target of 300 sales per year.

A very early sketch of the i during preliminary design and development of the vehicle.
The 2003 Mitsubishi "i" Concept debuted the car's striking exterior.
The 2003 Mitsubishi Se-Ro concept, which introduced the 660 cc engine used in the production version of the i.
The engine of the i as seen in cutaway, behind the rear seats and under the floor of the rear hatch storage area, just ahead of the rear axle.
Two Mitsubishi i kei cars photographed together in Japan. The silver i is a dealer model for customers to test drive.
The unique Hello Kitty edition of the Mitsubishi i, which was on public display in Tokyo for one week before being auctioned for charity .
Mitsubishi i-MiEV recharging from an on-street charging station in Japan .