The Axon city car is a British project in its early stages of development, whose creators claim will achieve 100mpg and accelerate to 90mph.

The body shell has been developed by Axon with Warwick University and has been aerodynamically optimized in the wind tunnel to make it as slippery as possible. It’s made of a strong, moulded carbon fiber composite and has plastic door panels, so it weighs only 880lbs.

The Axon utilizes a two-cylinder, 500cc engine, which has 43bhp, 31lb ft of pulling power and weighs just 25kg. Built to meet Euro 5 emissions standards, it emits less than 70g/km of carbon dioxide.

Two adult passengers and two children in child car seats can fit inside. Without the children, the back end can be lifted off to convert the car into a pick-up, maximizing the number of ways it can be used.

The Axon is convinced that the tiny engine will be enough to keep pace with city traffic while delivering 100mpg and tax-free emissions.

The project’s part-funded with government money, but it’ll be at least two years before the Axon reaches any kind of production reality. The next step is to homologate the Axon to reach European crash standards, which its makers are convinced it can achieve.