Is this the city car of the future?

The city car conundrum is a tough nut to crack. Throughout history, great minds have bashed their skulls against tables to try and find a wholesome solution to a dinky set of urban-friendly wheels.

Smart’s ForTwo, VW’s Up and Gordon Murray’s T25 (if it ever makes production) are all intelligent solutions. But designer Alexander Malyshev thinks he’s got the answer. 

It’s called the Mirrow Provocator. It may sound a bit dubious, and currently only exists in the fantastical world of Photoshop, but it’s a concept that’s sparked our interest. 

It has the same footprint as a Smart ForTwo but sits on a tubular chassis and seats four people. It also uses a polymer construction to increase safety by absorbing then distributing energy evenly just in case you accidently drive into a wall. 

We have to admit that its cute, bulbous shape does look like it’d do a roly poly if you braked too hard. But it has character. A kind of Manga-meets-MicroMachines vibe that we’re digging. It also has four exhaust pipes, which by Top Gear logic means it must be fast. 

Occupants access the car via a single full-length door at the back, just like old council-funded library buses from the eighties. Passengers then proceed down a central corridor to their designated, minimalist and very orange seat.

But if you take a look at the pics, you may notice unconventional suicide doors that wilt downwards. Unfortunately, they’re only for emergency situations (we’re guessing for when your back door gets rear ended) but look pretty cool, don’t ya think? 

Power comes in three flavours; a diddy 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol or diesel engine, a pure electric option, or a mixture of both. The EV stashes its batteries in the floor and is apparently good enough for a range of over 200 miles. 

So, this or Gordon Murray’s T25/T27? What would you rather see make production? Let us know below.