Zaha Hadid Designs a Hybrid

The line starts here: Zaha Hadid, architecture’s brightest star, has designed a prototype for a new hybrid: the Z car. The model of the car is on display at the Guggenheim museum in New York as part of an exhibition of her work. Hadid is an Iraqi-born architect working mainly in Europe. The car was commissioned by a London art dealer who wanted something that would be both a work of art and method of transport. They have been working with an engineering firm in the UK to design a hybrid of electric and gas with the capacity to switch to hydrogen. It is a three wheeler, "shaped like a water drop" for minimum wind resistance -- and has a large asymmetric front hatch that gives a panoramic front view. It will be smaller than a VW Golf but larger than a Smartcar. The models at the Guggenheim will be sold as art. "We're working on building one functioning, road-going prototype," says Kenny Schachter ( who commissioned it) "The goal is that within seven months from today we will have one, fully licensed in the UK. And if it works, there's a good response and we can discern some kind of demand for the vehicle, we'll have all the moulds and everything. We'll be in place to take it forwards to low-volume manufacture." :: Financial Times