Photos

A production i MiEV goes on sale in Japan by year\’s end. (Photo courtesy of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.)

TOKYO — Mitsubishi is ratcheting up the performance quotient on its latest i MiEV offering, the Sport Air, which is set for a global debut at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show in March.

Few details were forthcoming in the Japanese automaker\’s teaser of the i MiEV Sport Air, which was released on Monday. But the jelly-beany vehicle features a \”beefed-up electric motor\” and a \”clear cutaway top,\” which Mitsubishi said underscores its \”eco-friendly qualities.\”

\”The i MiEV Sport Air explores the future possibilities for zero-emissions vehicles, placing a greater bias on exhilarating driving pleasure,\” Mitsubishi said in a statement. \”The concept model exemplifies the balance between environmental and dynamic performance.\”

Details include an in-floor lithium-ion battery.

The Japanese automaker says i MiEV stands for \”Mitsubishi Innovative Electric Vehicle.\” Earlier, it said it expects the production 2010 Mitsubishi i MiEV to go on sale in Japan by the end of 2009 for the U.S. equivalent of $24,000. Mitsubishi said it has a 30-vehicle test fleet of zero-emissions vehicles on the streets of Tokyo.

The company has been promoting its iMiEV vehicles for a couple of years. At the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show, Mitsubishi rolled out the i MiEV Sport, a futuristic concept car with an aluminum chassis, a hub-mounted electric motor for each front wheel and a single electric motor to power the rear wheels. It promised that the Sport makes 90 horsepower and has a cruising range of 120 miles.