The strange allure is due to the fact that the wheels are not arranged at the four corners, but in a diamond pattern: one wheel in front, one behind and one on each side. This arrangement dictated the strange shape of the bodywork. But this is no mere stylistic whim. Thanks to this wheel arrangement, the City Car is surprisingly maneuverable. The front and rear wheels swivel on themselves, offering an unrivalled turning radius. The car can turn on itself. This makes turning corners child's play.

Here we find Franco Sbarro using his main inventions, brought together in a single vehicle whose primary aim is to optimize safety. The SV1 was the beginning, the City Car is perhaps the future. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this research is what you wouldn't notice at first: to improve visibility, Sbarro installs a screen that completely obscures the windshield! The idea of rendering the windscreen unusable is quite absurd. And yet: this screen retransmits images captured by external cameras and makes them "readable". The road is thus "visible", with better contrast and indications that warn the driver of possible danger (thermal camera). In addition, the driver's eyelids are constantly monitored to prevent drowsiness.

There's a lot of innovation in this City Car, which doesn't look like much and might even be smiling if you don't pay close attention. Yet it is perhaps the most elaborate car Franco Sbarro has ever designed. In association with Assystem, he has produced a synthesis of his work and research. Is the City Car the car of the future? Nobody knows. There will be reluctance on the part of users: diamond-shaped wheels shake up habits, and the screen in front of the windscreen forces us to question everything we know about driving. It's not going to be easy. But for Sbarro, this could be one of the most important cars of his career.

From http://www.revueautomobile.ch
"A French engineering company active in the aeronautical and automotive sectors, Assystem has teamed up with Sbarro to build a vehicle based on 5 issues: energy and propulsion, active and passive safety, recyclability, and urban and communicating vehicles.
The Sbarro Assystem City-Car has two autonomous front and rear drive units. The front motor is electric and develops 25 hp. The rear engine is a Honda 600 cm3 twin-cylinder producing 60 hp. (...)
The instrumentation is fully touch-sensitive, controlled via a screen on the middle console. The vehicle is equipped with cameras that constantly monitor not only the road ahead, but also the driver's pupils. (...) In rain, snow or poor visibility, an LCD screen is extracted from the dashboard and completely obscures the windscreen! Five cameras then transmit to the driver a view of the road and what's happening behind and to the sides of the vehicle.
"The image is the same as on a simulator. It will challenge and shock! Our aim is to demonstrate. If we don't want the screen, we'll take it down and return to a conventional dashboard!" says Sbarro."