Reckon the Volkswagen up! (itself set to be a star of the VW stand in Frankfurt) is small enough? Well the Germans have other ideas, hence the appearance of a new one-seat electric commuting concept car, the NILS.

VW's research of the German market revealed that 73.9 per cent of all commuters residing between Berlin and Munich cover less than 15.5 miles on their way to work, while 90 per cent of car commuters in Germany drive alone. So the NILS concept is designed specifically for them. Its range is 40 miles and it has a top speed of 80mph so it shouldn't be too out of its depth on a short motorway section.

The slippery aerodynamic shape features outboard wheels within slim housings, much like its cousin, the Audi urban concept, while access to the single-seat cabin is via large gullwing doors made of polycarbonate. Despite all that the NILS is significantly smaller than the up!, measuring 3.04 metres long (half a metre shorter) and just 0.4 metres wide. Extensive use of aluminium in the construction keeps weight down to 460kg.

That should be to the benefit of range, dynamics and performance. VW opted to go for a lightweight electric powertrain. The electric motor is rated at a continuous maximum of 15kW (20bhp), with short-term spikes to 25kW (33.5bhp) possible. Sounds slow, but there's 96lb.ft of torque available from rest, so 0-62mph takes a reasonable 11 seconds. There's no power steering needed so VW promises it's fun to drive.

The NILS project was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, and is apparently designed to be both 'technically realistic and economically supportable.'

We'll check it out for ourselves at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

Shane O' Donoghue - 1 Sep 2011