Phylla is an ambitious new sub-A segment urban concept car project that aims to explore and make advances in the fields of zero emissions and recyclable properties. It is being financed by the Region of Piedmont, and involves a string of leading technology companies in the Turin area with the overall project concept realisation being managed by Cento Ricerche Fiat.

The project targets sustainability, seeking to develop a small and versatile 'city' car which will help to reduce road congestion, is made from fully recyclable materials, reduces modern day transportation dependency on oil, in the process eliminating CO2 and other harmful gases to give it completely zero emissions. As such a number of alternative propulsion technologies will be trialled including solar, hydroelectric and biogas, although the first oulined prototype will have a fuel cell and electric power. Estimated top speed of the Phylla will be 130 km/h while acceleration from 0-50 km/h will be around 6 seconds.

The aim is that Phylla will have approximately one-tenth of the running costs per mile of an equivalent petrol-powered small urban car, and for its ambitious urban pretensions it will overlap the properties of a passenger can with the practicality of a small van; as well as being highly manoeuvrable in enclosed spaces such as train stations or hospitals it will be designed to be easily accessible by older drivers or professional users.

Phylla (which means 'leaf' in ancient Greek) is envisioned as a 2+2 seater, with a slippery drag co-efficient (Cx) of 0.28, and with the second row of seats easily stowable to allow ease of load carrying. It will have a wheelbase of 1980 mm, is 2995 mm long, 1618 mm wide and 1500 mm high, while luggage space will be 142 litres in 2+2 format or 584 litres in its two seat arrangement. It will weight 750 kg (plus an additional 150 kg for the battery) giving it a power-to-weight ratio of 10.2kg/CV. Consumption is targeted at 9.6 kWh/100 km, with its range being between 145 km (Lithium Ion) or 220 km (Lithium Polymer) depending on the type of battery used (maximum 5 hours running at 2 kW is envisioned). The car, which has a 45/55 front/rear split, will be four wheel drive, and in normal mode its electric motor will turn out 27 kW, with peak power being delivered at 54 kW.

An aluminium split frame chassis will be utilised with a body made from a mix of metal and plastic; all materials will be recyclable. Wishbones, push-rod suspension, brake discs all round and an electronic differential will feature; while it will ride on 175/55/15 tyres at the front and 190/50/15 at the rear.

The project has been financed by the Region of Piedmont and the focus of its advanced technology is being drawn from Turin's ground-breaking Environment Park. The Environment Park was set up in 1996 as an ambitious new joint venture between the Region of Piedmont, the provincial government, the Municipality of Turin and the European Union.

The Environment Park aims to be one of Europe's leading Scientific and Technological Parks' with a focus on clean technologies and garnering efficiency, and the resident companies reflect this ideal. The Park's occupiers aim to develop advanced technologies and innovative solutions and are arrayed in a manner that promotes best practice. The Park has already made a name for itself and been at the centre of a series of European wide projects.

The Project Manager of Phylla will be Turin Polytechnic, while the concept vehicle's realisation is being led by Centro Ricerche Fiat (CRF), the leading design division of the Fiat Group. Meanwhile the regional further education establishments that are involved in the project will each develop two 1:4 scale models before CRF realise a 1:1 scale model.

Another partner involved in the Phylla project include 'Concept to Car' which was devised in 2002 by the Torino Chamber of Commerce, with the main purpose of promoting the skills and capabilities of the Piemonte automotive suppliers abroad and mainly of those companies based in Torino, the hometown of the Italian automotive industry. From Concept to Car provides foreign buyers with a valuable support in outsourcing activities, as it offers them the opportunity to get in touch with over 150 top-flight suppliers, chosen from 1,400 on the strength of their technical, qualitative and logistic capabilities.

Further partners involved in the Phylla project include two of Europe's leading design schools with a focus on the automotive sector, l'Istituto Europeo di Design (IED), which has built up a recent tradition of showing its students' realised projects at the highly prestigious Geneva Motor Show each year, and also l'Istituto di Arte Applicata e Design (IAAD). Other companies to contribute to Phylla are Novamont, Consorzio Proplast, Sagat, ENECOM, Sydera and Bee Studio.