The brains over at Kyoto University Venture Business Laboratory have cooked up a rather nice ecologically friendly concept vehicle called the Kyoto-Car. The electric car would not only operate on electrical charges but would also function as a power source for camping trips with the ability to recharge via solar cells located on the car's roof. In a demonstration video of the Kyoto-Car model, project leader Tomotaka Takahashi shows off how the car's wheels would move independently, allowing for sideways locomotion.

Perhaps the oddest thing about the Kyoto-Car is the decision by its designers to trick it out with old school Japanese lacquer decoration, thus merging ancient Asian aesthetics with global future tech. Despite the flowery décor, if they can manage to keep the wheels looking like "On" buttons when this goes into production, then they'll have a winner. You can see the Kyoto-Car in action here.

Via Kyoto University