Jul 29, 2003 – Naming a car i seems to be a very bad idea, as you see: when writing about that car the name i just disappears in the text. Maybe we should call it “i”?

The car will meet us as a full scale, working concept at Frankfurt Motor Show, and must not be confused with the coming big Smart/Volvo/Mitsubishi common platform models. This car is headed directly for the A-segment – smaller than that and you hit the local Japanese microcars. This will be the size of the coming Toyota/ Citroen/ Peugeot model.

Too little of real value is known about the “i”. We are, of course told about small on the outside, big inside, and light weight, but with a high degree of safety. Eco-engine and stepless transmission too. There are no indications of a Smart-relationship here. It will be more interesting to see if the finished concept bears any relationship to the dramatic sketch. We have seen other Mitsubishi pre-launch sketches just as high flying, but with the finished result surprisingly close to what was indicated. This car seems also to be destined for production.

I would be very surprised if Stefano Ardagna and his craftsmen at Modarte in Torino were not fully at it now – they are behind many of Mitsubishi's well-executed concepts. This is one of the Frankfurt models I am really looking forward to study.