Never tired of sampling new ways to travel, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi whizzed around the grounds of Parliament on Monday in an eight-wheeled car billed as the world’s fastest electric sedan.
“It is comfortable to ride in,” Koizumi said after being taken for a 10-minute spin in the vehicle, dubbed the Eliica.
“It is stable and its speed is fascinating,” he said.
Unveiled in October but not set to hit the road for several years, the Eliica runs on lithium-ion batteries and can reach a speed of 370kph.
It was developed by researchers at Tokyo’s Keio University in cooperation with a government science-promotion body and private-sector companies such as Japan’s top tyre maker, Bridgestone.
On Friday, the media-savvy premier commuted to his office by riding the next-generation scooter Segway, a gift from his close friend United States President George Bush.
In previous photo-ops, Koizumi has done laps on a bicycle and endured the impact of a crash-simulator car in front of a crowd of children to promote traffic safety. — AFP