XP Vehicles has recently released some information about its Whisper electric car. So far, the car is about as far from ordinary as you can expect. Firstly, the support and protective structure of the vehicle is built from baffled pressure tubing. In essence, this is an inflatable car. At first glance that seems frighteningly unsafe, but a good comparison is offered in the form of the Mars rovers. NASA landed the Mars rover on to the planet in an expandable inflated casing, and despite falling about a mile in the process of landing, all of the delicate electronic and mechanical systems worked perfectly. For a good comparison, imagine driving around in an airbag that is always inflated! In fact the engineers that are working on the Whisper are confident that you can drive it off a 25 foot cliff without injury to the passengers, which would likely make it the safest car ever designed. The car even floats in the case of an emergency.

The surprises from the XP vehicles and their Whisper electric car don’t just stop at the design. They plan on selling the car online, which is not so revolutionary, but the cost they have announced is revolutionary. XP Vehicles plan on selling the Whisper starting at less than $3,000. Based on the lighter weight of the Whisper it will be able to travel much further than comparable electric cars. The Whisper is powered by eight hub-mounted motors and comes in four different body types.

While this is only an announcement, the idea of an electric car that is not only affordable to the masses, but is MORE affordable than gasoline equivalents is an exciting prospect!