Lithia Body and Paint of Bend

Say Hello to the Armadillo T, a Car that Folds in Half

In a world where space is more and more limited all the time, a car that can fold in half is getting a ton of attention worldwide and it’s called the Armadillo T.

The Armadillo T, made in South Korea, indeed folds in half. That's right--the car is hooked up to your phone, and is designed to fold the car in half at the click of a button. It’s perfect for large cities without ample parking, because it allows you to take up half the space of a regular sedan and can be stored easily. The creators of this cutting-edge vehicle are imagining a world where owners will be able to stack their Armadillo T’s in enormous “parking towers.”

The Armadillo T is an electric car that will go 62 miles on a 10-minute charge. As of right now, the Armadillo T is not street legal, and there are no immediate plans to bring it to the market.

With a maximum speed of 37 mph, the Armadillo-T can travel 62 miles after 10 minutes of lithium ion battery charging. After parking, the car can be folded in length from 110 inches down to almost half, 65 inches, via a smart phone interface. To save space, cameras replace the side and rear-view mirrors. According to the Korean Wall Street Journal, three Armadillo-Ts can be slotted into a standard sized parking lot in Korea after folding, using the same smart phone application.

While the Armadillo-T might not interest those with a need for speed, the sub-1,000-pound prototype looks promising as a practical urban vehicle that is ideal for large cities. The fact that it's also an environmentally friendly electric car means it will be more attractive to consumers. However, it doesn't look like it would offer much in the way of protection during an accident, and I'm not sure I want to be crawling at the speed of an armadillo if I'm late for an appointment.

We don’t anticipate seeing any Armadillo T’s in our shop for repairs any time soon, but who knows? At Lithia Body And Paint Of Bend, we work on cars of all types and sizes, so when these do finally hit the U.S. market in a big way, we’ll be looking for Armadillo T’s on our streets.