這才叫智能電動車! 能變形還能橫着開!

As cities continue to grow at a dizzying rate, commuters are constantly battling ever-increasing congestion on the roads and a lack of parking, just to get to work.

隨着城市正以驚人的速度發展，通勤黨們也越來越受困於上班路上的堵車以及停車位不足等問題。

But now a team of German engineers have come up with an ingenious solution -- a "flexible" electric vehicle capable of shrinking, driving sideways (think like a crab) and turning on a dime.

但是現在德國一個工程師團隊想出了巧妙的解決辦法——一種“靈活的”電動汽車。它能夠伸縮，能夠橫着開（就像螃蟹那樣），還能夠在極小的空間中轉彎。

The EO Smart Connecting Car 2 is an innovative design from DFKI Robotics Innovation Center, based in Bremen, Germany, where a team of software developers and designers, as well as electronics and construction engineers, have been refining the smart micro car project for the last three years.

這款EO Smart Connecting 2電動汽車是由德國不來梅機器人技術創新中心研發的，該團隊由軟件開發者、設計師、電子和結構工程師組成，他們最近三年都在改進這款智能微型車。

First announced in 2012, the team have moved onto their second iteration of the vehicle.

這款電動汽車首次發佈於2012年，之後團隊發佈了它的最新版本。

It drives like a traditional car but because each wheel is powered by its own motor, it also has the capability of driving sideways, allowing it to slide into tight spaces in urban areas where parking is limited, explains Timo Birnschein, project manager for the vehicle.

項目經理提莫·比爾施海因解釋稱，平時它就像傳統汽車那樣行駛，但是因爲四個輪子是由自有馬達驅動的，所以它具有橫向行駛的功能，這樣就能在城市停車空間有限的情況下滑進停車位。

He adds: "The whole process -- the transition between normal driving and driving sideways -- takes about four seconds."

他補充說道：“整個過程--從普通行駛模式到橫向行駛模式--只需要四秒鐘。”

The prototype has a top speed of 65 km/h and can travel 50 to 70 kilometers (30 to 44 miles) on a single four-hour full charge of the battery.

這款電動汽車最高時速爲65千米/每小時，單塊電池在充滿電的情況下可以堅持四個小時，行駛50-70公里。

But it's the two-seater's ability to shrink to around 1.5 meters in length that has the team excited about its uses in future cities, says Birnschien.

比爾施海因表示，這款兩座車可以縮小到1.5米左右，團隊對其在未來城市的用途很期待。

"It is able to reduce its own size by about 80cm, which makes it almost as small as a bike in length. And with this kind of feature you can go into very tiny parking spaces," he says. "You are still able to turn on the spot, you are still able to drive sideways and you are still able to connect to charging stations, for example."

“它能夠將自身的大小縮小80釐米，這樣就跟一架自行車一樣大了。這個功能可以讓你開進很小的停車位裏。”他說，“比如，你還可以當場轉彎、橫向行駛以及將車連接到充電站。”