Hats off to BMW. The German car maker smacked the rest of theautomotive world upside its collective head on Tuesday, with a bonkersnew concept car that can worry a BMW M3 in a drag race, challenge aToyota Prius for scanty emissions, and beat Nicole Richie's newbornchild, Sparrow James Midnight Madden, in a stupidest-name contest.

Behold the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics: A car so progressivethat it actually looks like a pair of Usain Bolt's Puma training shoes.Its bodywork has an almost exoskeletal appearance, with F1-inspiredbody panels that look as if they've had enormous chunks gouged out ofthem for less resistance through the air. It seems to work, too--theVision has a drag coefficient of 0.22, which is the lowest of any BMWcar.

Thebodywork has sections carved out of it to help funnel air moreefficiently from front to back. It's an unusual approach, but theresult is a vehicle with the lowest drag coefficient of any BMW vehicle.

It's no surprise, then, that the Vision moves so efficiently throughair. BMW says it'll record an anticipated 75.1mpg on the Europeanc****ined cycle, while emitting just 99g of carbon dioxide perkilometer. That's on a par with the 2010 Prius, for goodness sake.

The reason it's so efficient is its unusual hybrid powertrain(the thing that makes it go). This consists of a 1.5-literturbo-charged diesel engine, a rear-mounted electric motor producing28kW and 290Nm of torque, and a front-mounted electric motor chuckingout 60kW and 220Nm of torque. BMW isn't quoting exact performancefigures, but peak power is said to be the equivalent of 356hp and 800Nmof torque--not bad for a car that weighs 1,395kg.

Thefunky, wasp-wing doors open far enough, but we suspect it'll be quitedifficult to get in and out. We like the bucket seats and theracing-inspired steering wheel, though.

The Vision can be driven exclusively in diesel mode, although theengine can also be used to recharge the battery, or work in tandem withthe electric motors for maximum performance. Electric-only range isexpected to be 31 miles, which isn't bad considering today's hybridsusually have an electric-only range of 1 or 2 miles. BMW estimatesthat, with all propulsion systems working in tandem, the Vision willhave a maximum range of 431 miles, although this can be extended eitherby refuelling, or by plugging the vehicle into a household poweroutlet. Recharge time is estimated to be 2.5 hours off a standard plug,or 44 minutes if connected to a more powerful 380V outlet.

See--wetold you it looks like a trainer. The transparent roof reveals atwo-by-two seating arrangement, offering about enough room for a coupleof relatively small children in the rear.

BMW showed a working version of the Vision at the Frankfurt MotorShow, but we'll eat our hats if it sees the light of day in this guise.BMW will almost certainly tone it down before release, or--morelikely--funnel the Vision's technology into less excitingEfficientDynamics cars, such as the new BMW 320d EfficientDynamicssaloon.

We can dream, though. We suggest you peruse the pics in our gallery for a closer look and more information.