SAN FRANCISCO, CA – People either love Crocs, those ubiquitous rubber clogs that come in dayglo colors, or hate them. We suspect people will feel the same way about the Croc-inspired Spira foam car said to deliver 100 mpg and a top speed of 70 mph.

Designer Lon Ballard has entered the car, which looks like a mashup of a scooter, a pickup truck topper and a big hot dog bun, in the Progressive Automotive X Prize. That contest has attracted no end of unusual ideas about sustainable transportation, but the Spira has to be the oddest. It is 90 percent foam, a material Ballard believes will change the way we build cars.

“The Spira team hopes foam will revolutionize autos and motorcycles like the Crocs and flip-flops have revolutionized shoes and sandals,” he says.

The way Ballard sees it, foam cars will increase the safety of pedestrians and passengers because, according to the Spira website, “the millions of airbags in foam offer crash protection.”

At least until an SUV creams you.

Ballard started experimenting with various means of increasing safety while earning his masters in engineering at the University of Illinois. The idea of using foam came to him last year, and he started assembling the 302-pound car at a factory his company, A & G Technology, owns in Thailand.

The funky little two-seater has a 100 cc engine. The soft foam body is reinforced with a polycarbonate and aluminum cage. Tiny doesn’t begin to describe the Spira: It is a mere 10 feet long, 5 feet wide and 52 inches tall. You can remove the top in the off chance you actually want to be seen behind the wheel. The car floats, too, although though we’re not sure why you’d want to drive it into a lake. Perhaps because you can? It also does some sweet power slides.

Limited production is slated to begin “soon” in Rayong, Thailand, a city often referred to as the “Detroit of the East.” (City officials may want to rethink that.) The plan is to franchise production worldwide. Spira isn’t taking orders just yet, but if you’re interested in getting one, the company will put you on a mailing list so you’re at the head of the line once production starts.

Copyright 2009 USA Condé Nast Digital. All rights reserved. From http://www.wired.com. By Ben Mack.
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