Back in 2010, legendary designer Gordon Murray revealed something very, very different than his previous masterpiece, the McLaren F1. The T25 city car is still a prototype despite being around for nearly seven years, but development work on it apparently continues. "Project M" is its latest name after Murray teamed up with Shell to give it a "total rethink." Tipping the scales at only 1,212 lbs, it actually weighs 176 lbs. less than before, thanks to going on a diet. One goal, obviously, was to make the city car even lighter and more frugal.

For example, the T25 supposedly returned 80 mpg. The updated version returns 89 mpg when driving at 45 mph consistently, thanks in part to its composite panels being replaced with carbon fiber panels.

Power comes courtesy of a three-cylinder Smart car gasoline engine, but it too was given a proper re-work by an ex-Honda F1 engineer. What does Shell have to do with any of this? Its job was to create special lubricants for "Project M" to meet its efficiency goals. Despite its seemingly small size, the car can accommodate three people and, like the F1, the driver sits in the middle. By the way, Murray is 6-foot-6, and he has no problem fitting in the driver's seat.