Lotus' preoccupation with all things light weight has driven the company to unveil this concept, which in the study of mass reduction does away with a body, seats, drivers, passengers, axles, cupholders and many other things that would make this an automobile.

Oh, all right. The image above is simply an illustration of the power train that will sit underneath the Italdesign series-hybrid city car concept that the Italian design house will unveil next week at the Geneva Auto Show for Malaysian manufacturer Proton. The concept itself (pictured left) looks like, well, a five-door hybrid city car concept. This small-but-tall, four-seat A-segment car has a raised floor to accommodate the hybrid system's batteries.

The power train, conceived and built by Lotus Engineering, delivers what the company calls "acceptable electric-only operating range for city use." When the journey is longer than just to your local Aldi, the Proton's 1.2-liter, 3-cylinder engine fires up to replenish the battery charge and wage electrical power to motivate the electric drive motors. The battery can also be charged by plugging it into a surround outlet. Sounds a bit like something we've hear before (We're looking directly at you Chevrolet Volt). But instead of coming up with a whole new description for the set-up as GM has with its "Extended-Range Electric Vehicle," Lotus simply calls it what it is, a series hybrid.