Quasar City Car / Unipower

The Quasar City Car—also known as the Quasar Unipower—was a striking prototype urban vehicle created by French-Vietnamese designer and engineer Quasar Khanh.

Built in limited numbers between 1967 and 1968 by Universal Power Drives Ltd. of Perivale, Middlesex, the project reflected the era’s growing fascination with compact, multifunctional city transport.

The company, best known for producing small sports cars based on Austin Mini components, adapted familiar Mini mechanicals for this far more radical concept.

At its core, the Quasar City Car featured a box-shaped, five-seat cabin distinguished by sliding glass panels that served as doors, allowing effortless access from all four sides. Though often described as a cube, its footprint was actually wider than it was long—an unusual configuration in automotive design.

Its transparent, open architectural look echoed Khanh’s broader design work, which explored modular, inflatable, and space-age forms.

Power came from a 1.1-liter BMC four-cylinder engine paired with an automatic transmission, while the suspension and 10-inch wheels were sourced from the Mini.

Capable of reaching about 95 km/h, the Quasar balanced lightweight engineering with playful practicality. Inside, the car continued the theme of modern experimentation, featuring plastic inflatable seats that underscored its unconventional nature.

Produced only in very small numbers, the Quasar remains one of the most distinctive and imaginative city car concepts of the late 1960s—a rare blend of automotive engineering and avant-garde industrial design.