Mitsubishi's iMiEV is a sweet little electric runabout that's fun to drive, but no one would ever look at it and think "sporty" or "cutting edge." It's just too cute. Mitsubishi clearly hopes to change that with the iMiEV Sport Air concept, which takes the jellybean-shaped EV and throws it, oh, about 15 years into the future. The concept has been the subjected to the kind of now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t speculation normally reserved for software rollouts and Dean Kaman projects, and now Mitsubishi says it'll unveil it at the Geneva auto show in March. So what's the Sport Air got that the regular iMiEV - which hits the road in Japan this year, Europe the next and America, well, eventually - doesn't? Mitsubishi goes out of its way to stress the “sport” part of the little EV's ponderous name, which is odd for something that bears more than a passing resemblance to the BMW Isetta and Messerschmitt KR-200.

(We love the look, by the way, but then we're suckers for post-war microcars.) Says the company, "The i MiEV Sport Air explores the future possibilities for zero-emission vehicles, placing a greater bias on exhilarating driving pleasure." Wait, what was that? "Placing a greater bias on exhilarating driving pleasure." Exhilarating driving pleasure is not a term generally associated with EVs - or at least not for very long, given the constraints battery range puts on your ability to really flog a car. Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive are among the companies changing that perception, but the guys making urban commuters like the iMiEV typically slant their ad copy toward, "It's cute. How can you not love it?" That's what makes EVs such tough to sell to the gearheads.

Mitsubishi teases us with a line about "the balance between environmental and dynamic performance implied in the tagline Drive@earth," whatever that is, and spells out the benefits of its electric drivetrain: Powerful, instant torque from a beefed-up electric motor. Stable driving and handling and a low center of gravity, due to the in-floor lithium-ion battery. Zero on-road CO2 emissions. What? That’s it? This is a sport model, no? Why not at least tease us with some specs or performance benchmarks? Thank you, Mitsubishi, for telling us your electric car will offer great torque, a low center of gravity and zero emissions. (We can hear you back there, skeptical reader, muttering that most electricity is generated from coal. Guess what? It's still cleaner than burning gasoline in our cars.)

All electric cars offer great torque, a low center of gravity and zero emissions. Even the iMiEV we drove last fall. You say this is going to be a “dynamic performance” experience? How dynamic? How quick and for how long. C’mon, let us know that, and then we can talk more. A test drive would be nice too.