Austrian motorcycle maker KTM (Mattighofen), design house Kiska (Salzburg, Austria) and the Austrian Institute of Technology (Vienna) have teamed up to design a stylish three-wheeler concept vehicle with an electric drivetrain and super light weight to boot through extensive use of plastics. The E3W will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15.

Featuring two seats and scissor doors for easy opening in confined urban spaces, the E3W weighs in at only 500 kg thanks to extensive use of plastics. This is 230 kg lighter than Daimler's Smart Fortwo city car. The first pictures of the E3W appear to reveal extensive use of polypropylene (PP) to achieve such light weight.

Driven by a 15-kW electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, the E3W has a range of about 100 km when carrying its complement of two passengers. A production version could be ready as early as 2013 and cost as little as EUR5000 ($7,160), ranging up to EUR8000 ($11,460) for a top-of-the-range model. Reports claim KTM says it will be able to produce 50,000 units annually by 2015. Check out more details about the E3W with this video.-[email protected]