Riversimple to Unveil Open Source Car in London This Month

The idea to build an open source car isn't a new one, but you've got to give vehicle design company Riversimple credit for originality. The company plans to unveil its first car in London later this month, a small two-seater that weighs roughly 700 pounds. If you agree to lease one for 20 years (yes, 20), Riversimple will throw in the cost of fuel for the lifetime of the lease.

The team decided to release the car's designs under an open source license in order to speed up the time it takes to develop the vehicle while also driving down the cost of its components. There's an altruistic value to the idea as well:

Human society is facing the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change, and transport represents a significant proportion of global emissions.We urgently need more fuel efficient vehicles, and by sharing our ideas and our designs we hope to encourage others to adopt this novel technology.

A preliminary sketch of the car:

The eco-friendly vehicle will be powered by hydrogen fuel cells and made from carbon composites. Riversimple predicts the car will achieve the energy equivelent of more than 300 miles to the gallon.