If there's one person who may have difficulty in finding breakdown cover, it's 60 year old Xu Zhiyun from China, who built a tiny car in order to navigate the congested streets of his native Shanghai.
The little car took two years to construct and cost just £155. As well as an engine and a fully functional gear system, the diminutive vehicle also boasts brake lights, a horn and a 500-song sound system.
Coming in at 23 inches long and 13 inches wide, Xu Zhiyun's car makes the average supermini look like an armoured Hummer.
Is Shanghai traffic really that bad?
As both the largest city in China and the largest city in the world,Shanghai’s roads are under a great deal of pressure. A burgeoning economy and a growing population (24 million in 2013) mean that authorities are always playing catch-up in terms of transportation management; against this backdrop Xu Zhiyun’s invention may not seem so unorthodox.
Xu is reported in the Daily Mail has having said: “I liked building things since childhood. I've been interested in motorcycles for more than 30 years and at last I wanted to assemble the smallest car. It's only a hobby.”
But building cars is not Zhiyum's only pastime. He also makes his own clothes and has developed a system that moves his television.
The ingenious car certainly presents one way of negotiating heavy traffic, but the inventor is unlikely to have his design bought by a manufacturer unless he modifies it heavily. Without any kind of protection from other vehicles on the road, this 'ultra-mini' is perhaps only for the boldest of motorists.
Breakdown Cover from 
