Toyota FT-BH City Hybrid at Geneva 2012

However the Toyota FT-Bh styling disguises the most aerodynamic car at the Geneva Motor Swhow.

The four-seat Toyota's FT-Bh cuts through the air with the same ease it cuts through conventional car styling to achieve a drag co-efficient of just 0.235, well under the company's next-best model, the Prius hatch, which rates at 0.25.

Teamed with a 1.0-litre, two-cylinder hybrid powerplant  the FT-Bh uses just 2.1 litres/100km. Inside glazed glass and matte paint are applied to stop the interior from heating up and avoid the need to increase fuel use by activating the airconditioning.

But it is the styling that creates the biggest impact. Toyota says the asymmetic panels represent the tensional stress on stretched fabric.

It is confronting, but effective and Toyota says the use of existing materials means a production version could be built at a competitive cost. the light car is around the same size as a Toyota Yaris but hits the scales at a svelte 786kg.

"One year ago we challenged our engineers and designs to come up with a small super-efficient car at an affordable price, reinforcing our environmental leadership in the coming years," Toyota Europe boss Didier Leroy says.

The FT-Bh was shown alongside a concept version of the Yaris hybrid, a car which Toyota Australia has already confirmed it won't take, preferring to go for the Prius C. The Yaris hybrid uses a 1.5-litre engine matched to an electric motor to generate 74kW. Power is delivered to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission and fuel consumption is a claimed 3.5 litres/100km with CO2 emissions of just 79g/km Standard features include seven airbags, LED running lights and dual-zone climate control.