The wheel segments of the car can move separately from the cabin, allowing the car, still an experimental concept model, to sway and swerve, almost like a motorcycle.

Nissan Motor Co project design director Takashi Nakjima says Land Glider is designed to be a "personal city commuter".

In a demonstration for reporters, the car glided around on a test course at Nissan's design centre, outside Tokyo, leaning slowly to one side, and then the other, as it turned tight corners.

tight fit

Just 110 centimetres (43 inches) wide, Land Glider has sensors to calculate speed and level of lean required for corners, and can manoeuvre through narrow streets and fit into tight parking spaces, according to Yokohama-based Nissan.

People aboard sit in a line, one behind the other, not next to each other as in traditional two-seaters.

Reporters got a preview look of the "concept model" but no test drive, of the Land Glider. There are no immediate plans for commercial production.

It will have its world premiere at the Tokyo Motor Show, opening to media October 21, two days before its formal opening. The show runs through November 4 in the Tokyo suburb of Chiba.