Citroen's new family car, the Oli, can change from a family sedan, to a pickup truck, to a low-weight city car, and its battery can be used to add solar energy to the grid.

For two decades manufacturers have been trying to create electric cars that are more practical, cost-effective, and attractive to the average consumer.

The Oli is not following that beaten path, but rather is described as a "laboratory of ideas," which Citroen hope trickle down into other automobiles, but also help push the concept of the car, such as it is, along.

In science-fiction movies, cars always take on a dozen of additional roles that would never be found in a car today. In the new TV version of Lost in Space their car becomes a mobile communications hub, and an escape pod capable of traveling through space.

The Oli "concept car" attempts to replicate that, not least of which because of its near-military appearance with the flat windscreen and boxy bonnet.

Its fabrication is achieved with 100% recycled material, and made as light as possible to extend the range. The base model has a 250 mile, 400 kilometer range. Once charged up, which takes around industry-standard times, the roof panels double as a workstation where the owner can run their laptop or charge their devices.

The roof panels are also totally flat and climbable, making them perfect for a picnic. The whole thing is meant to tackle any situation one could find in the modern city, whether that's moving furniture, picking up a gaggle of kids from school, maneuvering tight spaces, or reducing air pollution.

The designers imagine that in a world of solar and wind power, Olis would help solve renewable energy's biggest hurdle which is storage. During the height of the sun and wind, the car could be charged, and then discharged into one's house at the end of the day for peak hours when the sun has gone down.

100,000 Oli owners then act as little storage hubs to help the grid through dark hours when demand for electricity is high.

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