Pickup trucks aren't known for being nimble, and their general styling hasn't changed since, well, ever. Elad Barkan hopes to change that.

Barkan rolled into the New York auto show with a mid-engined truck that he says combines the utility of a pickup with the handling of a sporty passenger car. The Counter Balance is built on a Chevrolet Tahoe chassis with a V8 engine smack in the middle. It looks a bit like a Chevrolet Avalanche crossed with the Yellow Submarine and the Batmobile. Love it or hate it, the Counter Balance definitely has people at the show talking.

"So far, the response at the Auto Show has been good. Some people like it, and some people don't," Barkan told Wired.com.

Barkan earned a degree from the Automotive/Industrial Design School in Turin, Italy and started working on the Counter Balance in San Diego five years ago. He lost the first prototype when a wildfire destroyed his garage.

"The truck started as a personal project that I began after school and financed out-of-pocket," he said. "When I lost it to the fire, I figured if I didn't start over again all my work would be all for not."

As for the design, Barkan says putting the engine in the middle improves the handling.

"The engine placement makes the truck and the whole package more balanced," he said.

It also creates all kinds of room up front for storage. It required elevating the back seats, which is cool because you've got stadium-style seating with panoramic views through the smoked windows. The bed can be expanded from 5 feet to a maximum length of 7.5 feet, and Barkan says there's enough room under the body to install an alt-fuel drivertrain.

"Batteries, propane, biodiesel, you name it," said Barkan. "It's all possible to install under there and depends on the buyers preference."

Barkan says he's talking to several production facilities about building the Counter Balance. Should it see production, Barkan said, it'll cost about as much as "a fully loaded Escalade."

Talk of alt-fuel drivetrains aside, Barkan didn't disclose the truck's fuel economy.

"A pickup truck is not a Prius. It can't be a Prius" he said. "But I tried to make the Counter Balance as practical and efficient as possible."

Photo courtesy Elad Barkan. Used with permission.