A team from Mississippi State University has transformed a Subaru BRZ into what they're describing as the "Car of the Future"—a plug-in series hybrid much like the Chevrolet Volt. Sounds like a cruel fate to subject such a fun car to, right? Keep reading. The Car of the Future is cooler than you think.

From the outside, the MSU BRZ, which was unveiled at the SAE World Congress last week, may look more or less stock, but beneath the skin it's a whole different beast than the lightweight sports coupe we know and love. The standard-issue boxer four has been cast aside, replaced with a pair of electric motors—one for each rear wheel—and a battery pack serving up 12.7 kWh of usable energy. That's enough power to provide at least 50 miles of all-electric driving according to the project team.