Elio Motors' new three-wheeler is coming to the L.A. Auto Show and is expected to hit the road in 2016.

Elio Motors, a six-year-old start-up preparing to put a three-wheeled passenger car on the road next year, plans to show off a prototype at the Los Angeles Auto Show next week.

Founded in 2008 by Paul Elio, who was concerned about the damage to the U.S. economy due to America’s dependence on foreign oil at the time, the Phoenix-based company has gradually matured with support from a broad crosssection of widely recognized automotive suppliers, such IAV, an engineering company that has done powertrain development for major automakers, ranging from Audi and General Motors to Peugeot.

The heart of the Elio three-wheeler, which is longer, heavier and more sophisticated in terms of both and design and safety equipment, than the three-wheel motorcycles sold for recreation across the U.S., is a new, small, lightweight engine that will get up to 84 miles per gallon in normal city driving and cost only $6,800.

Set to launch its three-wheel vehicle in late 2016, the Elio P5 that will be displayed in L.A. will feature a 0.9L, three-cylinder engine, developed by IAV specifically for Elio Motors.

(Click Here for details about the debuts at the Los Angeles Auto Show.)

Elio Motors is the first start-up to develop its own internal combustion engine from the ground up in more than 60 years, according to founder Paul Elio. The vehicle will have a top speed of over 100 mph and will go from 0 to 60 in 9.6 seconds.

The Elio appears to be reaching the market at a propitious time. Tesla has demonstrated that it is possible to launch a new vehicle company, although it has yet to turn a profit, and interest innovative powertrains is increasing, particularly in large urban areas where young consumers and commuters with long and expensive drives are clustered.

(To find out more about Elio’s plans to have vehicles on the road next year, Click Here.)

While it has faced significant challenges over the last seven years, Elio Motors has managed to secure an assembly plant, the old General Motors truck plant in Shreveport, Louisiana. Like Tesla, it hopes to operate its own network of retail stores.

“In a nutshell, Elio is a stand-alone solution for today’s generation of drivers. Gas prices are constantly spiking. Cars themselves cost more than houses did a few short years ago. And in case you haven’t noticed, the world, and personal space along with it, is shrinking. We simply need to evolve to more efficient and practical forms of transportation. We need a new way to get around. Elio is that new way. Never has different, sexy and fun tag-teamed so well with serious, practical and smart,” according to the Elio web site.

(Cadillac introduces new XT5 at Dubai Motor Show. For more, Click Here.)

The company, according to its website, has used a variety of methods to raise more than $75 million to continue operations, including $25 million from a crowdfunding campaign. It has also secured commitments for more than $290 million worth of orders from interested customers.