The Clas was a design study created by the Italian styling house Michelotti, built as a 2+2 seat coupe with a fastback-style notchback profile and a body constructed entirely from glass-fibre reinforced plastic. It was based on the mid-engined Toyota MR2, with the donor car's platform stretched to accommodate two occasional rear seats. Its wheelbase was extended by 23 cm to 255 cm, and overall length grew by 19 cm to 411.5 cm, giving finished dimensions of 412 cm long, 169 cm wide and 122 cm high, with a track of 144/144.5 cm.
Power came from the Toyota MR2's transversely mounted mid-engine, a 1587 cc four-cylinder DOHC unit producing 130 hp at 6600 rpm and 149 Nm of torque at 5200 rpm.
The nose was wedge-shaped with an integrated headlamp treatment set into a small step behind a substantial bumper, avoiding the need for pop-up headlights. Air intakes for the engine, styled in dark plexiglass and shaped into a small roof spoiler, concealed the mid-engine layout, echoing the MR2's own understated approach. The dashboard used analogue instruments with white dials set into an elliptical housing rather than electronic displays. Doors opened on a parallelogram mechanism with frameless windows that could open automatically for easier access in tight spaces. Front and rear boot lids, wings and bumpers were bolted to a steel frame, allowing easy replacement and, in theory, alternative body versions. Alloy wheels with a turbine-style design, intended to aid brake cooling, were distributed in the Far East through Michelotti Japan. According to Edgardo Michelotti, the Clas was developed entirely on the company's own initiative.
