If I said the word ‘car’ to you, you’d be forgiven for picturing something with four wheels (five if you count the steering doohickey), multiple doors, headlights and an engine… And that’s exactly why neither you nor I work as a concept car designer. These visionaries of transport spend their time rubbishing previous acceptable notions of what a ‘car’ is and instead pouring their energies into creating inexplicable blobs of engineering. Most of them will never make it past a showroom for like-minded progressive thinkers; some, though, might just see the light of day. Here are some of the more interesting potential concept cars from recent years.
1. Honda Fuya-Jo
As if driving immediately after a drink wasn’t bad enough, those crazy kids at Honda have designed a vehicle which in theory will allow you to combine both simultaneously. The Fuya-Jo, whose name translates to English as ‘sleepless city’, is centred on the idea of 24-hour partying. The interior is reminiscent of a nightclub, complete with non-stick and spill-proof flooring, dance space inside and a steering wheel in the shape of a DJ’s decks. First unleashed on the world in 1999 and paraded in concept car showrooms until 2002, the Fuya-Jo has been retired…for now. It’s probably just sleeping off the hangover.
2. BMW Lovos
The BMW Lovos, designed by 24-year-old Anne Forschner, looks like something out of a Sonic the Hedgehog video game. The idea behind the car is that its complete exterior is made out of one, single, (260-time) recurring part, which is completely interchangeable with the others. Whilst it is a neat idea, the acronym name stands for Lifestyle of Voluntary Simplicity, which seems to be stretching the simplicity of its design a bit. Each of the 260 parts also carries a solar panel, making it environmentally conscious as well as terrifyingly stylish.
3. Yo-Mobil
A joint venture between Russian company Yarovit and their compatriot investment group Onexim, the Yo-Mobil is Russia’s attempt to show the world that they can make good cars. The leader of Onexim apparently stated he wanted to try and create an eco-friendly hybrid that would be available for under US$10,000; the project until now has hit several snags and received varied criticism. Among other faults, it has been suggested that the car has a too-high centre of gravity, it uses potentially dangerous electrical components and it has been designed by a company with no previous experience of manufacturing vehicles. Despite such criticism, the project is expected to go ahead in 2015.
4. Mazda Nagare
The Mazda Nagare is Mazda’s attempt to envision where the company will be in 2020. The name is Japanese and translates to English as “flow”; accordingly, the car has been designed specifically to optimize streamlining and work in harmony with its surroundings. The doors have a futuristic, butterfly opening mechanism and the rear seats are in a “wrap-around” lounge format; Mazda are very excited about unleashing the car on the global market and have been giving sneak peeks periodically every few years…though no release date has as yet been fixed.
5. Volkswagen Buggy Up
Buggy Up is an effort by Volkswagen to recapture its halcyon days of the 60s, when their camper vans embodied the hippy, feel-good vibe of the times. A return to the beach, the Buggy Up is designed specifically for enjoying the wind lashing your hair and the cool spray of the sea tickling your face; it even has drainage holes installed in the seats and floor! Those could also come in handy if caught short on a long journey…just kidding. The patent for the Buggy Up was granted in June of 2013 and production is expected sooner rather than later.
6. Vauxhall/Opel RAK e
The Opel RAK e is a two-seater tandem-style electric car that is a throwback to the Rak 2, an innovative rocket-powered car designed by Opel back in 1928, which hit speeds of 140mph. Unlike its pacy ancestor, the RAK e’s top speed will be a mere 75mph, but will offer drivers a lot of bang for their buck. The developers are aiming at the younger market and as such are looking to keep costs down, with one hour of travel reportedly only going to cost around €1 in fuel consumption. It’s believed the RAK e could be released as early as 2014.
7. Nissan Bladeglider
Something that Bruce Wayne would be proud of, the Bladeglider is a triangular work of art. Measuring just 1m across at the front, the car widens out to 1.8m at the rear and has two seats in the back (just one up front). Not only do the doors open upwards, Batmobile-style, but the driver seat actually slides to the side to accommodate incoming passengers and allow for easy access and egress. It was first displayed at the end of 2013 and is hoped to be in production in the coming years; though high costs will probably rule it out of the mainstream.
8. Peugeot Egochine
Speaking of blades, Peugeot have decided to dispense with the traditional image of a car and focus instead of designing their latest offering on a Gillette razor blade. The man behind this machine is Italian designer Paolo de Giusti, who claims that it has been designed specifically for “someone who is very self-centred”…as is suggested by the title. Again, probably not another one which is going to dominate our highways anytime soon.
9. eRinGo
Moving altogether away from a ‘car’ car, the eRinGo is based on a ring design, with one constantly functioning wheel and two others that can be deployed or stowed as the situation merits. It looks not entirely similar from a crushed lager can and it’s hard to imagine seeing many of these in your local neighbourhood…though it does have some intriguing features. The design makes it very spatially economical, and also allows for driver interchangeability mid-journey, with two steering wheels inside. Not the finished article, but an interesting starting place.
10. A360
The last car had one, two or three wheels, depending on what it was doing at that particular moment; this one has none. Instead, the A360 is the epitome of future space travel, with three spheres replacing the wheels - allowing for movement in any direction - and the appearance of a UFO. The spheres function on the same principle as the ball inside your computer mouse (if you still use one - unlikely in itself!) and a ball is even used in place of the traditional steering wheel. Video cameras replace mirrors and a transparent roof replaces the traditional shell of a car, and what you’re left with is a quite bizarre, but perhaps quite brilliant, blob of a vehicle. Fingers crossed this one makes it out onto the streets, if only for the novelty factor.
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