Electric car powers across land, ice and water
Modern-day paddle steamer
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Leccy Tech Many drivers baulk at the thought of driving during the MET Office’s warnings of treacherous road conditions. So a team of designers has dreamt up a concept leccy car able to power its way across pretty much any surface, including water.
The Amphibious Hybrid would work just as well on water as it would on tarmac
The secret to the aptly named Amphibious Hybrid vehicle’s on and off-road success lies in its “intelligent wheel system”, which would use terrain sensors to monitor the environment that you’re driving across.
For example, should the sensors detect that you’re driving over ice or through snow, then they would tell the car’s wheels to “open up a little bit” to increase surface area and traction.
No need for a mast
And you wouldn’t have to turn back when you reach Brighton, either, because the car’s wheels can transform themselves into a sort of paddle steamer design - keeping you going all the way to France.
Driving options: normal (far left), ice (middle) and water
Quite what each of the Amphibious Hybrid’s three wheels would be made from hasn’t been mentioned, but we assume each would consist of 10 tyre-like panels – as hinted at in the sketch above.
The designers haven’t revealed much about the car’s eco-credentials, aside from promising that it would have a Nissan Leaf type electric engine arrangement under its futuristic shell.
A rental service could make the car cheap to drive
If the car ever does go into production – something that the designers: Janne Leppänen, Tuulia Miettinen, Roope Kolu, Tiemen Stelwagen, and Jaap Van Der Voort don’t appear to have plans for, yet – then a rental system would, apparently, enable the car to be hired for just €5 (£4/$7) per day. ®
COMMENTS
Well I like it
It's a bit of a fun idea to present new solutions in the future, published during the silly season. Button yer hawking.
Thinking for a second, if the recycled rubber idea from the previous story was mixed with this then they could have a one-piece sealed monocoque that would be better suited to withstanding the corrosive elements of seawater and winger roads covered in grit. Also, the controls could be connected via a wireless link to reduce the number of holes on the passenger cell to just frame links and door seals. And, you could have the fuel cell contained in a detacahable pod to speed up the recharge process. Lock and load, so to speak, which makes me wonder on the military uses of such a vehicle. Quiet, multi terrain and robust. Range would be a major hindrance though, but that will get better in time.
The suspension looks like it could be a challenge though. The varying behaviour of the tyres panels will mean some adjustment would be required, and the tuning will be very different. Now if they were really clever then they could utilise the wheel spokes as part of the suspension. But you knwo what the big problem will be? Having adjustable huggers over each wheel. I'd have one though. In matt black for stealth to avoid customs when zipping back from France with a questionable quantity of rum. Ho me hearties!
Oh, and AL fazed, it's gunwales, not gunnels.
I LIKE!!!
Yes, it needs some design tweaks to work well on ice / water. Yes, it will cost a hell of a lot. So what? Concepts are always impractical and expensive, and as they get produced and refined they get better and cheaper. Well odne to the design team, take teh criticisms on board and come back with something even better!
@Bobsta "Where's my ground-repulsion hover-car thingummy (R)? Didn't the Americans test one of these in the Tunisian desert in the 70's?" Would that be something from the 'Star Wars' set? :)
@BOBSta
"ground-repulsion hover-car thingummy " ? Do you mean 'ground effect' ?
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