Most concept cars that we usually see are weird. More so, if they claim to save the earth from going under. Here are 10 concept cars that will take your breath away not just by their green appeal, but by their sheer weirdness too.
Peugeot Globule
Designer Ahmad Moslemi Far has come up with the Peugeot Globule, a car which like it’s name is more of a globule. The Peugeot Globule is a four seater that is basically a sum of four independent cabins, covered by a shape changing flexible polymer. The cabins move together as a single entity by sharing a centralized battery system that powers the independent electric engines. Depending on the ambient road conditions, the Globule will change it’s shape to suit and match the surroundings. So, the Globule will transform itself itself from a transverse four-seater to a longitudinal four-seater. The Peugeot Globule can also park itself in a vertical stack to conserve space during parking. Though weird, the Peugeot Globulemakes a great case for itself as a viable space-saving transport solution for our crowded cities.
TransforMISS Electric Car
In the future, we could drive around in a contraption that wouldn’t look out of place in a Transformers movie. That’s right, the TransforMISS Electric Car can transform itself from a car to a bike and then, to even a trike. Designer Thierry Dumaine has designed this unusual concept car that is powered by electric motors residing in its hubs. Its interiors too follow the green theme by using recycled paperboard for their construction. Meanwhile, the designer claims to have been inspired by women who keep changing. Wonder what the women of the world will have to say about that.
MINILUX
Here is a concept car that uses the sun, not just to power itself but also to function as a grid. Yes, the MINILUX will use its solar panels to add power to your neighborhood’s electric grid. The brainchild of designer Jukka Rautiainen, the MINILUX uses Gallium Arsenide solar cells that are currently the preserve of spacecrafts. This car, however, is primarily designed as a leisure vehicle that will stay parked at its owners porch for most of the week. Though weird, the MINILUX is a transport solution that will power the world even when it is stationary.
Helios ATV Concept
Continuing in the vein of concept cars that can supply power to a grid, here is the Helios. On first glance, one would easily mistake the Helios ATV concept for a Mars Rover explorer. This ATV is the brainchild of designer Kim Gu-Han. The Helios is powered by solar energy and can even act as an energy station. Now, that explains all those solar panels spread out like wings. No, the driver can’t drive off with the solar panels spread out.
BMW Lovos Concept Cars
Beemer fans will cringe at the mere sight of the Lovos concept car, which is a creation of Pforzheim University graduate Anne Forschner. Designed to mimic nature’s various forms, the Lovos is, to put it mildly, a wild concept. The Lovos features an exchangable part that recurs 260 times to form a car that looks more like a very scaly fish. The scales we’re talking about actually are solar panels which power the car’s batteries. The panels also can act as turbines once the car is on the move. Though eye-poppingly green, we’d never ever want to be caught driving one of these.
Peugeot Omni
If you want to play Tommi Makinen on your city commute, you can do so and go sideways in the Peugeot Omni, albeit at a tortoise-like 5 kmph. The Peugeot Omni is a car that is powered by the sun. Its batteries sit on the roof and harness the sun’s energy to keep you mobile. But, that isn’t what defines the Omni, moving sideways does. The Omni has wheels that can make negotiating the city maelstrom a veritable ease by moving sideways. And all this can be done safely, as you have cameras guiding you on your sideway jaunt. Parallel parking too will get very easy, but at a soporific 5 kmph.
Rinspeed iChange
The folks at Rinspeed seem to have an uncanny knack for doing things differently. And here in their iChange, they have a green car that can scorch the roads as well as save the planet. How does the iChange manage all that? It does so courtesy roof mounted solar panels that charge its batteries on the go. All these batteries will power the iChange from zero to sixty in 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 220 kmph. But even this isn’t the biggest USP of the iChange. Ever heard about shape shifting? Yes, the iChange will change its shape depending on the number of occupants. How cool is that? Cool enough for the iChange to be dubbed a great one-off concept but just not cool enough for the production floor since it can do only 90 Kms on a single charge.
Mazda TONBO Concept Car
Impress the hoi polloi with some tire-shredding antics, get approving smiles from the green brigade and when you’re done with that, sail off with your babe for some good old fishing. You can do all this and more with the Mazda TONBO concept car. Designed by DedekDesign and Mazda Europe, the TONBO uses hydrogen fuel cells for propulsion and hence your tailpipes will drip with water instead of noxious fumes. The hydrogen cells can even propel the Mazda TONBO in water, making it the a very unique amphibious vehicle that is as green as it is weird.
Honda Native Concept
Honda has been at the forefront of eco-friendly cars, and here it takes the green theme a tad further, with an equal measure of weirdness. Yes, the Honda Native concept car can change its color. No, this doesn’t happen according to your mood but happens with the change in ambient temperature that reacts with the car’s photo-chromatic exterior. Designed by Tudoran Liviu, the Honda Native uses a pack of lithium ion batteries to get around. This gives the weird looking concept its look-at-me-I’m-so-green credentials.
Laminar 2 All Electric Concept Car
Electric cars aren’t anything new but electric cars that change their shape at the drop of a hat certainly are. Here, we have a concept that won’t change it’s shape radically like the TransforMISS but will subtly do so and get friendly with the wind. Talking of which, aerodynamics play a large part in conserving energy on the move. So the Lithium-ion-powered, three seater Laminar will use adjustable aerodynamics which will transform its aerodynamics suitably at high and low speeds to save considerable amounts of fuel. This makes the Laminar 2 concept smart enough to save fuel as well, while not looking outlandishly weird.
