This is the Volkswagen Nanospyder. A two seater Ariel Atom-like car that runs on hydrogen fuel cells powering in-wheel electric motors. It has a strong spine, on which other components is bolted on, and the body panels are constructed from latticework of billions of tiny programmable nano devices each measuring less than half a millimetre in daimeter. These devices can individually be programmed to be as strong or weak as required, meaning the vehicle could have active crumple zones.
These nanopanels are also coated with materials which can inflate to provide further cushioning upon impact, and also doubles as a solar power panel, which assists the hydrogen fuel cell in powering the in-wheel motors.
Of course, such a vehicle doesn’t exist. The Volkswagen Nanospyder is actually the vision of three Volkswagen designers, their idea of what the future car would be. It was conceptualised as an entry for the Design Los Angeles conference. The challenge was to design a car that can make the most of California without harming the environment.
One more photo after the jump.
After dabbling for years in the IT industry, Paul Tan initially began this site as a general blog covering various topics of personal interest. With an increasing number of readers paying rapt attention to the motoring stories, one thing led to another and the rest, as they say, is history. An avid electronic gadget aficionado as well as big-time coffee lover, he's also the executive producer of the Driven motoring TV programme.
Jetsons, here we come ! Radical !
not practical at all… ugly design..
the design is good, it's just, at the moment not practical. But, who knows a 50 years later?
look like a mechanical spider…
can it runs up the wall?
maybe it can be the spiderman mobile just like batmans batmobile !
barulah ada fight skit dgn batman . .
now spidey has some wheels to save us malaysians from the mat rempit !
buy another JAGUH, weld them togather , i bet batter than what shown up there,
just a name mods ……..JAGUHS (got 2 now)
yea… finally .. this is wat we need in the future, with ultra modern looks. says who it wouldnt be practical in 50 yrs time? look back at the 1st karl benz designed machine dating way back in history, would karl benz have thought our proton would be practical in his era?
OMG..that's very ugly
microscopic view of bacteria or somekind of virus, could be fatal……..
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still have HALMETs on. …………..??? on that bacterial ride?
prefer todays car, seat belts, air bags, and lots of passive and active safety feature, free from HALMET to mess the hairstyle.
i bet they have a comb in their big pocket clearly seen on the trousers, or somewhere sticking on the dashbord, to correct the hair after a bacterially ride,
…i guess neons will be back in style!!!… Sweet!!! now where did i put my old florecent green oakley frogskins?
Hope to see this type of vehicle in sci-fi movies…..
very individualistic car….must use helmet?? no luggage space?? better ride motorcycle…looks fragile also…can fold it too small piece or not for parking ?…anything can be happen to the future..nothing impossible…hehe
wat crap is dat ?