Speculative green vehicles get flexible, with this recent concept design from Thierry Dumaine, which adapts to traffic conditions by offering a quick-change between Four, Three and Two wheel modes. The
TransforMiss is a dubiously named, but flexibly designed personal transporter.
The French Dumaine can be spotted on a number of Concept Car design lists –presumably it can be lucrative if you get picked up by a manufacturer– but I found this one appealing to a more broader speculation of urban transportation in the near future. First off, it is incredibly difficult to foresee urban transport infrastructure being even remotely alike to today's car-dependant cities, which are terrible and slowly on their way out thanks to an enlightened few. Medium and small public transport vehicles seem very feasible, but I would guess that independent and unique/specific paths through future urban environments will always be necessary, which brings me back to this design, which I find attractive as an adaptive vehicle, which could be manipulated to cruise down a cycle-lane, expand to a Trike for more robust and stable maneuvering, and slip into the 'car' lane (or its replacement) for mid-distance travelling.
Alternative Trike modes of the TransforMiss.
If you have a crash you'll be protected by your inflatable tires, which will flip over any other nearby cars.
While you're pondering that baffling photograph, make a cerebral link with a local proposal for an
Electric Scooter Recharger, designed for Waiheke Island by architectural collaborative
Dry Dairy, which offers a clever cross-programmed structure for a fairly unique island community.
More from the ever-busy
Dry Dairy in the New Year.