Roewe Mobiliant, a concept car designed by SAIC Motor, is a great exercise in imagination, as it leaves behind bidimensional pathways and climbs on 3D roads.
SAIC designers built the Roewe Mobiliant with nature in mind, which means that its form is inspired from nature, on one hand, and that the vehicle is meant to be as eco-friendly as possible, on the other hand. While it may not be obvious right away, this concept car is meant to resemble an ant’s body, with a structure divided into three segments, all held together by a dual-rotation system.
Much like real world ants, Roewe Mobiliant can move on various surfaces, regardless of their angle. At least in theory, such a car could roll upside down without any problems, and all that because of its wheels with hooked claws.
No, really, this car has C.L.A.W.S., which is short for Cilium Layer Advanced Wheel System. This enables the Roewe Mobiliant concept car to have an excellent grip on all types of surfaces.
A fantastic concept like this one needs a fantastic infrastructure to match it. Mobiliant Expressway is a network of 3D roads on which the ant-car would feel at home.
One of the most unique features of the Expressway is the spiral-shaped fork road, which could provide drivers endless hours of fun.
As far as eco-friendliness goes, Roewe Mobiliant is all in. It features a polymer body, but that’s the least impressive attribute, in this context.
The in-wheel motors come with KERS (kinetic energy recovery system), and the surface of the car could literally absorb pollutants.
After absorption, the pollutants would be transformed into liquid fertilizers. I’m not sure if that technology exists or if it ever will, for that matter, but it definitely sounds nice.
The only downside of this concept is that it can only transport one person at a time. Such an experience would definitely be worth sharing.
As such a feat couldn’t have been made by a single designer, SAIC Motor employed Global Design Director Anthony Williams-Kenny, a Design Director in China, Shao Jingfeng, as well as a design team comprised of Xu Dengtao, Ling Yuzhou, Ji Zhiheng, Niu Wenbo, Zhang Mingxi, Qian Junlin. All I hope is that SAIC will manage someday to turn this concept into reality, regardless of how sci-fi it may look now.
If you liked this post, please check the Audi Fleet Shuttle Quattro concept car that was featured in the Ender’s Game film, and the VW T6 mobile office concept.
