Friday, June 13, 2008

chess cell car


the chess cell car concept looks like it might have come out of a kid’s building set. having said that, it has features that make it both an intriguing and a visually appealing idea. i could see these being used in inner city settings as taxis, shuttles, or even as a short hop family car.

developed by dutch designers frans hegge and thijs van der zanden, the car has a cabin that rests atop a platform which can move around in the event of a crash, keeping the passengers out of the deformation zone. the idea is that by moving the cabin, the passengers would experience a lot less of the force, so injuries are a lot less likely.
i’m not sure how well that would work because i would expect that if the weight suddenly shifted to one side, the vehicle would tip over and the passengers would still be thrown to the side. however, i wasn’t there for the tests that i am sure were done on the simulator.

nice design though, as i am sure you’ll agree.

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