Tag Archives: electric car

The Ferrari F413 is a single-seat electric hypercar concept with an outrageously futuristic design

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Created as a styling exercise that aimed at amping up Ferrari’s aesthetics to radical levels, the Ferrari F413 by Shane Baxley looks like the kind of hypercar that would make its way out of Maranello in the year 2051.

The F413 comes with a unique split-body design that features a single-seater cockpit that virtually looks like it’s floating on ints 4 wheels. Baxley told Yanko Design that his prime objective was to explore creating multiple forms and parts that united to form the perception of a single vehicle. He opted for a fluid design language to make the forms flow into each other rather than look like a bunch of jagged masses strapped together, and while there’s something rather McLaren-ish about that design decision, the F413 still looks every bit a Ferrari… although who can really say what the raging bull’s design language will be thirty-odd years from now?

The car’s multiple panels come together, forming a hypercar that’s greater than the sum of its many parts. Everything sits on what looks like a carbon-fiber chassis, keeping the vehicle light and nimble. The front fenders, if you can really call them that, incorporate the headlights, and are connected to each other via a thin strip that runs along the base of the car. The single-seater cockpit sits as an independent mass, giving you the impression of being disconnected from the asphalt below you. Baxley mentions that the bubble-shaped cockpit’s even supposed to rotate left or right as the car turns, creating even more thrill as you drive. Side-wings located behind the cockpit help move/direct the air-flow as the car moves, and the rear fenders exist as semi-separate entities too, finally capped off with the iconic circular Ferrari taillights. The name F413, is in memory of Baxley’s mother’s birthday.

The interiors are just about as insane as the exteriors. The car seats just one, with a five-point harness holding you in place as you maneuver this hunk of metal and carbon-fiber with the racecar-style yoke steering wheel. The wheel comes with a tiny screen that acts as the car’s dashboard, not only displaying speed, velocity, and engine details, but also allowing you to choose between the car’s 3 driving modes – Track, Wet, and Pazzo.

It’s only natural for such an outrageous concept to have an electric drivetrain. Some speculate that a motor in each of the hypercar’s four wheels would make the most sense, giving the futuristic automobile a combination of power and control.

Designer: Shane Baxley

Futuristic Apple Car Concepts that are like the iPhone 12 Pro Max of smart electric vehicles!

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One thing that all Apple fanatics are wondering all the time is – what will the Apple car look like? This electric car is probably the most anticipated automotive design in a long time! Though we may not know much about it, one thing is for sure -it’s going to be unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. As we wait for the release of this innovative automotive, here are some of the best Apple Car concepts we’ve come across! These inspirational concepts will have you itching to see the real deal on the road very soon!

Meet the Apple One, a sophisticated-looking SUV created in the image of the company behind the iPhone. Peisert’s Concept One embodies all the good aspects of Apple (and a few unsavory ones) into a design that’s meant for the entire family. It’s a luxury car, but it isn’t a sedan. Instead, the Apple One is a one-for-all sort of SUV that accommodates 4 or more people pretty spaciously. Its proportions (and especially that headlight) feel slightly like a cross between the Tesla Cybertruck and the Rivian SUV. The design is mildly angular but doesn’t come with any edgy surfaces or straight lines. Instead, everything curves rather organically… a feature also seen in the continuous curves found on Apple products.

The Apple iV (iVehicle, or iVan) minivan would come with a clean, no-nonsense design language best associated with the brand, along with the glowing Apple logo once seen on the company’s MacBooks. Available in the three colors often associated with the brand’s image (white, space gray, jet black), the iV looks large enough to seat well over 4 people, but the presence of only two doors would indicate a seating pattern that’s different from that commonly found in minivans. Look carefully and there’s a green dot beneath the Apple logo on the front as well as the back, possibly indicating the presence of self-driving sensors.

While you might want to dismiss this as the future of the Apple Car, still the design looks interesting if ever there was a low rung variant of the Apple car like the iPhone 12 Mini. While it might not turn any eyeballs, still it is an interesting take, mashing up the Honda E with the retro iMac G3. It has the G3 split-color design draped in Platinum Pearl White front and a transparent Bondi blue black-end. Sure nostalgia is the dominating emotion here, but pitting it against a Tesla Model 3 won’t be a good idea.

According to some sources, the Apple Car will not have any driver’s seat or even driving controls which could be a bummer for motorheads who love the feel of controlling their machine. What the Apple Car will look like is anybody’s guess but to give a close idea of what it may be like, Ali Cam’s Apple Car 2076 is a good reference point to take home some inspiration. Adopting Apple’s sharp design aesthetics, the car looks like a mouse shaped like a car at first glance, but then you realize it’s actually a minimal car concept. Loaded with advanced driving systems Ali envisions the blueprint far in the distant future – the year 2076 to be precise. The choice of year apparently is the 100the anniversary of Apple ever since it was founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne.

Being the first car that was offered as a hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and a full EV – the Hyundai Ioniq is the inspiration for this render mashed up with the Magic Mouse in a render that looks so future-forward and balanced for a compact EV design. The Apple logo is prominent even on the panoramic windshield, and the front grill. But would anything like this take shape of the Apple Car?

Dare I say, I like this Apple more than any post-Jobs release?! Despite being an exploration in automotive design and not tech gadgetry, its minimalism and purity look quintessentially Apple and it feels like something straight out of the brand’s heyday. Little is known about the conceptual specs except that it’s electric (of course) but put our pre-order in! We think Jobs might just approve of this one.

Since Apple and Kia were in the limelight a few months ago for their speculated collaboration, it didn’t see the light of day. This amalgam was destined to be here with the quirky-looking Kia Soul EV crossover SUV morphing partly into an iMac Pro which is a powerful machine to own. That said, the machine is going to be discontinued from the Apple family. Leasefetcher imagines the Apple Car could have the iMac’s Space Grey skin, highlighted by the tall profile of the windscreens on the back and the rear.

Designer Ashish Gogte’s take on the Apple Car seamlessly integrates into the existing Apple ecosystem – a feature that current Apple users value the most. Ashish likes to call it the iCar, and the vehicle has an upright stance like the Apple Mouse 2. Modularity is at the core of this concept Apple car – wherein the front and the rear wheel assembly is swappable with a different one. Furthermore, the driving assembly has the battery integrated into the design to keep the modularity aspect at the forefront. We can even swap the drivetrain with a more powerful version or any future updated chassis that Apple designs. This brings a practical scalability aspect to the concept car, which is, in a way, intriguing.

This performance-laden render truly demonstrates the future aesthetics of the Apple Car since it is an amalgam of one of the most iconic supercars of all time – the Nissan GT-R and the best ever iPhone that one can own – the iPhone 12 Pro. The Nissan GT-R is undoubtedly one of the best aesthetically inviting designs that Apple could take some cues. Leasefetcher emphasis the adoption of the Nissan Ultimate Silver color along with the flowing shape extenuated by the iPhone 12 Pro button-styled door handles. The LED headlights are inspired by the camera module and the grille takes shape of the edges of the smartphone.

There have been so many concept iCars around, I’m guessing Apple is just as tired as I am. Not many designers focus on the driving experience though. Just the outer body. Designer Matias Papalini imagined the dashboard complete with an interactive wide touchscreen. The steering wheel is completely detachable and can dock into the dashboard to enter ‘driving mode’. Unplug the wheel and you’re in auto-pilot mode. Not just that, you can watch movies in an almost-cinemascope style experience! The dashboard, however, is just half the magic. Your steering wheel has functionality that allows you to manipulate content on your dashboard. Not just that, you can dock your iPhone in your steering wheel for more convenient access.

Tesla hasn’t produced any new cars in over 2 years… but it can’t stop announcing them.

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[This is an Editorial. The views, opinions, and positions expressed in this article are my own.]

Tesla’s most popular car to date, the Model 3, was announced in 2016. Its most recent production unit, the Model Y, was announced in March of 2019, more than 2 years ago. Ever since that moment up until now, Tesla’s debuted the Roadster 2nd Gen, the Tesla Semi, the Cybertruck, the Cyberquad, and finally today, an updated Roadster 2nd Gen (SpaceX Package). It hasn’t committed to a delivery date for any of them.

Imagine you ordered the iPhone 12 in 2020, and Apple said it would deliver the smartphone to you in 2021. You wait for a year and instead of receiving an iPhone 12, you receive news that Apple, instead of working on producing and delivering the iPhone 12, spent all that time designing an iPhone 12S. Apple now has two conceptual products in its catalog, and you, the consumer, have nothing in your hand. That’s the short story of the Tesla Roadster. If you’re one of the thousands of people who have been waiting for the 2nd Gen Roadster since 2019, you probably feel pretty annoyed that Tesla already announced a better version without even delivering on its previous version. You can’t even buy the Roadster 1st Gen since the company promptly discontinued it. In short, the Roadster is basically a myth at this point… quite like the Cybertruck.

Along with its Roadster 2nd Gen update, Tesla also sent a shoutout mail to the millions of people who ordered a Cybertruck saying… well, saying that the company hadn’t even begun producing it yet. The pickup truck, which was scheduled for delivery in 2021 will start production at the end of 2021. In short, that $100 pre-order you gave to the car company was just one massive paid newsletter program. You’re not going to receive cars by a long stretch in time… you’re just going to receive updates.

All this sort of proves one point that many people have been making for a while now. Let’s first start by acknowledging that producing cars is HARD. It’s an absolute herculean task taking a sketch or a concept render all the way to production – it requires a tonne of money, man-power, infrastructure, a robust supply chain, international cooperation, extensive testing, and a marketing team on steroids. That being said, it’s safe to opine that Tesla isn’t selling cars anymore – it’s selling hype, and more than an entrepreneur, Elon is a hypeman. There’s no doubt that Tesla is at the very forefront of innovation, but it’s difficult to digest that the company’s worth shot up from $75 billion in 2019, to $559 billion today when it hasn’t produced a single new car in the interim.

Full disclosure, I own Tesla stock. I saw its meteoric rise last year and fall this year. I’d love to drag Elon through the mud for being the market manipulator dudebro he is. Ever since his $420 tweet up until now, where he somehow has the power to make cryptocurrency values rise or fall just by tweeting about them, Musk is nothing but a self-proclaimed hustler but this isn’t about him, it’s about the effect he has on Tesla’s ability to hold its ground as a car manufacturer instead of becoming a hype manufacturer.

For the sake of context, let’s just look at what Tesla announced this weekend. The company’s NY account announced that the Roadster prototype was being showcased at the Petersen Automotive Museum, to which Elon promptly announced that the production model would look even better than the prototype, and a special SpaceX package (courtesy a collaboration between two of Elon’s companies) would see the Roadster getting a major acceleration upgrade of 0-60 in 1.1 seconds, thanks to the presence of cold air rocket thrusters built right into the automobile. Sounds fancy, right? Well, it also sounds imaginary because the Roadster IS imaginary. Those specs mean nothing if the product doesn’t exist. It’s a lot like Musk’s fancy underground tunnel network, which was supposed to help cars avoid traffic by blitzing through sub-surface tunnels at nearly the speed of sound. A demo video released by The Boring Company showed pretty much that, except the cars were moving at a paltry 40mph. Musk also was responsible for major fanfare around Neuralink, his revolutionary brain-augmenting hardware company. Their first major demo had nothing except for a few pigs demonstrating how the Neuralink chip could read brainwaves. Impressive, sure. Is it what Elon promised? Not by a far shot.

The irony of me being the editor of a design website that primarily covers conceptual content isn’t lost on me. However, those concepts don’t trade on the stock market. After a certain point, what’s the difference between Tesla and some designer with a Behance profile – they both announce concepts, except one of them’s a $559 billion-dollar company. What’s the point of innovation if it won’t exist for another half-decade (a conservative guess, no less)… we’re also assuming that Tesla will actually deliver on these promises – so if it doesn’t, how is Tesla any different than Theranos or Magic Leap??

You see, the reason I used Apple as an example earlier on is that barring the AirPower, Apple’s always been absolutely 100% certain of its capabilities. It announces products it intends on delivering in the near future. Apple is great at innovating WHILE managing its expectations… and if Tesla wants to be treated as a disruptor and a company modeled on the fast-paced Silicon Valley modus operandi, it better deliver too. Not on ideas, not on random flip-flops between fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies, but on expectations. Sure, I understand that car-companies often announce models that take a year or two to produce. However, Tesla isn’t most car companies, and the Roadster still doesn’t have a definite set-in-stone delivery date even 2 years post its announcement. Heck, the Cybertruck was announced 20 months ago and it still won’t begin production for another 6 months at the least. There’s no doubt in my mind that electric cars are the future… but let’s face it, every tweet Elon sends needs to end with “Terms and Conditions Apply”.


Designer Charlie Nghiem imagines what the Tesla Roadster SpaceX Package could look like

This Apple SUV is like the iPhone 12 Pro Max of smart electric vehicles!

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Over the past decade, Apple has cultivated a reputation of being sleek, slim, and petite. Its iPhones are thinner than a centimeter, the iPads and MacBooks are literally slim enough to slip into manila envelopes, and the new iMac is probably the slimmest desktop PC ever made. With that image in mind, it’s perfectly natural to imagine that the Apple Car would echo those very attributes. Close your eyes and think of an “Apple Car” and a sedan should naturally come to your mind. Concept Designer Jan Peisert feels differently. Meet the Apple One, a sophisticated looking SUV created in the image of the company behind the iPhone.

Peisert’s Concept One embodies all the good aspects of Apple (and a few unsavory ones) into a design that’s meant for the entire family. It’s a luxury car, but it isn’t a sedan. Instead, the Apple One is a one-for-all sort of SUV that accommodates 4 or more people pretty spaciously. Its proportions (and especially that headlight) feel slightly like a cross between the Tesla Cybertruck and the Rivian SUV. The design is mildly angular but doesn’t come with any edgy surfaces or straight lines. Instead, everything curves rather organically… a feature also seen in the continuous curves found on Apple products. Speaking of Apple products (and also of unsavory aspects), the Apple One sports that infamous cheesegrater grille on the front. One could argue that an electric SUV wouldn’t need a grille, but Peisert probably took a creative call with that one there. Moreover, who knows, maybe an air intake would help keep the car’s CPU cool?

Aside from the illuminated logo on the front (something that’s sort of becoming a trend with fan-made Apple car concepts), the car comes with rather slick headlights and taillights. The linear lights, apart from illuminating the road, double as indicators too, with the headlight glowing entirely on the left or right to indicate intention, while the vertical channels on the taillight turning orange. The Apple One even has indicators built into the doors (at the seam between the door and window) that allow everyone to know when the car’s about to make a turn. A third break-light on the back lets people behind the Apple One know when the car’s slowing down or stopping.

The Apple One is detailed out in two variants – silver and space-gray. Both variants are practically identical in physical appearance, although the silver car comes with wooden trims on the front and back, while the space-gray sports carbon fiber trims instead… sort of like a Pro version.

There aren’t any details on the interiors (after all this is digital art and not a real 3D concept), although Peisert’s highlighted a few external features that are pretty intriguing. For instance, the slick headlights aren’t the only road-illuminating feature on the front. The Apple One also comes with laser headlights that sit on either extremes of the Apple logo. These headlights project powerful spotlights on the road, allowing you to see in low-light conditions as you drive. The car even comes with retractable side-view cameras, gesture-controlled butterfly doors and trunk, and a wireless-charging base that also debuted in Emre Husmen’s Apple Car concept. While the Apple One concept doesn’t detail any technical features, it’s safe to say an Apple car would also tie in with the ecosystem, having the ability to unlock or hit ignition on the iPhone. The car would probably run on a self-driving AI that uses the strong catalog of sensors that Apple’s designed and built into its product. It’s safe to say the car would also help Apple Maps strengthen and grow its user base over the years, and if the smart car responds to commands like “Hey Siri, take me to Starbucks”, Apple has a clear winner on its hands!

Designer: Jan Peisert

Hyundai’s latest EV looks like retro dynamite! (And it has a real nixie-tube dashboard)

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In popular mythology it’s usually the phoenix that’s reborn from the ashes of its past self… but it looks like Hyundai is carrying that metaphor over to the Pony. By reimagining its first-ever mass-produced car as a new, electric-powered hatchback, the Hyundai Pony Heritage Series electric concept feels a lot like a rebirth of sorts, with a more contemporary yet equally retro-punkish design that’s difficult to ignore!

The Pony was Hyundai’s first-ever production vehicle, making a grand debut in 1975 and being available all the way till 1990. Paying a fitting tribute to the very car that put Hyundai on the map, the Pony Heritage Series EV is a modern reinterpretation of the classic affordable hatchback, with an electric beating heart. There’s something undeniably retro about the Pony Heritage Series EV, and it wears that distinction proudly on its sleeve. The car’s design, proportions, and even details are wonderfully vintage, albeit with a few modern upgrades on the outside as well as the inside. On the outside, the EV’s headlights and taillights feature a pixel LED pattern that can also be seen on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the 45 EV. The rims sport a machined finish that has a retrofuturistic vibe, while the car’s side-view mirrors, located all the way on the front fenders, sport cameras instead.

The insides feel like a modern time machine, with concealed LED lighting on both the doors, leather-wrapped bucket seats, and a brushed-metal dashboard. Within the dashboard sits an all-new steering wheel, featuring a three-spoke design with PONY script in the center and a physical voice control button on the left. However, its spotlight is stolen by the incredibly impressive nixie-tube setup in front of it. Designed mainly for the appeal (since this is just a one-off concept), the dashboard acts as a numeric speedometer, lighting up with the different numbers to show what speed your car is traveling at.

The one-off retrofuturistic Pony Heritage Series electric concept was unveiled as a part of Hyundai’s ‘Reflections in Motion’ exhibition, being held from April 8th till June 27th, 2021. The Heritage Series Pony is on display at Hyundai’s Motorstudio in Busan, South Korea.

Designer: Hyundai

This self-driving electric car sets new landmark for automotive design by cleaning up air pollution!

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Eco-friendly cars have many different faces: hybrid, electric, diesel, and biodiesel. Coming from the same studio that brought the Vessel to New York City’s Hudson Yards, Heatherwick Studio has conceptualized an autonomous electric car that goes further than reducing fossil fuel pollutants. Airo, Heatherwick Studio’s new concept electric car runs on electric power and actively cleans up the air when driven.

Airo comes complete with a state-of-the-art HEPA filtering system that removes fine particles from the air it drives through, edging the electric car’s green initiative even further. HEPA filters, or high-efficiency particulate air filters, are mechanical air filters that remove fine air particles measuring 0.3-microns in diameter. Airo’s HEPA filter is located in the vehicle’s undercarriage, where pollution from the air passes through and filters out, leaving the air around Airo that much cleaner.

In addition to its embedded air-filtering system, Airo’s interior has a versatile configuration that can be altered to form multi-functional spaces specifically designed for today’s progression toward a mobile lifestyle. Inside, Airo’s seats are fully rotational to form social spaces centered around the car’s four-leaf table that unfolds to create a lounge-like booth and folds away when driving. A collapsible screen can also morph the inside of the car into a pod for gaming after long drives. Settling into the night, Airo’s seats fully recline to form a cozy double bed, and the electric car’s transparent, glazed roof turns opaque when you’re ready for lights-out.

Slated for production in 2023, Airo is designed for IM Motors and runs as a fully electric vehicle equipped with autonomous and self-driving modes. Whenever you’d like to turn Airo’s interior into a dining booth or lounge area, the driving is taken care of through smart technology. Constructed from weathered steel, Heatherwick Studio designed a charging station for IM Motors that will become an integral piece of city infrastructure for the future of electric vehicles.

Designer: Heatherwick Studio

Airo’s smiling exterior combines a minimal grille with a sinuous design.

The electric car dons its roof and facades with a jet-black finish, while its wheels feature a radial scheme that echoes its front and rear.

With self-automated driving capabilities, Airo’s interior can be transformed into a social hub thanks to its fully rotational front seats.

When the driving day is done, Airo’s inside can morph into a spacious double bed that enhances any mobile lifestyle.

Planned as city infrastructure, Heatherwick Studio created charging stations that mimic the structure of foxtail agave plants and streetlamps.

The Lamborghini Tornado is an electric supercar running on clean energy with an even cleaner design

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This isn’t the first electric Lamborghini concept we’ve seen, and it surely won’t be the last, but what’s really interesting to see is how the Lamborghini brand is perceived by designers and regular people… kind of like looking at the different Apple iPhone concepts that crop up every time there’s a rumor floating around.

It isn’t always the edgy design that makes a car a Lamborghini. The Urus is a pretty benign-looking vehicle, the Gallardo arguably had some of the smoothest surfacing for a Lamborghini. The Italian company’s DNA is arguably defined by a lot of things – all of which culminate into the car’s character which echoes speed, seriousness, and a raging bull’s fighting spirit. One could argue that the Lamborghini Tornado has all those three defining qualities. Designed by Milton Tanabe, the Lamborghini Tornado is a personal concept that aims at envisioning how Lamborghini’s form language would evolve if the car transitioned from a fuel engine to an electric powertrain. Given that electric cars are usually perceived as ‘cleaner’ than gas-guzzling automobiles, it’s fitting that the Tornado comes with clean surfacing along with an edgy, bordering-on-low-poly design. The car’s triangular headlights are a major contributing factor to its Lamborghini-ness, sort of resembling the Aventador’s front lights, and the edge-lit inverted Y shaped lights instantly remind me of the hybrid-engine-powered Lamborghini Sian.

The car’s side profile has the distinct continuous swoop often seen with most Lamborghini cars, and two butterfly doors give access to the two-seater interior. The Tornado concept comes with a black paint job – a conscious decision that allows its black tinted glasses to merge together with the obsidian-black body, creating an almost monolithic design. The car even features a tinted glass fender/tail, which extends outwards like a lip on the rear, creating the impression that the car’s speeding forward, causing a motion blur. My only real gripe with the Tornado concept is its taillight-design, which looks more Citroen-ish than what you’d expect from a Lamborghini. Aside from that slight identity crisis, it does definitely add to the Tornado’s overall lean, mean, and clean aesthetic!

Designer: Milton Tanabe

Lexus brings its signature luxurious touch to EVs with its newly-launched LF-Z Electrified Concept

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With its first electric vehicle, Lexus’ focus is razor-sharp – the technology, the details, the features, all culminate in and focus on just one thing and one thing only – an incredibly luxurious driving experience. With a car, just like with any product, you’re less likely to remember the car’s features but you’re much more likely to remember how the car made you ‘feel’, and that’s exactly what the LF-Z focuses on. Every detail of the car is crafted with user emotion and user experience in mind, resulting in a vehicle that’s hard to ignore and definitely hard to forget! The crossover-styled vehicle sports an edgy, authoritative aesthetic that commands one’s attention, with slick, razor-thin headlights and taillights, side mirror cams, and door-handles that sit flush within the surface, popping out when a driver or passenger approaches the vehicle.

The LF-Z comes powered by Lexus’s new all-electric platform that sits underneath the automobile. Lexus claims its all-new powertrain will vastly improve acceleration and power delivery compared to traditional cars, offering an impressive range and accelerating speed. The car comes with a lower center-of-gravity, allowing for razor-sharp handling and enhanced control. The car comes outfitted with Steer-By-Wire, a technology that replaces the traditional steering mechanism for a “fully electronic and speed-sensitive system that filters out any unwanted road vibration.” The futuristic concept comes with an auto-drive feature too, that not only lets you summon the car to your doorstep or from the parking lot, but also lets you switch to auto-pilot while you drive, allowing the car to take over all driving functions while you kick back and enjoy the in-car experience.

“Envisioning an open and minimalist design, the interior embodies an elevated level of the Lexus human-centered approach. The Tazuna cockpit features an augmented reality head-up display, gauges, touchscreen display, and other functions that are grouped into a single module. On the road, the artificial intelligence acts as a lifestyle concierge, acknowledging by touch or voice the driver’s preferences, proposing routes, restaurant reservations and more”, says Lexus in a press release.

The LF-Z currently exists as a ‘vision’ concept, outlining Lexus’s vision for an electrified future. The company plans on releasing as many as 20 cars as a part of its electric line-up by the year 2025, with the goal of achieving carbon-neutrality through the lifecycle of its entire model line-up by the year 2050.

Designer: Lexus

Tesla will dramatically expand its Full Self-Driving beta

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Now might be your chance to join Tesla's Full Self-Driving beta. Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla's new 8.2 software is "doubling" the size of the beta test program, and 8.3 will "probably" expand the size of the program...