Weird and Wonderful ATV Prototypes
We love modern ATVs and UTVs and, being members of the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school of reasoning, find very little to complain about while browsing the 2016 model offerings (aside from perhaps the lack of 450cc race machines of late).
However, this is nearly 2016 and many of us like to think that by now we’d have such things as flying cars, personal jet packs, passenger space travel options etc. Some of those things may be out of reach at the moment but we have to give a few inventors credit for refusing to allow the ATV to remain stagnant. Take the following two prototypes we happened upon while scouring the depths of the net:
The Biomimetic Six Legged All Terrain Vehicle
Modeled after the cockroach, and other insects, the 6X6 implements an alternating tri-pod gate to use legs to walk instead of wheels. We sort of knew this thing was coming ever since the Hoth scene in Empire Strikes Back but to witness one in action (if even only via the power of Youtube) is rather interesting.
Of course the downside is that it doesn’t even need the tow-cable of a Snowspeeder to get tangled up and topple as many videos demonstrate. Its designers stated that the design requires less energy to run, is cleaner for the environment, and more maneuverable than a wheeled warrior as well. However, there’s a reason this bad boy never made it past prototype phase and that reason is gravity.
MTT-136
Quebec inventor Yvon Martel brings us, well a sort of box with treads (MTT in this case does stand for My Track Technology and 136 = the snowmobile tread used in inches). While you may be wondering what in the world you’d do with a battery-powered tread-box but Yvon demonstrates that the possibilities are endless. He uses his to drag logs, trailers, sleds in the snow, he pushes dirt and snow with a plow, he’s even used it to push a stuck-car.
The entire unit weighs in at about 280-pounds (depending on the battery installed) and can run as long as eight hours/130 miles on a charge.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKJIbaEKa3o
Peugeot Capsule – Electric ATV
The pod-shaped body shell of the Peugeot Capsule certainly looks the futuristic part but its what fuels this little sphere that makes things interesting. The concept machine is fueled entirely by lithium batteries, no big deal there, but thanks to roof-mounted photovoltaic panels, the vehicle replenishes its own power even while you’re using it. We’re not exactly what happens on cloudy days or rides after the sun’s gone down but alas.
Also neat is the fact that the batteries provide power to motors at each wheel, meaning 4-wheel-drive status. And just look at that comfy captain’s chair!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAiLw1zIkJA
Mecanroc Swincar
French company Mecanroc may have the most unique ATV prototype ever created. With four independent wheels mounted on spider-like legs and a suspended hammock seat for the driver, this thing is all about terrain, grades and pitches that would leave even our mightiest crawlers trembling.
The Swincar makes use of four independently-driven wheels, each via an electric motor, which means it is designed to crawl over rocks or handle extreme terrain reagrdless of what its other drive-wheels are doing. Best of all, a fully suspended seat means the driver remains upright regardless of the angles and grades of the machine itself. Plus, taking a chapter from the Can-Am Spyder book, this seat is destined to allow for lean into corners.