BMW Lovos Concept: Solar Powered Electric Porcupine

Concept car designers have a great job. These vehicles don’t really need to have any basis in reality, they just have to look cool and generate buzz. Sure, when they are practical it is all the better, but sometimes good ideas and good looks don’t always translate into the real world. Take, for example, the BMW Lovos concept, designed by 24 year old Anne Forschner, a design student at Pforzheim University in Germany.

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All those spiky scales you see there are solar panels, which double as an air brake for the porcupine on wheels. When in the down position, they collect solar energy to recharge the vehicles electric drive system. When deployed in the upright position, it would slow the car down (probably with assist from the brakes) as well as impale any nearby pedestrians or wandering deer and blind your grandma at the crosswalk.

As outrageous, outlandish and completely impractical as this design is, there is a certain…appeal to it. Sure it’s pretty much just vaporware, but it really catches my eye. Creativity is a beautiful thing.

Source: AutoblogGreen

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