We have a ton of new car technologies that promise to change transportation forever, but they tend to stick to the boring, tried-and-true automotive lay out of everyone facing forward. A new design from students at the Istituto Europeo di Design aims to switch it up with the Tracy concept, and my god does it look classy.
This concept will be debuting at the Geneva International Motor Show, the IED reports, but the coolest thing about this little electric off-roader is the L-shaped seating for the rear passengers. The layout enables four people to share the bench seat, with a front-facing driver’s seat and a rear-facing passenger seat. It’s like a limo, but it’s tiny and cute and can crawl around in the dirt.
Tracy (no relation) was designed by students as part of their program, just like the Honda Tomo concept and the redesigned Fiat X 1/9. Here’s more from the (translated) IED press release:
Starting from the reflection on the future of transport and with the conviction that the concept of collective mobility is increasingly central in our society and in that of tomorrow, IED offers an electric , all-terrain , six-seater vehicle , functional for public use or private , which is aimed at users sensitive to the issue of respect for human beings and the environment . TRACY combines the concepts of micro mobility , private , public and shared mobility, widening the investigation scenario: for the first time, research within the Master’s course aims to investigate new modes of shared transport, proposing a solution that can also leave the urban context, with the aim of promoting a new sense of sharing and mobility extended to even unconventional scenarios.
And that’s about all we know! More details will be released during the concept’s official launch at Geneva on March 4, which is likely when we’d find out more info about prospective powertrain ideas. From the images, we can see a battery pack in the floor, and the thing has to be all wheel drive if it’s going to go off-road, so we can presume that the Tracy will have an electric motor at each axel or wheel. Bright yellow roll bars are in place to keep occupants safe. But that’s about all we can divine from the images alone.
I’m going to be honest, though—the coolest thing about this concept is the unconventional seating arrangement. I mean, it presents a lot of interesting safety concerns… but it’s kind of fascinating. I’d love to be able to stretch out on a nice L-seat during a long trip. These kids at the IED know what the people want.