Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)

Hyundai elevate is

The future of ‘vehicular mobility’

- | IOL Motoring

IT DOESN’T matter how many advanced 4WD systems and “go anywhere” stickers you have, a vehicle with wheels and a convention­al rolling chassis can only go so far off the beaten track.

But what if you could create a vehicle that’s capable of walking, climbing and rolling?

Hyundai has done just that with the Elevate concept that was revealed at the CES technology showcase in

Las Vegas recently.

But not before getting past some serious technical hurdles.

After all, for a vehicle to walk and climb it needs legs of some kind, but to power the wheels you need an axle, which would render those legs useless.

When in “drive-mode” with the “legs” automatica­lly folded out of the way, the Elevate can cruise at highway speeds, just like a normal car.

According to Hyundai, the vehicle can climb a 1.5m wall, step over a 1.5m gap, walk over diverse terrain, and achieve a 4.6m wide track width, while keeping the occupants level.

Bet your Land Rover Defender can’t do that.

Yet it’s not just about hopping over terrain for the fun of it.

What this vehicle was mainly designed for is search and rescue operations as well as humanitari­an missions.

Earthquake­s, tsunamis, mountain rescues… It’s not hard to see how this kind of machine would come in really handy. The fully autonomous vehicle can even be summoned help people in wheelchair­s get to the top of flights of stairs.

“By combining the power of robotics with Hyundai’s latest EV technology, Elevate has the ability to take people where no car has been before, and redefine our perception of vehicular freedom,” said design manager David Byron.

“Imagine a car stranded in a snow ditch just 3m off the highway being able to walk or climb over the treacherou­s terrain, back to the road potentiall­y saving its injured passengers – this is the future of vehicular mobility.”

What’s more, the concept, which was developed in conjunctio­n with Sundberg-Ferar, is based around a modular EV platform that allows different bodies to be switched and swopped when needed.

Now that, folks, is what you call a 4x4.

 ??  ?? THE Hyundai Elevate, an ‘Ultimate Mobility’ concept vehicle, is displayed during the Hyundai press conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre during CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada
THE Hyundai Elevate, an ‘Ultimate Mobility’ concept vehicle, is displayed during the Hyundai press conference at the Mandalay Bay Convention Centre during CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada

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