There's something about this promotional video for the Swincar, a French-built, super-flexible electric buggy, that screams "mainstream society as we know it has collapsed and only the rural rich survived." I'm not sure what it is exactly — the shots of abandoned churches perhaps, the absence of anyone not driving a fancy car, or the fact that I can totally imagine the Swincar appearing as a vehicle in the next Fallout — but I really feel that this is a car that would do just fine in one of the quieter apocalypses. You know, one of those where the world has gone to hell but you're safe in a well-stocked farmhouse.
"A mechanical spider on wheels."
The buggy is the creation of French company Mecanroc which describes it beautifully as "a mechanical spider on wheels." The car's design allows each of its four wheels to tilt and bounce independently while the driver's cab stays relatively upright. Although the video above is more about the Swincar lifestyle, the clip below shows off its true flexibility, with the buggy bouncing over hills, slopes, and ditches with ease:
Each wheel is powered by its own electric motor (either 1 kW or 1.5 kW), and customers can choose between 2 kWh, 4 kWh, or 6 kWh battery packs. There's also a version for disabled drivers with a joystick instead of a steering wheel, and Mecanroc says it's working on a two-seater version. According to the company's website, one of the Swincar's main advantages is that it's extremely quiet, allowing drivers to rediscover "the sound of the wind, waves, or birds without noise or air pollution." Again, this just sounds like the end of the world to us, but we're not saying it wouldn't be a great way to unwind.
We've contacted Mecanroc with some more questions about the car (such as range, top speed, and price) and will update as soon as they get back to us.