An idea that started way back in 1994 and sadly never went anywhere is designer Alexandre Verdier's Westfalia Verdier Solar Power vehicle. Like VW's fabled Magic Bus, Verdier hoped to build a culture around a recreational vehicle that would attract the countercultured. Features of the VSP:
- Rooftop sun-tracking solar panels- Pneumatic suspension for better stabilization in a stationary position.
- Sliding half-door on the passenger side with integrated folding staircase
- Passenger seat that mechanically transforms into stairs to provide access to second-stage area
- Swivel cooking range enables both indoor and outdoor cooking
- In the second stage area, a dividing wall with a sliding door and multiple windows
- Multimedia computer
The design won Germany's Caravaning Design Award in 2006...and promptly dropped off the face of the Earth. Their poorly-done media kit, filled with grammar errors, typos, and bad layout, serves as a reminder that these days, having a good concept without the business acumen behind it just isn't enough.
via | Core 77