EDAG Engineering is without a doubt one of the weirdest companies in the industry. For this year's Geneva Motor Show, they have outdone themselves with a car called the Light Cocoon Concept, which honestly looks like a sci-fi movie prop.
You'd be forgiven for thinking it's been designed by a Japanese comic book artist, but actually, it was made in Germany. The Light Cocoon Concept has been designed to be the featherweight of automobiles and thus takes inspiration from mother nature.
Engineers looked at the lightweight construction of bat wings and leaves. Instead of making body panels from a single thickness of steel, they stretched a membrane over a sort of scaffolding. The company claims that despite using less material, all the structural rigidity of a normal car is still there.
Wondering what the transparent material that lets red light through is? So were we, so we asked and found out that a special weather-resistant fabric was developed in cooperation with outdoor clothing specialists Jack Wolfskin.
On paper at least, the advantage are numerous. The fabric weighs only 19 grams per square meter, needs no paint and repairs are much more cost-efficient. However, they said that about the plastic body parts of a Smart car and it never caught on.
Another advantage is that the color produced by the LEDs underneath can be changed according to the driver's will, so customization is as simple as turning a knob.
"As an engineering company, we see it as our task to make sure that we are today already working on future technologies and completely new approaches to vehicle development. When it comes down to it, working on concept car projects like the 'EDAG Light Cocoon' enables us to build up additional competencies within our teams, while at the same time also encouraging people to think outside the box and tread new paths in order to achieve the best possible technical solutions," explains Jörg Ohlsen, CEO of EDAG Engineering AG.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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