Photo: Gwi design via Behance
While the rest of the world was dealing with the pandemic's global outbreak, a German icebreaker named Polarstern was in the close vicinity of the North Pole, locked in the ice cap and drifting powerlessly toward the Atlantic Ocean.
It may sound like a bad situation to be in, but in reality, everyone on board had volunteered to be there. That's because the MOSAiC expedition, a multinational effort that spanned over 389 days and involved nearly 450 experts from 20 countries and a budget of $170 million, is probably one of—if not the—most important scientific research missions organized lately.
The icebreaker spent over 300 days frozen inside the ice cap, but not before deploying a range of sensors and monitoring stations scattered over a radius of roughly 30 miles (50 km) around the ship. According to the people behind MOSAiC, the information collected by the expedition "contributes to a quantum leap in our understanding of the coupled Arctic climate system and its representation in global climate models."
Well, imagine that during their drift, the researchers had to leave the boat and reach one of the remote monitoring stations for some repairs. A helicopter would have been the best solution, but let's imagine there were strong winds and poor visibility, so a land party was the only viable solution.
In that case, they would need a vehicle like the Jeep Hexagon. The project was cooked up by Gwi design, a young designer from Seoul, and even though he doesn't explain what the link between his concept and the polar expedition is, we can only imagine it's along the lines of the scenario we just described.
The author justifies his choice for the model's name by invoking the fact the hexagon is the strongest shape—yes, and it also happens to sound quite cool too. Well, thanks to Gwi's imagination, it also looks the part, so much so that it wouldn't really make sense as an expedition vehicle given how luxurious everything looks.
Based on looks, it doesn't exactly fit into the off-roader typology either, even though its capabilities seem to make it overqualified for the segment. Not only does it have unparalleled approach and departure angles and a ground clearance you could fit a C8 Corvette under, but it also hides a few other tricks, albeit not very realistic.
The most important is what the author calls an "independent shock wheel." The idea is that instead of relying on the shocks to absorb obstacles and bumps, the Hexagon has five (six in other images, which is more in line with its name) independent shocks in each of its wheels. When needed, those can extend individually to cancel out most surface irregularities, ensuring the occupants won't' even know they were there.
Being an EV, the Jeep Hexagon also gets the equivalent of a pair of jerrycans: two removable battery packs at the back that can be removed and replaced with charged ones in a matter of seconds (or hours, if you're not the gym-going type). Finally, one other feature would be the headlights that can be detached and used as a torchlight. Pretty neat, but only until somebody loses the torch and you have to drive back in the middle of the night with no lights.
But forget about all that: the main feature of the Jeep Hexagon rendering is its design, and that's something you can't fault. It looks like a combination between a GMC Hummer EV and the Warthog from Halo, with a dash of Jeepness added on top. It's not a bad combination and definitely not a vehicle we would mind seeing on the trails. Or at the North Pole. Or at soccer training.
The icebreaker spent over 300 days frozen inside the ice cap, but not before deploying a range of sensors and monitoring stations scattered over a radius of roughly 30 miles (50 km) around the ship. According to the people behind MOSAiC, the information collected by the expedition "contributes to a quantum leap in our understanding of the coupled Arctic climate system and its representation in global climate models."
Well, imagine that during their drift, the researchers had to leave the boat and reach one of the remote monitoring stations for some repairs. A helicopter would have been the best solution, but let's imagine there were strong winds and poor visibility, so a land party was the only viable solution.
In that case, they would need a vehicle like the Jeep Hexagon. The project was cooked up by Gwi design, a young designer from Seoul, and even though he doesn't explain what the link between his concept and the polar expedition is, we can only imagine it's along the lines of the scenario we just described.
The author justifies his choice for the model's name by invoking the fact the hexagon is the strongest shape—yes, and it also happens to sound quite cool too. Well, thanks to Gwi's imagination, it also looks the part, so much so that it wouldn't really make sense as an expedition vehicle given how luxurious everything looks.
Based on looks, it doesn't exactly fit into the off-roader typology either, even though its capabilities seem to make it overqualified for the segment. Not only does it have unparalleled approach and departure angles and a ground clearance you could fit a C8 Corvette under, but it also hides a few other tricks, albeit not very realistic.
The most important is what the author calls an "independent shock wheel." The idea is that instead of relying on the shocks to absorb obstacles and bumps, the Hexagon has five (six in other images, which is more in line with its name) independent shocks in each of its wheels. When needed, those can extend individually to cancel out most surface irregularities, ensuring the occupants won't' even know they were there.
Being an EV, the Jeep Hexagon also gets the equivalent of a pair of jerrycans: two removable battery packs at the back that can be removed and replaced with charged ones in a matter of seconds (or hours, if you're not the gym-going type). Finally, one other feature would be the headlights that can be detached and used as a torchlight. Pretty neat, but only until somebody loses the torch and you have to drive back in the middle of the night with no lights.
But forget about all that: the main feature of the Jeep Hexagon rendering is its design, and that's something you can't fault. It looks like a combination between a GMC Hummer EV and the Warthog from Halo, with a dash of Jeepness added on top. It's not a bad combination and definitely not a vehicle we would mind seeing on the trails. Or at the North Pole. Or at soccer training.
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