Opel Icona Amphibian Concept

For a long time, man has tried to mix the different means of transportation and create a vehicle capable of traveling on land and sea, or on land and water at the same time. We've all seen these attempts, gazed upon them and then moved on to more... present matters.

Truth be told, it's unlikely we will live to see a car that is at the same time a boat or an airplane succeed in the already swamped automotive industry. This however doesn't stop dreamers from dreaming and design artists from envisioning the future.

Enter the Opel Icona, a design study created by Juan Pablo Bernal at the Umea Institute of Design in Sweden with a touch of help from German manufacturer Opel itself. The Icona is an amphibian vehicle, one which can travel on both land and water by using only electricity on land and wind power on water.

Developed as a possible means of transportation for the year 2050, the Icona is a 1.5 seater, is we can say that, meaning it can only accommodate one adult and one child. It is build to morph from a land vehicle into a sea one by retracting the rear wheels and raising a central sail.

Chances are, as said, we will never see the Icona concept roam the streets or seas. But we might have a chance of seeing some of Bernal's other designs come to life. Holder of a Bachelor degree in Transportation Design from Instituto Europeo di Design and an MA Degree in Transportation Design from Umea institute of Design in Sweden, the Colombian has already clocked internships with GM and Scania.