The launch of the Tesla Cybertruck was essentially the moment designers worldwide were waiting for. It meant all restrictions were lifted, and so nothing was off the table anymore.
Of course, the Cybertruck still hasn't had its commercial debut, and even though there's no doubt over the way it will look in its final form, there are still some questions on how much of a success it will be. People getting excited over its appearance on the internet is one thing, people actually taking out their checkbooks and driving it home, completely another. It's the same situation with Volkswagen, and its pretend online poll for the convertible version of the ID.3.
As far as concept cars and digital renderings go, though, Tesla's electric truck has opened up a can of worms. Or possibilities, depending on how you look at it. Here, things were already pretty cuckoo, so the addition of the Cybertruck merely added fuel to the fire.
Photo: Xander Wang via Behance
Well, this Honda Ridgeline 2028 rendering is a very good example of how a design can be just as disruptive as the Cybertruck but in a very different way. Whereas Tesla's take feels like something a 1980's designer would have come up with trying to imagine a car for 2021, this Honda truck seems to mix that with the more recent organic theme we've seen touted around the industry.
Xander Wang, its author, actually describes the Honda Ridgeline as an "urban sailboat," designed specifically for use in the crowded cities of tomorrow—well, of 2028, if we're exact. However, since it's still a pickup, albeit on the smaller side, the truck can tackle the rougher surfaces of the countryside as well, provided it's not outside the reach of a charging point.
Xander doesn't go into too much detail over the vehicle's powertrain, other than the fact it's electric. A blue box represented in one of the drawings right at the front of the truck is probably where the battery pack sits, explaining the unusually long hood for an EV.
Photo: Xander Wang via Behance
While this solution offers some advantages (the lower floor makes getting people as well as stuff in and out easier), it also comes with an important drawback: weight distribution. The battery sits just above the front axle, and the cabin is right behind it, ending at the half-point of the wheelbase.
This setup makes the Honda Ridgeline 2028 (also called "Honda City Truck Ridgeline Type-C") extremely nose-heavy, particularly while driving with an empty bed. With the battery alone weighing 1,000 lbs (approximately 450 kg) or so, you'd have to add some serious weight in the back to balance it out and keep it from drifting around.
Somebody should slap us on the wrist. We're wasting time talking about a rendering's practical features when it would make more sense to carry on from where we began and focus on its aesthetics.
Photo: Xander Wang via Behance
You might be asking yourself, "why did we bring up the Cybertruck? Is it going to pop up in every discussion about a weird-looking pickup truck from now on?" The answer is probably "yes," but that's not the point here. Just look at the side profile of this make-belief Honda. Do you see anything?
Now put one of your hands over the Ridgeline 2028's cabin. Do you see it? Yup, it's a red Tesla Cybertruck, alright, and it looks pretty damn good in that color. This thing has virtually the same shape, only with a rounded glass canopy thrown up-top. OK, and a few more curves. If anything, it shows the Cybertruck wouldn't have lost its edge, so to speak, even if it did have more than the zero curves it has now.
"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie) Full profile
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