Photo: Niels van Roij Design
You may not be interested in either electric cars or station wagons, but you've probably heard about the joint-venture between two tiny British and Dutch companies that seek to build the world's first battery-powered station wagon nonetheless.
The best bit about it is how the whole idea came to be. It wasn't a designer's dream or anything romantic like that - nope, it was all born out of necessity. More to the point, a man's need to have more room for his dog inside the world's most capable EV.
If that dog lover happens to know a guy who used to work as a designer for major car manufacturers, then his wish is one step closer to reality. The sketches for the Model S conversion looked so good, that not only was building the vehicle decided, but it would also spawn an entire limited series instead of settling for a one-off.
“Design is the most important reason for purchase globally - regardless of the purchase price, gender or age of the buyer”, Van Roij of Niels van Roij Design, the company charged with penning the new vehicle, says. “So, we’ve invested a lot of time in the design process of our Shooting Brake".
Well, it's safe to say it shows. We might not have a clear view of the final product at the moment, but since it's essentially a Model S with a different top part of its rear end, it's not that hard to imagine based on these renderings. One thing we'd like to point out: the EV's taillights have absolutely no problem working on this body shape as well.
Based on the press release published by the design company, it seems like the picture showing the car from the side is very close to what the final product would look like. The chromed strips around the windows stay, as will the slight kick-up in the window line over the rear wheels. One thing that should make a lot of people happy is the size of the rear window, which looks like it'll actually offer a decent visibility for a change.
The exact phase of the conversion is unknown at the moment, but it should be pretty far off. We know the cuts have been made and the new tailgate installed, so they should be down to detailing by now. The car is scheduled to be released this March, so there's not that much time left.
Tesla never announced the intention of offering a wagon model - especially now that the Model X is available - so your only chance of ever owning an electric wagon with Tesla hardware is for this little endeavor to work and, most importantly, expand.
If that dog lover happens to know a guy who used to work as a designer for major car manufacturers, then his wish is one step closer to reality. The sketches for the Model S conversion looked so good, that not only was building the vehicle decided, but it would also spawn an entire limited series instead of settling for a one-off.
“Design is the most important reason for purchase globally - regardless of the purchase price, gender or age of the buyer”, Van Roij of Niels van Roij Design, the company charged with penning the new vehicle, says. “So, we’ve invested a lot of time in the design process of our Shooting Brake".
Well, it's safe to say it shows. We might not have a clear view of the final product at the moment, but since it's essentially a Model S with a different top part of its rear end, it's not that hard to imagine based on these renderings. One thing we'd like to point out: the EV's taillights have absolutely no problem working on this body shape as well.
Based on the press release published by the design company, it seems like the picture showing the car from the side is very close to what the final product would look like. The chromed strips around the windows stay, as will the slight kick-up in the window line over the rear wheels. One thing that should make a lot of people happy is the size of the rear window, which looks like it'll actually offer a decent visibility for a change.
The exact phase of the conversion is unknown at the moment, but it should be pretty far off. We know the cuts have been made and the new tailgate installed, so they should be down to detailing by now. The car is scheduled to be released this March, so there's not that much time left.
Tesla never announced the intention of offering a wagon model - especially now that the Model X is available - so your only chance of ever owning an electric wagon with Tesla hardware is for this little endeavor to work and, most importantly, expand.
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