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The Gruzovikus Self-Driving Freight Tractor Is Almost Too Beautiful for Words

You don’t normally think of freight tractors in terms of visual appeal: they are enormous machines meant to haul stuff all across the world, so whether they’re pretty or not is of no consequence.
Art Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautiful 7 photos
Photo: Art Lebedev Studio
Art Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautifulArt Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautifulArt Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautifulArt Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautifulArt Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautifulArt Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautiful
But that doesn’t mean that they can’t be pretty, though. When it comes to good looks, this concept from Art Lebedev Studio takes the crown: there is simply no prettier truck cab out there, real or only in concept stage. This is no coincidence, either: the design team specifically set out to show the world that you can have both brawn and beauty in a single truck cab. And brains, to boot.

Meet Gruzovikus (which literally means truck in Russian), the electric, self-driving truck cab that hauls merchandise from point A to point B, and looking fabulous while doing it. It’s the result of 43 days’ of work for the team at Art Lebedev Studio, and it remains the most startling and impressive concept to this day, a few good months after it was made public.

Clearly, the future of transport is electric and autonomous. This truck has them both, with a good dose of good looks to go. It’s incredibly slim, to the point where it forms an L shape when viewed from the side. It has no windows or doors, because it doesn’t need any. All it has is a giant computer screen that houses the computer, the sensors and the cameras, and everything else needed to make long-distance travels safe.

Gruzovikus is streamlined and with improved dynamics, but stylish and elegant at the same time.

“A regular semi today looks like a mad brick: it has horrible aerodynamic qualities. Gruzovikus has a streamlined screen in the front that separates the oncoming air flows while protecting the sides from dirt and loads the front axle, adding stability to the rig,” Art Lebedev Studio says on the official website.

Art Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck\: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautiful
Photo: Art Lebedev Studio
Because it’s electric and self-driving, it is also extremely efficient and cheaper to run. Unlike with today’s trucks, you can have this baby on the road without breaks or for consecutive runs, except for those times when maintenance checks are in order. A fleet manager could also cut costs by reducing maintenance personnel: they would be able to oversee and run an entire fleet of these trucks without even leaving the office, from his computer.

“Gruzovikus is equipped with passive computer vision: cameras, sensors and radars capture the distance to nearby objects while the central computer instantly triggers a response to changes in traffic conditions,” the designers say. “Gruzovikus allows to significantly reduce the cost of transportation: it doesn’t need to be paid and does not require rest.”

Because there’s no truck cab to speak of, Gruzovikus is able to haul heavier loads, as the trailer can be longer. The design studio imagines that the transport of the future could look very much like this. If it did end up being this way, it would be the most beautiful things.

Art Lebedev Studio's Gruzovikus concept truck\: fully electric, fully autonomous, extremely beautiful
Photo: Art Lebedev Studio
“The truck’s stylish and informative optics fits perfectly with the dynamics of its body panels,” the designers say. “Incredible combination of intelligence and beauty!”

Even though this is a concept, designers didn’t think to include some specs in the project. They do, however, offer a detailed account of how Gruzovikus came to be, but you need to brush up on your Russian to understand it.

Even without these details, it’s clear that a freight truck like Gruzovikus would come to solve several issues in the trucking industry, making it more efficient, faster, more reliable and cutting down on operational costs. It would also come to replace human operators and displace many other employees, but then again, that is what the future holds either way.

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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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