Humanity has often been wrong in its various attempts at predicting the future, but we sure had fun with each and every one of them. Today’s proposal for the car of tomorrow is both incredibly cute and competent, in addition to being affordable and sustainable.
To paraphrase its creator, what is there not to love about it? Meet Höga, a modular, assemble-your-won kit car that would redefine personal mobility in urban areas for those who can’t afford the more expensive EVs. Why yes, Höga is also all-electric and, to boot, sustainable because it’s made from upcycled and recyclable parts.
Höga is the creation of transportation design student Ryan Schlotthauer, who previously made headlines for his renders of a modernized GMC Jimmy. The Höga is his bachelor thesis and, while it did take him out of his comfort zone, it’s an intriguing if a presently impossible dream.
Designed as the ultimate “kit car,” this tiny teeny vehicle is inspired by Ikea design philosophy and is made to integrate within Renault’s mobility program. It aims to be “clever, low cost and sustainable,” without any compromise to passenger safety, usable interior space, or ease of use. This sounds like quite an impossible task for such a tiny vehicle, but it’s achievable—on paper.
Photo: Behance.net / Ryan Schlotthauer
Höga is a bridge that closes the gap for people living in less expensive suburbs, “to jobs and mobility that fills dense urban cities,” the designer says. It’s basically an electric vehicle that takes you from point A to point B in relative comfort and maximum safety, including another passenger and some cargo.
The car itself ships in a crate, like Ikea furniture. There’s the upcycled skateboard that ships in one piece and an assortment of parts that you will have to assemble yourself. The A-frame design of the body includes an integrated roll cage, and the two parts click together like Lego. The Höga has 374 total parts and 114 individual parts—and, since this is an Ikea product we’re talking about, probably a bunch of parts you will never know what they’re for.
Assembly is easy, the designer imagines. Once you snap and screw everything together, you have your ideal commuter car in the exact configuration you need it. The Höga is modular, so Ikea would offer a range of options, depending on your needs. You could have two seats in the front, or just the driver seat and lots of cargo space, or tandem seats with a child’s seat in the back. Whether you’d be hauling a bike, a pram, or even larger items like TVs and furniture, the Höga would be good for the job. Despite its comparatively small footprint, it’s spacious on the inside.
Photo: Behance.net / Ryan Schlotthauer
The design is guided by Bauhaus principles, so it’s pure, purposeful, and practical. In reality, this would translate into a no-frills type of vehicle, a “what you see is what you get”-kind of car. The same goes for the interior, where color coding is used to enable the smoothest operation without the need to employ an instructions manual.
Speaking of the cabin, you get a steering wheel, a large display, and the possibility to use your own device for entertainment. The entire dash clips onto the windscreen so that Höga offers access and egress through the front and rear.
Last but not least, the Höga is sustainable: the skateboard is upcycled, and most parts are recyclable, so it won’t create waste even after the end of its life-cycle. Even the crate it ships in is reusable: you can send your old furniture back to Ikea as part of its recycling program. Because of the smart use of materials, the Höga would also be cheap, retailing at $6,500.
Assuming the man or woman of tomorrow trusted their car-building skills, the Höga would be just perfect. But what if one of those unaccounted for screws should have gone into something really important?
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. Full profile
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