Photo: carsdesignuniverse / Instagram
Have you seen what Hyundai dared to do with the fifth generation of the Santa Fe midsize crossover? It's an outrageous departure from the sweeping norm of the previous four iterations – but we say that in the most positive way possible!
That means they are not afraid to innovate in terms of styling – just look at the Ioniq 5, the facelifted Elantra N, or the Tucson compact crossover SUV, for example. But they also do not do it just for the sake of standing out in all crowds at any cost, as BMW does, as a counterpoint. And that also means we should really pay attention to what their designers are doing – even in their spare time.
Well, the good folks over at carsdesignuniverse did just that and then also attracted our attention toward a 'Polestar Cyber Truck Concept' made by Chris Lah (aka chris__lah on social media), who is an American car designer at Hyundai. Well, we beg to differ about the name of the project – as this is no Polestar but a veritable Volvo – according to the badges – and also doesn't have anything to do with the edgy Tesla Cybertruck because it's not edgy and also not a truck but an SUV.
Sure, some might argue that it could be labeled as a truck-based SUV, but the facts are pretty darn simple – Volvo does not produce a single pickup truck for its lineup, let alone a zero-emissions battery-powered one! So, throw away that Polestar Cyber Truck Concept characterization, come up with a fresh name for this imagined Volvo SUV prototype, and let us admire the sense and sensibility of mixing the serene Scandinavian design with rugged off-road 4x4 characteristics that are more akin to a Jeep than anything else.
To judge this independent design project is pretty simple. We reckon it warrants our CGI hall pass for many reasons – some of the highlights being the exciting reinterpretation of the 'Thor's Hammer' headlight theme, the apparent bulkiness of the front fascia, the nicely contoured profile with a small lateral imprint for the greenhouse that's mitigated by the glass roof, plus the cool 'hatchback-style' treatment of the rear end.
Oh, and let us not forget about the equally interesting rear LEDs that mirror the headlight design and expand the theme to new heights – visually and practically. Plus, the massive ride height along with the chunky wheel and tire setup and also the beefy black plastic protections show this to be readily available for both on and off-road trips. But what could power it? Well, of course, our eyes would be on the Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3's setup with two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors churning out up to 510 hp in Performance trim when hooked to a CATL-developed 111 kWh Lithium-Ion battery pack. Cool, or not?
Well, the good folks over at carsdesignuniverse did just that and then also attracted our attention toward a 'Polestar Cyber Truck Concept' made by Chris Lah (aka chris__lah on social media), who is an American car designer at Hyundai. Well, we beg to differ about the name of the project – as this is no Polestar but a veritable Volvo – according to the badges – and also doesn't have anything to do with the edgy Tesla Cybertruck because it's not edgy and also not a truck but an SUV.
Sure, some might argue that it could be labeled as a truck-based SUV, but the facts are pretty darn simple – Volvo does not produce a single pickup truck for its lineup, let alone a zero-emissions battery-powered one! So, throw away that Polestar Cyber Truck Concept characterization, come up with a fresh name for this imagined Volvo SUV prototype, and let us admire the sense and sensibility of mixing the serene Scandinavian design with rugged off-road 4x4 characteristics that are more akin to a Jeep than anything else.
To judge this independent design project is pretty simple. We reckon it warrants our CGI hall pass for many reasons – some of the highlights being the exciting reinterpretation of the 'Thor's Hammer' headlight theme, the apparent bulkiness of the front fascia, the nicely contoured profile with a small lateral imprint for the greenhouse that's mitigated by the glass roof, plus the cool 'hatchback-style' treatment of the rear end.
Oh, and let us not forget about the equally interesting rear LEDs that mirror the headlight design and expand the theme to new heights – visually and practically. Plus, the massive ride height along with the chunky wheel and tire setup and also the beefy black plastic protections show this to be readily available for both on and off-road trips. But what could power it? Well, of course, our eyes would be on the Volvo EX90 and Polestar 3's setup with two permanent magnet synchronous electric motors churning out up to 510 hp in Performance trim when hooked to a CATL-developed 111 kWh Lithium-Ion battery pack. Cool, or not?
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