THE WORLD’S most futuristic car has been revealed – and it’s unlike anything that’s come before it.
Glossy and bubble-like in appearance, the autonomous float hover machine is based on the same technology as Tesla’s hyperloop.
RenaultThe Float was designed to look like a bubble when in transit[/caption]
RenaultEach pod allows for either one or two people and can attach to others via a magnetic belt around the exterior[/caption]
RenaultWith a transparent glass exterior and silver seats, The Float is unlike any concept that’s come before it[/caption]
The Renault car, designed by then-23-year-old Yuchen Cai, is a concept that could seemingly only be brought to market in a version of the future where roads involve magnet technology.
Or the car, dubbed “The Float”, might be adapted to travel along specially-built magnetic lines.
A video of the incredible concept shows a machine with transparent exterior glass, silver bucket seats, and sliding doors.
But its most distinguishing feature is its lack of wheels; it would rely on Maglev technology, or magnetic levitation, to travel places.
The Float would also be non-directional, meaning it could move in any direction without turning around.
Each pod could be connected to and travel in tandem with other pods via the magnetic belt around its exterior.
And some could be rented, like one might hail a taxi, using an app.
Ms Cai designed The Float to employ electric power, autonomous driving, and connected technologies.
Her car won a contest for innovative design run by French automobile manufacturer Renault with the theme “new age of autonomous driving”.
China Railway recently completed its own successful performance tests of next-generation high-speed trains, which are expected to travel faster than planes and would also use Maglev technology.
The trains would operate within a low-vacuum pipe.
Magnets on the trains would interact with the metal on the sides of the pipe to levitate and propel them forward.
It is hoped that such trains will reduce air pollution emissions while simultaneously minimising travel time and costs.
There is already one Maglev train in operation in China which connects the airport in Shanghai to the city centre, making the 19-mile journey possible in about seven minutes.
Another superfast shuttle, named the Hyperloop, is also set to shoot pods and their passengers through a vacuum-sealed tube, at 700mph; most trains in the UK can reach a maximum of 140mph.
Similar to how The Float would operate, the Hyperloop would have pressurised pods that levitate on tracks using magnets rather than standard train carriages.
By sucking out all the air from the tube, the pods would be able to be propelled between destinations at super speeds.
RenaultThe Float is ‘non-directional’, meaning it can move in any direction at any time and does not need to turn around[/caption]