Hyundai Just Patented a Foldable Car
Hyundai has filed a patent for a foldable vehicle and it sounds as crazy as you think.
The patent was published early on Thursday but was originally filed in late 2014. According to the patent filing, the foldable vehicle would have a front floor coupled with the front wheels and a rear floor coupled with rear wheels, allowing the wheelbase to increase or decrease by having the floors slide over and under each other.
In addition, a windshield part hinged to the front floor would have the capability to turn forward or backward while a rear cabin part hinged to the floor can turn forward or backward as well. The roof could also be configured to be stowed inside the vehicle when the windshield part and the rear cabin part are folded inward.
SEE ALSO: 6 Things You Should Know About the 2017 Genesis G90 from Hyundai
There’s certainly interesting uses for the patent, allowing a car to become even more compact simply by shrinking its wheelbase. It all makes better sense if you just check out the animated .gif we created below, that shows the patent diagrams in action.
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Jason Siu began his career in automotive journalism in 2003 with Modified Magazine, a property previously held by VerticalScope. As the West Coast Editor, he played a pivotal role while also extending his expertise to Modified Luxury & Exotics and Modified Mustangs. Beyond his editorial work, Jason authored two notable Cartech books. His tenure at AutoGuide.com saw him immersed in the daily news cycle, yet his passion for hands-on evaluation led him to focus on testing and product reviews, offering well-rounded recommendations to AutoGuide readers. Currently, as the Content Director for VerticalScope, Jason spearheads the content strategy for an array of online publications, a role that has him at the helm of ensuring quality and consistency across the board.
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Crash it hard enough and ANY car will fold. ;)