by Mariam Jehangir
Well it has a long way to go before it can transform like Optimus Prime, but it’s a start.
Toyota just revealed the ME.WE electric concept car, a 5-door hatchback that features body panels that snap right off. From the doors, to the hood, to even the roof and more, the polypropylene panels are engineered to reconfigure and transform the hatchback to a convertible or a pickup truck, as the owner wishes.
The ME.WE also boasts a list of eco-friendly features: The aluminum frame, all wheel drive ride clocks in at a mere 1,653 pounds; renewable bamboo is used to furnish much of the interior; the body panels are 100 percent recyclable; and the heating and cooling systems use a low-energy pump, among other green aspects.
French industrial designer Jean-Marie Massaud is the man behind the car’s design. Toyota’s press release outlines the three primary aims Massaud and the auto company had for the ME.WE: pertinence, synthesis, and modernity.
The release goes on the explain the idea behind the design was as follows:
To produce a car that reflects a quest for change in personal mobility. While cars have increasingly become subject to restrictions, they have put road users – drivers and pedestrians – at the heart of their thinking. The focus is on the desire for freedom, pleasure, emotion and the ability to travel free from constraints, while at the same time addressing people’s sense of personal responsibility and commitment to good citizenship.
The result is a car that takes a modern, global view of travel and forms part of a wider view on how to adapt to the environmental challenges that will shape the future of personal mobility. It is a no-extras package, conceived as an “anti-excess” vehicle. In short, the Toyota ME.WE represents the transition from the culture of ‘more’ to the culture of ‘better.’
Check out the video to learn more about the ME.WE.
