Back when concept cars used to be called “dream cars,” they often represented not just way-out styling but also wacky thinking. This year’s Geneva auto show has its share of concept cars, but the Torq, by the Italian engineering and design company ED, is one that ascends to the level of dream car. And a fevered dream it is.
A true, blue-sky dream car needs a suitably ambitious mission statement. Here’s ED’s: “Our goal is to deliver fully functional, entirely open source, autonomous ‘mobile laboratories’ with our friends at OEMs, tier one suppliers, IT companies, research institutes, and universities, allowing them to experiment with all kinds of new apps to improve all aspects of the quality of life related to the future of assisted mobility.” Check.
A dream car also needs wild styling. The Torq’s passengers sit in a windowless pod that seems to float above its flat-panel chassis. Cameras project a 360-degree view out onto a series of screens. The concept takes scissor doors one better by making them rear-hinged. Check.
An outlandish powertrain is also a must. This concept uses four electric motors, one for each wheel. Total system output is an advertised 429 horsepower and 1328 lb-ft of torque—the latter inspiring the car’s name. Check.
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Naturally, the car is also autonomous driving. In fact, it takes the autonomous-driving concept one step further, with the stated goal of creating a self-driving racing car. Uh—wait a minute. How, exactly, would that work?
Regardless, the Torq by ED makes its bizarre case as the wackiest dream car at Geneva. Oh, and extra points for the outfit on that model.
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via Agya
