ROBOCAR 2057: Top designers look to the far future of the automobile

The Los Angeles Auto Show’s annual Design Challenge has grown in stature and popularity with both show-goers and designers from the many manufacturer styling studios located in Southern California.  In past years, the Design Challenge has focused on environmental vehicles, cars that can be recycled and even the ‘ultimate car for Los Angeles.’

This year, with computers and on-board electronics becoming an integral part of the modern automobile, the Design Challenge is encouraging imaginations to run wild with the theme ‘Robo Car of 2057.’

Setting the Challenge fifty years into the future has resulted in concepts that morph and adapt to passenger’s needs, that battle LA’s traffic by traveling vertically as well as horizontally, turn pollutants extracted out of the air into fuel and even pick the kids up after soccer practice without the need for a live driver.

Eight automotive design studios based in Southern California, including Audi, GM, Honda, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen contributed the dramatic drawings and descriptions predicting how the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence will integrate into the automobile to make life safer, more convenient and more attractive to consumers 50 years from now. 

The Design Challenge is a competition, with entries judged by top designers, and this year’s winner is the Volkswagen Slipstream.  The Volkswagen Slipstream was chosen for how well it integrated into personal and work life, the level of innovation and technology as well as its unique styling. The Slipstream adapts for city and freeway driving.
These two-wheeled, teardrop shaped pods travel in an upright orientation that occupies one-fifth the size of a traditional vehicle and when on the freeway, tilts horizontally to be more aerodynamic.

"Thinking 50 years in the future using autonomous driving and artificial intelligence was challenging for our design team," said Derek Jenkins, Chief of Volkswagen Design. "We truly enjoyed participating in the
Design Challenge and winning is a definite plus."

Volkswagen Concept Slipstream

In the year 2057,  population centers have become unimaginably dense and the roadways have reached the point of total saturation. Volkswagen’s solution is an advanced autonomous vehicle that dynamically adapts to minimize its footprint in the city and its drag coefficient on the highways.

When in the city, these two-wheeled, teardrop shaped pods travel in an upright orientation that occupies one fifth the size of a traditional vehicle. When on a special freeway lane called the “Slipstream,” it tilts to a horizontal orientation optimizing its aerodynamic shape. Rear fins slide out to allow the rear of the vehicle to float like the tail section of an airplane to achieve speeds in excess of 250 mph.

The skin of the vehicle is made of hyper-efficient solar panels that power the vehicle.

Volkswagen/Audi Design Center California
Design Team:  
   Ian Hilton
   Derek Jenkins
   Patrick Faulwetter 

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