Taiwanese design student Shao Yung Yeh is responsible for this beautiful car concept inspired by a meng, the Chinese word for grasshopper. The concept is called Insecta and it was specially conceived to become the electric personal mobility vehicle of the future.
Yung Yeh developed his concept while he was taking part on an academic exchange between the Cheng Kung University in Taiwan with the Kunsthochschule Berlin in Germany and his work was supervised by professor Hartmut Ginnow-Merkert.
As many car concept designers are inspired by nature, Yeh decided that it would be a great idea to come up with something that resembles an insect like a grasshopper. Check out the video at the end of the post to see Insecta in action!
“Taking inspirations from nature, the exterior expresses the characteristics of friendly insects, such as grasshoppers - agile, lightweight and green. Compare that to mammals, a common inspiration of modern car design. Insects are more suitable for cars of the future generation,” said Yeh.
It’s easy to notice that the Insecta Concept has an aspect similar to one of a grasshopper as “the legs are connected to a central chassis as a thorax, while the canopy can be read as an insect’s head” and “the battery pack at the back symbolizes abdomen.”
The Insecta Concept will be powered by four electric motors positioned inside a special system at each wheel as “this not only increases the agility of driving, but also optimizes the space for a comfortable cabin.”
Once again you have to realize that this is only a concept and could never go into production, but the designer is very confident of the success of his design because “cars are always considered not mere products but also have life in some level, even like our pets.”
“In fact, a lot of kids in Asia are having insects like big beetles as pets. Maybe when they grow up and see some cars like Insecta, they might feel intimate with them. It is important to look for new design elements to appeal to upcoming customer generations,” concluded Yeh.
