The Swincar Spider is a crazy electric car that looks like something straight out of Bioshock. It’s got this weird, steam-punk vibe that stirs up memories of an attempted escape after just foiling the plans of some quasi-dystopian government. Of course, this is real life, so fortunately nothing like that is happening. At least not yet.
Introducing The Swincar Spider
A french company named Mecanroc is the brains behind the operation. The Swincar Spider is a really flexible buggy that runs completely on electricity. In the promo video, Mecanroc describes the vehicle as “a mechanical spider on wheels” — never mind the fact that this thing, unfortunately, doesn’t have eight wheels.
Driving in Ditches Using The Swincar Spider
Truth be told, the Swincar Spider got its name because of its spider-like legs — not the number of legs — but how they work.
Each “leg” of the vehicle has independent suspension, and four independent motors mounted to each wheel. The legs, themselves, are basically crossbeams that are dedicated to each wheel, which allow the vehicle to climb over obstacles the way a spider might – well, if it had wheels.
It May Lack Power, But it Doesn’t Lack Fun
Each motor produces between 1.3 and 2 horsepower, which certainly isn’t going to make it the fastest all-terrain vehicle — it only tops out at about 25 mph. But the Swincar Spider only weighs 310 pounds, and its ability to scale up to a 70 percent gradient makes it useful for tackling situations that a typical ATV wouldn’t be able to.
One of the more unique aspects of the Swincar Spider is that it’s electric. Mecanroc states that it can be fully charged in about two hours, which should power it enough to run about four hours. Unfortunately, the company didn’t mention what the range of travel would be for a single charge. However, considering its top speed is 25 mph, drivers probably shouldn’t be in the middle of nowhere coming up on mile 100.
The vehicle has been in production for eight years already, and Mecanroc says there is still more testing that needs to be done before it is able to get a production-ready model started. Once that happens, the company is also hoping to make a two-seated version of the Swincar Spider available for purchase. Until then, we’ll all be patiently waiting for a test drive.
