What's EDAG, you ask? It is a German company that specializes in engineering. What's a Light Cocoon? That's the rather novel solution EDAG thought up to advance the lightweighting of cars. Obviously. The curious-looking vehicle (which is EDAG's 16th concept car—here's one from 2000 and another from 2007) will glow from a display at the 2015 Geneva auto show.
As is the rage these days, EDAG's car features a 3D-printed structure and is said to be very lightweight, saving something like 25 percent versus those of traditional vehicles. As isn't the rage in any time period, the Light Cocoon concept's structure is bionically inspired and features an organic-looking, lattice-like passenger cage. A skin made from an outdoor clothing company's waterproof jersey fabric is stretched over the hard bits, and EDAG stuffed a bunch of LED lights under it so that the cellular chassis is on full display (which doesn't sound like a weight-saving measure to us).
The result is a wholly unique take on what you and I know as the car. A cross between a leaf under a microscope and shining a flashlight through your hand, the Light Cocoon concept is at once novel and a bit roguish. EDAG claims the car is designed with torsional rigidity and safety compliance in mind, although we're having a hard time imagining that the colossal side windows offer the necessary side-impact protection. And would sitting in a car named Cocoon make us pupae? We prefer to think of ourselves as beautiful butterflies, but still, kudos to EDAG for thinking outside of the cocoon in the search for lightweight construction techniques.
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from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/nSHy27
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