A step up: Hyundai unveils a car with legs

The manufacturer and partners are working on a go-anywhere concept vehicle based on the sci-fi franchise 'Transformers'

The Elevate in a domestic setting. All photos courtesy Hyundai and Autodesk

Stealthy in the snow.

Hiding in the shadows.

Rocks present no barrier.

An exploded view illustration of the Elevate vehicle shows components that enable it to transform from a rolling vehicle to one that walks.

And there it is back to normal again.

Off on a mission of mercy.

For those days when four wheels won’t quite do it for you, Hyundai has unveiled a new concept vehicle – a car with legs.

In collaboration with software company Autodesk, the Japanese manufacturer presented images of the Elevate, which it says will be a go-anywhere conveyance with “unprecedented locomotion capabilities”.

The concept, which was developed by the New Horizons Studio in US's Silicon Valley, was inspired by the sci-fi franchise Transformers.

Elevate will have the ability to convert from a four-wheeled, car-like vehicle into a four-legged, reptilian walking machine, giving it the ability to traverse areas that are inaccessible to even the most capable off-road vehicles.

Uses for such a wagon, Hyundai and Autodesk say, could include irregular-ground transport needs, surface exploration, search and rescue emergencies, and clearing some of the significant transportation hurdles some mobility-impaired individuals face daily.

If it comes to fruition, it will be constructed using components that are lighter and stronger than those already used in standard vehicles.

Currently, though, the Elevate only exists as a prototype, which is a fifth of the size of the anticipated final product, so you may have to wait a while yet to see such a vehicle in action.