Teorema’s virtual concept car has got weird-ass doors… and I love it

The Italian historic coachbuilder Pininfarina may have stopped designing cars for Ferrari, but has sure been busy lately.

Just two weeks ago, the firm announced it’s going to create a 1000hp electric truck for the EV startup Hercules, and on Wednesday revealed its utterly sleek Teorema concept.

The Teorema is Pininfarina’s first 100% virtually developed concept car and aims to offer “an all-new interpretation of fully electric, autonomous mobility.”

Designed inside out

The design teams in Cambiano and Shanghai created the interior experience before developing the exterior, starting from a scalable electric skateboard chassis which allows the car to maximize in-cabin space. 

Passengers sit in a space shaped like a pentagon, while the driver — if they choose an active driving mode — sits alone up front in a central seating position, which can also be turned around to face the occupants.

Since the Teorema doesn’t have doors on the sides, passengers can also convert the four chairs into benches, where they can rest or even sleep.

To enter, “they simply walk inside” as the rear opens and the roof extends upward and forward.

Multiple driving modes 

The Teorema is completely autonomous requiring, therefore, no driver on the wheel. On top of that, it features three driving modes that create a different space experience.

• Autonomy mode: the driver faces the other passengers, with enough distance between them to create a feeling of a “private cocoon.”
• Drive mode: the different areas of the vehicle acquire the same color to boost a “community feeling.”
• Rest mode: the passengers can move to any position, and the interior is transformed into a “social space.”

Augmented reality

Behind the car’s windshield and side glasses appear virtual images, aligned with real-world data, that inform passengers about “relevant traffic information, places of interest, and curiosities.” Passengers can interact with the displayed information and choose to learn more or share it with the other occupants. 

Unfortunately, Pininfarina doesn’t typically build cars itself, so it’s highly unlikely that the Teorema will ever reach production. Instead, it manifests the firm’s design expertise and previews how it will approach its future creations.

Well, I don’t know about you, but if that’s indeed the future of electric autonomous mobility, I’m sold!

Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up? 

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