The Speedway concept from designer Christian Förg proposes an alternate transport mechanism for the cities and highways. It can employ a compact shape for travel in cities, but while on the highway, the concept takes a wider, more relaxed stance. The two-seat vehicle offers varying seating mechanisms for both its modes.

When the Speedway concept moves on the highway, linear motors embedded beneath the pavement work as an auxiliary source of energy. This contact-free mechanism with a drifting magnetic field can increase the range of the vehicle. The designer says the highways embedded with linear motors need not be reserved exclusively for the Speedway, as they can be used by other vehicles as well, thus solving the problem of the vehicle hogging such major infrastructure. Once its passengers disembark, the Speedway finds its own way back to a parking tower, ready for further use.

As good as the concept sounds, and it really is good, it is not entirely free from the limitations that concepts with a separate infrastructure would run into. First of course, is the cost associated with creating such infrastructure, lining highways with linear motors and maintaining a large fleet of these cars can be very costly; second of course is that the linear motors with magnetic fields will most likely be powered by electricity, considering that entire highways will have to be supplied with a lot of electricity. Add to that the transmission and efficiency losses, and we may be losing more than we gain.

Source:  Automotto.org

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