Hankook Tire just showed off the results of its Design Innovation Project, a bi-annual daydream challenge to come up with the wildest, most futuristic tyre concepts imaginable. This year’s winners are amazingly sci-fi: Morphing, transforming tyres that change with the terrain to drive on pavement, dirt, snow, and even water.
First up is the Boostrac, whose hexagonal treads can expand like a blowfish to dig into steep, rough, loose terrain.
Next is the Alpike, which expands its diameter to increase ground clearance and opens up deep channels in its tread to grip snow and ice.
This is the most bonkers, badass concept of the three: HyBlade, with waterwheel treads and propeller spokes for navigating deep water. So, so awesome.
Wanna see how all three work? Hankook’s got a concept video that turns the Transformers-meets-Star-Wars aesthetic all the way up to eleven.