Heatherwick Studio’s concept electric car was presented at the Shanghai Motor Show 2021 in April. The Airo was designed by the London design studio for IM Motors and is a fully electric vehicle with autonomous and driver-controlled modes.
The Airo will run on electric power, producing no fossil fuel pollutants as it moves around the city. But the car goes further in its environmental ambition as it also comes complete with a state-of-the-art HEPA filtering system that actively cleans the air from the pollution of other vehicles as it passes through the under-carriage, leaving the air around it cleaner.
In addition to its embedded air-filtering system, Airo’s customizable interior can be configured into multiple functional spaces that turn the car into a moving room or a space for your life. Inside, the car’s seats rotate from a traditional forward-facing driving position to face each other for social activities such as dining on the four-leaf table, which neatly folds away to transform the space into a lounge.
A foldaway screen can also morph the inside of the car into a four-wheeled cinema or a perfect gaming pod after long drives. And when you’ve exhausted yourself, the beautifully contoured seats fully recline to form a spacious double bed. Using the latest technology in glass, the fully glazed roof becomes opaque on command for total privacy.
Alongside the electric car concept, the Heatherwick Studio has also designed a charging station for IM Motors that will become an integral piece of city infrastructure for the future of electric vehicles. Formed from industrial materials, including weathered steel, the charging station has been designed to blend in with a cityscape for decades to come.
“Airo isn’t simply another electric car that doesn’t pollute the air. Instead, using the latest HEPA filter technology, it goes further by also vacuuming-up pollutants from other cars as it drives along,” said Thomas Heatherwick, Founder of Heatherwick Studio. “Designed to simultaneously address the global space shortage, Airo is also a multi-functional room with extra space for dining, working, gaming, or even sleeping. As a new room for our lives, with a changing view, Airo is a car intended to transport us to a cleaner and better future.“
The concept car is expected to go into production in 2023.
