Hyundai Elevate: ‘The world’s first walking car’ | Martin Love

It's still at prototype stage, but the Elevate shows that car designers are thinking on their feet

This 'quadrupedal' vehicle may look like a smart shopping trolley ready for a supermarket dash in some distant interstellar community. But, in fact, it's a full-size, robotic walking car, which Hyundai believes may be helpful in rescue zones when normal vehicles, even the most robust 4x4s, just can't hack it.

It's called the 'Elevate' and by blending technology found in modern electric cars with advanced robotics, it can climb up 5ft walls, straddle a 5ft hole and step across piles of debris, thanks to the addition of four fully articulated robotic legs - and all the while keeping its passengers completely level.