A Swedish engineer turned a bicycle into this adorable tiny 'car'

Advertisement

podride

Mikael Kjellman/Indiegogo

Mikael Kjellman's bike-car weighs roughly 150 lbs.

Mikael Kjellman's all-weather PodRode vehicle might look like a low-budget version of a Smart Car, but the reality is far more interesting.

Advertisement

Kjellman, a Swedish engineer, took a four-wheeled recumbent bicycle and transformed it into a fully covered, snow-conquering, single-person "car" that shields its driver from the elements. Kjellman also rigged the car with an internal heater, which warms up an hour before he leaves the office.

In other words, Volvo should be manufacturing these immediately.

Kjellman's creation can use either electricity or foot power (or both at the same time). When the cyclist wants to take it easy, they can start up the motor and it'll assist with pedaling.

The car itself is less than three feet wide, seats one person, and tops out at 15 mph to comply with local speed limits for e-bikes. There's also a small trunk for groceries and a hitch to connect a separate trailer.

Advertisement

Kjellman says he was inspired to create the PodRide because he wanted to bike to work year-round and didn't want to worry about harsh Swedish winters.

Now that he's been riding it around for a year, Kjellman has launched an Indiegogo campaign to bring the all-weather vehicle to the masses.

His campaign has 15 days left and has already exceeded its $30,000 goal. With the money raised, he hopes to develop a prototype kit that he can take to manufacturers for larger-scale production.

"Many other bicycle cars have been available on the market for many years but they are still for some reason, an almost unknown vehicle," Kjellman writes on his Indiegogo page. "I hope that by building and running practical, fun and good looking bicycle-cars like PodRide, we can get bicycle-cars to become a popular and mass-produced vehicle."

Advertisement

His future models will be pre-fabricated "like IKEA furniture," he says, and will come in wider range of sizes. Future PodRides will be able to accommodate multiple people, pets, and have more storage than the current model.

The project is a one-man operation right now, so Kjellman can't guarantee PodRide will be affordable anytime soon. He hopes through manufacturing the kits that he'll be able to hire a team for quicker production.

"This campaign is designed to raise money, but the long term goal is to promote bicycle cars," he writes. "So it is equally important to spread the word, show your friends, share online, talk to your local politicians and traffic planners show that this kind of vehicles exist and work."

NOW WATCH: This is the most stylish folding bike ever