Hyundai Elevate Concept Steps Into CES As A Car With Legs

Is a vehicle that can walk still a car? Hyundai will answer this odd question at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show on January 7 by unveiling the Elevate concept. Like a traditional automobile, it'll have four wheels, but the weird machine will also be able to walk on long appendages that will allow for getting around in extremely treacherous terrain.

Hyundai is only releasing a single computer rendering of the Elevate for now but intends to show a full prototype at CES. The vehicle features a relatively skinny body with enough room for loading a stretcher inside. There also appears to be a hatch in the side that might offer an alternate way into the cabin, since there are no visible doors. The wheels mount to extendable legs that allow for a significant increase in ride height for overcoming obstacles. The tires don't appear to have much tread, which raises the question of how much traction the Elevate would have off-road.

The company claims the machine is capable of driving, walking, and even climbing through the help of robotics. We hope the automaker shows off how a person controls the rig because maneuvering the four legs and making the switch from steering the wheels into making them feet seems like a very complicated process.

Hyundai says the Elevate establishes a new vehicle category that the company calls an Ultimate Mobility Vehicle or UMV. We are curious to find out whether the automaker actually intends to put an all-terrain machine like this into production or if the firm is just hoping to grab attention at a crowded CES by debuting something very weird.