Hyundai debuting new electric vehicle concept at Frankfurt

In addition to the new Hyundai i10 coming to next month’s Frankfurt Auto Show, and Hyundai Motorsport’s first electric race car, the South Korean automaker will also have a brand new concept electric vehicle on display. The company says the prototype presents a take on the future of mobility and blank-page EV design, and is the next stage under the banner of “Style Set Free.” The rubric goes beyond automobiles, encompassing new ways to interact with objects in general, including vehicles. The car-centric idea is one we’re hearing and seeing more frequently, that as EVs and autonomous driving open up occupant space, customers will enjoy “individualized living spaces” on wheels.

The first demonstration of Style Set Free came with the Hyundai Elevate concept, a passenger cabin with its wheels mounted at the ends of four independently extendable legs. The name of the division that created the concept says it all: CRADLE, which stands for Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experience. And yes, CRADLE has a working, scale-model prototype of the Elevate. Hyundai explored the second step in Style Set Free at this year’s Milan Design Week, with a conceptual vehicle sculpture and interactive displays examining color, shapes, sound, and interactivity itself.

We’re not sure how Hyundai plans to expand on the theme come Frankfurt. The carmaker said it believes future vehicle interiors will permit a design experience similar to decorating a home, and that “interiors will be more customizable during [a vehicle’s] lifecycle.” One of the displays on-stand will be My Space, which “allows visitors to interact with various materials to create kaleidoscope effect,” and we’ll guess it all comes together in a second display, H-Space, which offers a glimpse of what the coming “personalized in-car customer experience” could look like.