Automaker Peugeot enlisted designer Phillippe Starck to create the ideal vehicle for getting around the streets of Bordeaux, France, where cycling is a preferred method of transportation. The result is Pibal, a sort of hybrid vehicle that combines the pedal-based locomotion of a bicycle with the kick-powered propulsion of a scooter. The concept vehicle lets the rider alternate between the two methods of travel depending on the flow of traffic. The vehicle, which was first unveiled in 2012, gets its name from the French word “pibale,” meaning baby eel.
Just like the pibale, undulating and playing with the flow, Pibal is an answer to new urban ergonomics, thanks to a lateral translation which allows oneself to pedal long distances, to scoot in pedestrian areas and to walk next to it, carrying a child or any load on its platform.
images via Phillippe Stark
via Dezeen, Swiss Miss
