Swedish electric motorbike maker CAKE has built a reputation for itself around a couple of key concepts. One, of course, is its inimitable design language. Love it or hate it, there’s nothing else quite like it—and if an OEM’s purpose is to stand out, then CAKE has done an admirable job on that front. The second key concept is the inextricably intertwined nature of electric vehicles and environmental sustainability. From its anti-poaching measures to its work integrating bio-based panels into its building materials, it’s clear the brand is exploring new ways to walk the walk.
All that real-world CAKE lore makes it not
a huge stretch to see where digital designer Fanny Jonsson came from when she
crafted this design proposal for the CAKE Kibb ATV. Look closely and you’ll see
that the main frame strongly resembles an Ösa, except of course it has four
wheels rather than the standard two.
Like the Ösa, though, the Kibb (which
apparently means “Ox” in the Gutniska dialect of Swedish, as spoken on the
island of Gotland), comes with some useful features baked in, and a modular
design that can add more. Where the Ösa can be fitted with storage racks and
baskets, the Kibb can do the same thing—only bigger. Jonsson envisions crates
of produce being safely gathered and then transported out of fields. Hauling a
planting attachment to disturb the soil as little as possible is also a thing
Jonsson conceptualized in one of her drawings.
The Kibb takes design principles that CAKE
already integrates into its machines—such as an ability to use their power
packs to power other electric devices out in the wild—into full account.
Interestingly, though, Jonsson takes this way of thinking a step further. One
drawing outlines a CAKE Shed, fully outfitted with solar panels to help keep
your Kibb (and maybe even some other CAKE machines, too) topped up when you put
it away for the day.
The CAKE Kibb is meant to be a mostly
autonomous vehicle, which can minimize soil and wildlife disturbance as it goes
about its business on farms. While of course some insects are bad for plants,
there are plenty of beneficial insects and micro-organisms that could benefit
from less soil disturbance. Animals on the farm are also less likely to be
disturbed by an extremely quiet vehicle like the Kibb.
Jonsson also envisions the use of
environmentally-friendly building materials—both recycled and recyclable in
future—to craft the Kibb. In addition to bio-based materials that CAKE is
already working to incorporate into its existing build strategy, Jonsson
imagines the use of fully-recyclable aluminums, recycled rubber, bio-based
silica, and dandelion-based rubber for the tires.
