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.
Gallery: CAKE Kibb ATV Concept Design Render by Fanny Jonsson
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.
Wait, dandelion-based rubber? For those unfamiliar, there are hundreds (if not thousands) of varieties of dandelion in the world. One of them, a Russian variety, apparently produces rubber that can be harvested and extracted from its roots. This video from Continental Tires talks a little more about the company’s dandelion rubber project, which it’s been working on since at least 2015. (Materials science continues to be the coolest thing ever.)
It’s a fascinating and thoughtful concept, to be sure. If you visit Jonsson’s project page, you can take a good 360 look at the Kibb’s design in full, turning it so you get a good look at every angle. We’ll include a link in our Sources so you can check it out.
