The Hyundai Soapbox ride promises to bring families together!

Hyundai Motor has designed a soapbox ride that parents can build together with their children. With schools still closed in parts of Europe, and families spending more time together, Hyundai says it wanted to come up with a project that would be fun for parents and children and let them spend quality time together.

“In recent months, spending time together as a family has become more valuable to people. We wanted to create a fun project that would give families and friends an enjoyable project that brings them together,” says Andreas Christoph-Hofmann, Vice President of Marketing & Product at Hyundai Motor Europe. “Of course, the Hyundai Soapbox had to stay affordable, so our designers developed it using materials that can be easily found in a local DIY store.”

The Hyundai Soapbox was designed just like a regular car, with a team of engineers building the chassis first, followed by a team of designers sketching ideas, first on paper and then as 3D computer models. Once the final design was approved they started building it, with yet another team working on colour and trim.

When fully assembled, the Hyundai Soapbox measures 1 metre in width and 1.76 metres in length. This ensures the soapbox will fit into a regular passenger car, so that families can transport it to locations with hills or slopes to roll it down.

The soapbox was developed by engineers and designers from the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center using affordable and easily-available materials. The Hyundai Soapbox is a motor-less vehicle that is fairly easy to build. To make sure the design stayed affordable, the team used materials which were readily available at an average hardware store.

For the general direction in designing the soapbox’s flat panels and wedge-shaped silhouette, the team looked for inspiration to the Hyundai 45 concept with its straight lines and geometric shapes. They also took cues from the brand’s new design identity “Sensuous Sportiness”.

The soapbox is made out of wood, metal rods, and connecting materials such as brackets and screws. The wheels are from a wheelbarrow. “In the car industry we get so used to thinking within certain boxes, but this time, the door was open,” says Thomas Bürkle, Head of Hyundai Europe Design Center. “With this project, we were free to be creative and think outside the box.”

Instead of using a conventional steering wheel, the development team adapted the joystick steering concept from Prophecy show car. However, to allow homemade build, the joysticks were made of screwdrivers that are readily available at stores.