We do love a good design study…
After all, for the most part, these are borne from the vestiges of a designer’s visionary imagination (or chaotic fever dream) and since they exist only as a drawing, or as a render or a one-off show piece, these live in a world where there are no rules and no bad ideas… sort of.
Though we see fewer of them today than we did in the 90s and 80s, there are some manufacturers that over the decades have indulged in creating some wonderful motorcycles that would never see the light of day.
Take Suzuki, for example, which became a frustrating example of a firm that had the foresight to hire designers bursting with brilliant ideas - such as the Recursion, Stratosphere, Nuda and Falcorustyco - only to apply little or no inspiration from them towards future models. We even wrote a Top 10 feature article about it back in 2014… [Note to self, update and re-post to Visordown]
Anyway, back on topic, design studies and concepts have returned to prominence since Instagram emerged as a platform to display one’s skills and imagination alongside photos of your dinner, your dog and that time you went to gym.
It means there are numerous images knocking about from designers ‘re-imagining’ classic motorcycles, or styling different variants of one or simply super-imposing an iconic livery onto a new model; in short, it won’t be long before your algorithms throw up an example on your newsfeed to swoon over or decry.
We could never hope to feature all (or many) on Visordown, but we’re highlighting this particular creation - the Tesla Model M - created by Victor Rodriguez Gomez because, as basic as it sounds, it’s a Tesla. And Tesla is good for the clicks… just being honest. Stop groaning.
To clarify, this is in no way endorsed by Tesla itself and we do worry whether famous ‘hip-shooting’ CEO Elon Musk might one day grow possessive of his intellectual property and demand everything on the internet bearing its logo be shot into space. Let’s face it, you’re pretty sure he can make that happen.
In fact, this is just one of several unrelated Model M concepts that have emerged on the world wide web over the years because it’s a logical name to go with the Model S, Model X, Model Y and, erm, Cybertruck.
Of course, we are all now very aware of Tesla and, your opinion of said divisive CEO notwithstanding, you have to applaud the fact it took an American company that only built its first car in 2008 to get the jump on the industry’s big boys and change perceptions of electric transport.
It’s the kind of magic dust the motorcycle industry might need to push the community towards electric, which is why Musk has been asked repeatedly whether Tesla will ever go two-wheels, to which he has repeatedly said no, referencing an injury he sustained in a motorcycle accident.
BUT if there ever was to be a Tesla Model M, would it look like this?
Hopefully not. Fair enough, the concept is not supposed to be mainstream, or blend in, or raise questions about how something like this would ever move anywhere… which is just as well because I have a lot of them.
But it could perhaps look a BIT more inviting towards the future… or at the very least not appear so unergonomic so as to have you shifting in your chair while looking at it .
Somewhat akin to a coffee machine on wheels, while we’re getting retro Tron vibes, are we not a bit over that by now?
Truth be told, hubless wheels aren’t exactly new or impossible - just look at the Verge TS - but quite how they could work here is anyone’s guess, though I suppose you have to leave your imagination at the keyboard. In fact, instead of Tron vibes, this reminds of a modern-day two-wheel DeLorean - and we all know what happened there…
Ironically, though the Model M does bear hints of the quirky Cybertruck - and its sidekick, the Cyberquad - you do wonder why this machine, and other renders before it, portrays Tesla as futuristic and daring in the design department.
After all, while Tesla may innovate and push boundaries when it comes to engineering (an area these designs generally gloss over), when it comes to styling, its car range is actually relatively ordinary looking.
So I’m not a fan, but that perhaps says more about me than the Model M. Maybe I’ve just woken up in a grumpy mood or am transitioning into the ‘luddite’ phase of my ageing process.
Perhaps this IS the future and it’s me that doesn’t belong there. Or maybe it’s just a bit of fun and I need to ‘chillax’ a bit.
Either way, I’ll end on a positive note, because while the Model M leaves me as cold as the bodywork looks like it will feel on a chilly day, all credit to Victor Rodriguez Gomez [go on give him a follow on IG] for evidently being very talented at what he does… it’s a damn sight better than anything I could whip up!
