Modern human powered car - the Flintstones meet the Jetsons

With the trend in auto technology moving towards creating more powerful albeit more fuel efficient engines, Charles Greenwood and his company have chosen to take a different path. His company, HumanCar, Inc., produces human-powered vehicles. If that concept brings images of Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble in their prehistoric car, with feet sticking out underneath to make it go, well hold that thought because this is something else.

The Human Car prototype is the FM-4 Troublemaker, so-called because it goes against some basic automobile principles – there is no motor and, therefore, no oil-based fuel required. The FM-4 is a street-legal, low mass vehicle or LMV. It is designed to accommodate a maximum of 4 people who provide the car’s power via a “biometric human-power interface”. Pushing and pulling on a series of interconnected levers creates the necessary power to drive the car’s rear wheels via a 6-speed “human trans-axle”.

For its monocoque chassis, tubular steel and carbon fiber is used so as to make the vehicle lightweight and durable.

The FM-4 Troublemaker in action is quite an awesome sight because of the way it translates human power into motion.

HumanCar, Inc. is already working on the next generation production model called the “Imagine” which will sell at around $15,000 – $20,000. The company claims that this new human-powered vehicle will have a top speed of 60 mph.

Yabba dabba doo indeed!