INTO THE WILDquality time from Fjällräven

brand identity & strategic design project

Fjällräven is a swedish company making outdoor clothing and equipment such as jackets, tents and backpacks. Their mission is to facilitate the step between the city and the wilderness in order to make it easier for people to enjoy out-door activities. This sentence is perfect for a vehicle - a vehicle of some sort is often what takes the user of Fjällräven equipment out into the wilderness.

The Fjällräven user is mostly like their sentence above – someone who lives in the city and ocationaly goes out for a hike, an overnight stay or maybe a whole week out in the wilds. When it comes to camping with your car in the wilderness a classic combo is a Land Rover Defender with a roof-tent from Howling Moon. This combination makes it possible for the camper to come

further out in the vegetation compared to a normal motorhome. The tents position on the roof is mainly to stay safe from whatever dangerous animals there are out there during the nights sleep. This might sound ridiculous but it do happen in south Africa or Asia.

For the common user of this equipment it would likely not happen – atleast not in Sweden and the position of the tent on the roof makes it hard to reach and fold. But the idea itself is great – having a fold out tent on your car makes it really easy to stay overnight wherever is possible.

But driving a Land Rover defender with a roof tent isn´t the best solution for the city life during the day. Infact, groups of people that dislike the SUVs sometimes attack these vehicles and empties their

tires during nightly rades. The way of handling the problem is wrong, but the thinking is right – a big offroader is not suitable in the city, especially not in these days of petrol price raise every other day.

So the ideal vehicle for this kind of user, a user that spends most of its time in the city but sometimes wants to come out into the unkown, is a vehicle that can adapt itself to the environment. A vehicle that facilitates the step between the city and the wilderness in order to make it easier for people to enjoy outdoor activities.

While driving on road or in the city the car acts like a normal road car - the suspension is in its lowest position, the CTIS, Central Tire Inflation System deflates the tread and the front skidplate is moved forward 60 mm to enhance pedestrian safety.

Moving Tread | Air filled pieces that can be changed separately

Solid Outer Structure

Inner Tire | Pushes the tread out/in

Rim

In-wheel electric engine

Protector | Protects the engine/CTIS

CTIS | Central Tire Inflation System

Center Bolt

In offroad mode, the CTIS expands the tread, the air-suspesion is lifted 200 mm

and the front skidplate is moved closer to the car to gain extra clearence.

The front skidplate moves 60 mm forward in Street-mode. The skidplate is attached at the bottom with a flex at the top to prevent the pedestrian to slide un-der the vehicle.

The side window can slide backwards for the front door and forward for the rear door in under the glass at the B-pillar.

Backpacks, bags and other light cargo can be placed inside the door compartment. It can therefore be placed in a safe area without opening the car itself, letting cold/hot air into the vehicle. This equipment can then be reached through the door on the inside via the oversized door pockets.

Long/flat objects such as tents and skiis can be placed in the drawer under the passenger compartment. This feature gives the same loading space as a roof box without the raised centre of gravity.

The high beam-light is located on the rear view mirrors. This adds an extra feature with the function of a search light.

On the inside, Only natural sustainable materials are used. The passengers are moved closer to the centre of the vehicle, further away from objects to hit in case of an accident. Therefore, the dashboard is removed and all the controls needed are located between the front seats.

Humans

ExcursionThe in-wheel electric engines gives the torque to do some serious offroading if wanted. When the power eventually runs out, the user have a choice of charging it via plug-in or drive to a BetterPlace sta-tion and change the entire battery pack in less than a minute.

The softtop can be removed and stored in the drawers under the passenger compartment. It can also be opened as much as you want, by simply sliding it backwards.