Mercedes-Benz Hexawheel concept is the 4x4 you never knew you needed
By Darren Murph 
posted May 23rd 2010 3:00AM
posted May 23rd 2010 3:00AM
posted May 23rd 2010 3:00AM
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ew. Cool, but ew
@glenskey
Scary truck to be driving next to... or in front of... or anywhere near it really.
I need one!
@glenskey
we said something similar to you
@glenskey
*barf* ugly car
@remmus2k
I really have to defend Mercedes-Benz here. This is not a concept vehicle they designed! It's a design work by an engineer who just put the Mercedes star in the grill to get some attention. Guess it worked.
@SeeKo
The real question is what happens when you hit the brakes? It looks like it would need a "mid-gate"?
Bye-bye mulch pile, or anything else you put in the back.
Now THAT is SEX on six wheels! HOT! :D
Really cool concept.
@glenskey
This is the Gamma Goat, redux. But, I bet it cannot run over trees.
@rutter9 If the whole thing is flexible, you'd probably have to break very very very very carefully to keep the thin from folding up behind you...
not really. It'd be like pulling a trailer. If your trailer has trailer brakes, you generally don't have a problem.
Maybe it's a 4x4 I never knew I needed because IT HAS SIX WHEELS AND IS NOT A 4x4!
@harkening
and to think Hexawheel would have gave them a hint
:/
@harkening
I felt something was odd... are the Engadget editors slipping up more than usual?
@harkening Maybe only four of the wheels drive, and the back two is just on an attachment?
@leafflash
No. All six wheels are driven. Read the source material on Autoblog. Or go to the original article on Car Body Design.
Quote: "Inspired by the jointed structure of insects, the Hexawheel is capable of overcoming large obstacles thanks to its flexible frame, which is combined with a six-wheels layout and an ALL-WHEEL-DRIVE system."
The drivetrain powers all six wheels. Even so, if four of the six wheels were driven, it would be a 6x4. This is basic automobiling lingo.
Is this a 4x4 or a 6x6?
@wanderer9
Technically, it's a 6x6 since all six wheels are fed power by the drivetrain.
@harkening just saying. technically we don't know if its a 6x6 or 6wheel drive. but as each set of wheels is driven by hydraulic motors, therefore they are prolly independently selectable making it 6x6. i didn't look into it too much as im tired and about to go to bed
@Mick
We do know it's a 6x6. See my above reply to leafflash.
Wow, that's the suck!
i need this in my life.
@Wiggy Fuzz
Dude, I'm not going to lie to you but that tray is useless - under heavy braking anything in there will either foul the hinge mechanism or end up under the wheels.
Kinda stupid.
Looks like an Unimog on amphetamines.
Is it just me or does this article seem way too wordy?
Talk about useless! The bed has no depth to it, so much wasted length, and heck how about preventing the crap from sliding forward every time you step on the brakes....
This exemplifies the problem with modern car design.
They allow artists to make the concept, and THEN ask the engineers to try and make it work. It should be the other way around. Design something really cool and functional, then give it to the artists to tweak it and make it pretty.
@Ducman69 Read the source - it's designed by a Mechanical Engineer.
@Ducman69
You fail to understand the purpose of the back part. It's to provide leverage the cargo functionality is an afterthought. This is designed as an offroader concept for rough terrain. You can see how it comes into use here:
http://www.carbodydesign.com/gallery/2010/05/mercedes-benz-hexawheel-concept/3/
How dare you guys refute my ranting with logic! =p
I suppose if its not really meant as a WORK truck, then its not such a big deal. I've got a 4x4 hemi RAM w/ the towing package and rambox + divider and the like, so towing and hauling are paramount considerations in a truck for me. I imagine not too many people are going to be hauling boats or equipment up that kinda terrain, heh!
I know it's a concept, but that is the most dysfunctional truck bed ever.
@deepdigits I know I'll get downranked, but this was the most disfunctional spelling of "dysfunctional" ever.
@loocas
and that must be the most dysfunctional comment ever... Please look up the dictionary before you pick on other's spelling. I know you don't have an iPhone because it won't let me type "disfunctional" without me manually cancelling spelling correction.
@dzeikei haha dangit beat me to it
@loocas
It is actually "dysfunctional" in the Queen's english...
@loocas
On case you are "dislexic", sorry, I didn't mean to offend.
@dzeikei
and yes I'm meant to type "In case" but I and O are very close together ;)
I found this in the dictionary though... LOL it might actually become a word thanks to people like him...
dis·func·tion /dɪsˈfʌŋkʃən/ Show Spelled[dis-fuhngk-shuhn] –noun
dysfunction.
Origin:
by confusion of dys- with dis-
@loocas
how's the taste of your own medicine? ciao
If you read the rather brochure-like images on the article source - the car is designed with a 150Kw diesel engine in mind. The engine is in the trailer section and the fuel tank is nicely below the driver compartment - where I always want a flammable and potentially explosive container.
@Vylen
except that diesel is neither very flammable or explosive. you can throw a match in a bucket of diesel and it'l just extinguish. fail.
@Vylen About the fuel tank. Welcome to the 21st century where gas tanks can be bullet proof and diesel never explodes anyway. But also not regular fuel.
looks like a really pimped out golf cart!!
This looks like it is a toy.
@lexitu Yeah, for stupid rich people.
@psycros No, it looks like a literal small toy truck that 5-year-olds play with.
Powered by fermis in quad SLI with liquid nitrogen. Includes iPad enabled GPS. It will be 17 feet.
Heh, kinda reminds me of my Lego days. (I think it's the wheels mostly.)
Erm... This thing has not been done by Mercedes Benz, who seem to neither know or endorse it if you read the source link. It was just dreamt up by some guy with no affiliation to Mercedes Benz.
I can imagine speeding with this on the highway, and when the cops is gaining on me, I eject the trailer (or whatever you call it), and the cops crash on to the trailer, and I speed away.
Kind of like a lizard and its tail thingy......
@Dead Man Inc
Yes, because assaulting the cops when you fear to get a speeding ticket is always the best idea.
@SeeKo I think about it even when they stare at me and I'm walking about minding my own business >-|
@Dead Man Inc:
Though I don't think the trailer is likely to grow back :(