Edag LCOS concept news - Electric rock - 2009

Volcanic rock wouldn’t be our first choice of material for building a car. In fact, it’d be right down there between Angel Delight and twigs.

But what do we know? This is the Edag LCOS (that’s short for Light Car – Open Source) concept… and it’s built from basalt. You know, that stuff that makes up the Giant’s Causeway in Ireland.

Technically, the LCOS is built of basalt fibre, which is made by melting down basalt and then, er, doing some clever technical stuff to it. What you end up with is a lightweight material similar to carbon fibre, but far cheaper and 100 per cent recyclable.

There’s more cleverness here too. Under the glassy surfacing sit strings of organic LEDs, allowing the driver to customise the shape of the headlights and taillights, as well as the configuration of the interior. Neat.

As you might have guessed, the LCOS is all-electric, powered by a lithium ion battery stack that can provide a modest 93-mile range.

If you’re wondering what that ‘Open Source’ part of the name is about, Edag says it will collaborate with other companies to help develop the LCOS, making it a sort of Wikipedia-on-wheels. Without the editing wars and occasional lapses into xenophobia.

We’ll see the LCOS in the metal – er, rock – at the Geneva show in March. Fear not, we’ll have our chisels and drills at the ready.