It's a remarkable tilting 4-wheeler concept that boasts absolutely ridiculous rough terrain capabilities. Each wheel has its own electric hub motor and is independently suspended on a spider-like limb. The result is a vehicle that leans into fast turns like a motorcycle, but can also happily go up or down a 70-percent gradient, ride across a 50-percent gradient that puts the left wheels a couple of feet higher than the right ones, or ride diagonally through ditches that send the wheels going up and down all over the place like a spider doing leg stretches. It looks absolutely bonkers.

Frenchmen Pascal Rambaud, Jerome Arsac and Thierry James have been working away on their bizarre all-terrain vehicle for some eight years now. It now looks almost production ready and includes some really nifty ideas.

First up is the tilting, independent suspension arms that give each wheel an almost surreal degree of vertical and tilting movement. The Swincar can attack terrain you'd never dare point an ATV at, handling extreme gradients and huge ruts with total ease and displaying a remarkable resistance to tipping over. On smoother surfaces, it leans into turns like a Piaggio MP3, but with a wider and more stable base and the additional security of an extra rear wheel – so it should be a blast to carve corners in.