HealthOnTrack

Reputable tyre dealers will tell you that a regular service will keep your vehicle in peak condition, but who would have thought cars could help keep their drivers fit? The GYM Concept Car is a fascinating prototype originally designed in 2008 by Coventry University student Da Feng, challenging the long-held conception that driving a car was an unhealthy option compared to cycling and walking.

The one-seat GYM Concept Car was created for a competition held by a design consultancy and model-making company, P4 Cad Cam. Da Feng combined eco-friendly transport technology with a futuristic design aesthetic when creating this four-wheeled fitness machine. The concept behind the GYM car was to give drivers the opportunity to work out while stuck in traffic, saving time and making daily exercise routines more convenient.

The idea of purchasing your fitness equipment from the local car or tyre dealers Cape Town may sound absurd, but the designer put a great deal of thought into this prototype. Equipment inside the deceptively compact GYM Concept Car included:

•    A step machine
•    A rowing machine
•    Bench press
•    Pull-up simulator
•    Arm weights

That’s not all – the energy used up while the driver exercised could be used to charge the battery of this self-contained electric vehicle. This means the GYM Concept Car was good for the health of the environment as well as the driver!

Unfortunately, this exciting new gym concept never went into production; at this stage, the idea of exercising in a car was still highly impractical and rather unsafe. However, with all the recent developments that have been made in the filed of driverless car technology, who knows? Perhaps in the coming years fitness freaks will finally get to hit the streets in a self-driving GYM Concept Car! Until then, commuters will have to remain content with cars that serve only as transport to the nearest gym.