Volkswagen wants to branch out from utility vehicles and try to design transportation for a different kind of worker — those stuck behind their desks. Volkswagen’s new high-tech office chair comes with an electric motor, headlights, horn, entertainment system and even a trailer hitch.
Volkswagen engineers explain the challenges of bringing as many functions from a work vehicle as possible to the office chair. First and foremost, this thing is actually powered by an electric motor and some foot pedals. It has a range of 12 km (7.5 miles) and a top speed of 20 km/h (12.4 mph), which means you don’t even need to get up to get to the bathroom.
The office chair is also equipped with a rear-view camera and 360-degree proximity sensor. If you need to be running factories and traveling long distances, the touchscreen media system can play some road trip music through the built-in speakers. You can even honk your horn if there’s a traffic jam in front of the coffee machine.
Embedded into the armrests are a pair of headlights to help get around during overtime, but not only that, but the chair also features some flashing RGB LEDs to blind colleagues in the back.
To keep your back warm during long working days, there’s also a built-in seat heater. The entire car features Volkswagen’s usual patterns, such as metallic exterior paint, 4-inch pure aluminum rims, and the company logo embroidered on the headrests.
Perhaps the strangest thing carried over from the car is cargo capacity — there’s a small trunk in the back for documents and a laptop, and there’s even a trailer hitch for larger loads. Of course, where you might find a trailer compatible with it is another question.
Unfortunately for those who want to pamper their office experience, Volkswagen’s office chairs aren’t actually for sale. The whole thing is pretty much just a big PR stunt to promote the company’s vans.
