Looking to branch out from utility vehicles, Volkswagen has tried its hand at designing transport for another kind of worker – those stuck behind a desk. VW’s new high-tech office chair comes complete with an electric motor, headlights, horn, an entertainment system, and even a trailer hitch.
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, VW’s engineers explained the challenge of bringing as many features from their work vans into an office chair as they could. First and foremost, this thing actually drives around, courtesy of an electric motor and some foot pedals. With a 12-km (7.5-mile) range and a 20-km/h (12.4-mph) top speed, you won’t even need to get up to go to the bathroom.
To help you back it out from your desk, there’s a rearview camera and 360-degree proximity sensors. If you need to make the long trek down to accounting, you can blast some road-trip tunes with the touchscreen media system through the built-in loudspeakers. And if there’s a traffic jam at the coffee machine, you can lay on the horn.
Embedded in the armrests are a pair of headlights to help get around on those overtime shifts, and in true gamer accessory fashion, the chair is also kitted out with some flashing RGB LEDs. To keep that backside toasty over the long work day, there’s a built-in seat warmer too.
The whole thing is finished in the usual Volkswagen motifs, like metallic exterior paint, wheels with 4-in solid aluminum rims, and the company logo embroidered on the headrest.
Maybe the weirdest carry-over from the cars is the cargo capability – there’s a small trunk in the back for documents and laptops, and even a trailer hitch for bigger loads. Where you might get these trailers is another question.
Unfortunately for those wanting to spoil their office-bound butts, the VW office chair isn’t actually for sale. The whole thing is pretty much just a big PR stunt to advertise the company’s vans. That said, it apparently will be available for test drives at certain locations.
Check out the VW office chair in action in the video below.
Source: Volkswagen
