Hum Rider: the latest way to escape traffic with a Jeep Grand Cherokee

The telecommunications company Verizon Telematics has chosen a rather unusual way to promote its Hum connectivity service for cars: designing a Jeep Grand Cherokee that literally drives above the traffic. The model has been named the “Hum Rider” and features extendable arms that raise the vehicle’s body several metres above the wheels.

This curious Jeep Grand Cherokee was designed by Thinkmodo and, no, it will not go on sale with this magical lifting system. It is a virtual prototype intended for a commercial campaign, but it is still surprising to see our dreams turned into reality. As we can see in the promotional video, the SUV has a switch inside that raises the vehicle with muscular hydraulic arms, allowing it to drive over the rest of the cars that are stuck in the jam.

“In many ways, the Hum Rider is like a metaphor: it is about turning the ordinary driving experience into something extraordinary, which is exactly what we want to illustrate with this crazy car that drives over the other cars,” says Jay Jaffin, Verizon’s vice president of marketing.

With its arms extended, the Hum Rider sits more than 2 metres above the ground, which lets it clear most conventional compacts and saloons, although it would have serious difficulty getting over another SUV, oops! The driver can see what is happening beneath the vehicle thanks to four cameras that display what they see on a screen split into four sections.

From a legislative standpoint, the chances of this model being mass-produced are nil. Imagine, for example, a situation in which several vehicles with this system met: who would have priority? And what if there were a lorry in the queue? In any case, it is an idea that all of us have had in our heads at some point, and it would make us very happy. Congratulations to Verizon for making our mouths water…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH5h5gfF5kE

Technical specifications of this car

Off-RoadJeep Grand Cherokee1 version · from 102,250 €