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CCrab concept electric car

Inspiration – it can be gathered from just about anywhere. From people to places, from the extraordinary to the banal — but in this instance, Juha-Pekka Rautio’s Citroen CCrab concept takes inspiration from the animal kingdom and its small Cuba Crab.

The CCrab concept was designed in conjunction with French automaker Citroen as part of a program that takes designers and provides them with feedback and access to various resources for their design concepts. For its part, Citroen is able to work closely with designers to help create and foster new designs for electric vehicles.

Although very much a concept, the idea behind the Crab was to create a vehicle that could move omni-directionally in and around the city, weaving effortlessly through traffic and in and out of tight spaces.

It might be a long way to go before we see anything like the CCrab on the production line, but with innovative designers and more automakers like Citroen stepping up to introduce new and exciting designs, it may only be a matter of time before we see a vehicle like the CCrab on the roads.

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Amir Iliaifar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
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