The Callum SKYE is an adventure-ready electric buggy

• The SKYE was conceived for any type of adventure.

• This new buggy is fully electric.

• Ian Callum is the designer behind this ambitious project.

The switch to electric energy is undoubtedly shaking up the foundations of the automotive industry. Some brands are adapting pretty well to this new chapter in transportation, while new players are entering this booming industry.

Such is the case of the Callum firm, headed by Ian Callum, the famous designer behind the sublime Jaguar F-Type and, more recently, the intriguing Jaguar I-Pace (to name but a few). The company has just revealed a few details about its new concept vehicle, designed for adventures on and off the road.

The curious vehicle manages to combine the elegance of an urban vehicle with the more rugged appearance of a vehicle capable of surviving any rough road. With the four wheels widely exposed, this impression of robustness is heightened. However, the flowing-roof bodywork and those contrasting-colored pillars add that touch of class to the silhouette of the utilitarian vehicle. Here, the type of tires is also an important factor in the perception of this vehicle, clearly designed for pleasure.

Purely electric, this urban or off-road buggy is equipped with a 42-kWh battery, giving the vehicle an estimated range of 170 miles (or 274 km), a distance below the 2023 standards for EVs. On this subject, the company has an ultra-fast recharging solution for its battery, capable of being recharged in less than ten minutes.

What’s more, the SKYE weighs in at just 1,150 kg, slightly less than a Nissan Versa sedan, which explains why Callum’s predicted time to 96 km/h (60 mph) less than four seconds would be. We should also mention that the SKYE is equipped with a pair of engines and an all-wheel drive system ideal for excursions away from the tarmac.

At the time of writing, the curious vehicle is still undergoing testing in Europe, with the company indicating that more details will be revealed in the spring of 2024, with hopes to see this 2+2 cabin. With its sub-compact dimensions, the SKYE is no minivan killer.

On the other hand, the chances of this electric buggy landing on our roads are very slim, but hey, it’s still refreshing to see projects that are a little more splintered within an automotive industry that prefers to focus on mainstream vehicles – in short, the exact opposite of this original idea.