Calling all snowboarders: here is the car for you! Just in time for the winter season, 686 has designed the world’s first snowboarding concept car. Taking inspiration from various snowboarding equipment, the car is waterproof and meets every need that a snowboarder might have.
The vehicle is a 686/Scion Numeric and is a collaboration project between 686, Scion, Spin Imaging, and twenty other brands. 686 developed the car to celebrate their twentieth anniversary. The Numeric is also part of the SEMA Tuner Challenge. 686 started with the xB model and developed it with the goal to “create a winter story around snowboarding,” according to Mike West, Creative Director at 686.
Beginning with the unique exterior, you can immediately see how the car draws from the snowboarding experience. The exterior is made of handcrafted, hand-stitched waterproofed material, similar to what a snowboarder would wear. The roof is made of carbon fiber composite materials and designed to mimic the Bern helmet. Inspired by Dragon’s APX frameless goggles, the windshield is also frameless and provides a full peripheral view inside the car.
If the outside has the look, the inside meets the needs. The interior has racks for snowboarders, to keep them from rattling around in the trunk, and two large speakers that resemble Aviator headphones from SkullCandy. Drivers and passengers can relax in Union Binding bucket seats.
With the Numeric, 686 wanted to go all the way, and anyone can see that they did. According to Mike West, the goal wasn’t just to paint the car and add snow tires. They wanted to create a winter story around the car, and took painstaking attention to detail. Their collaboration with twenty brands certainly allowed them to do so.
The Numeric first debuted on October 26, at the 2011 Scion SEMA Media Preview at Kim Sing Theater in Los Angeles. As a concept car, it isn’t street legal, and there won’t be any others made, but it is pretty cool to look at.