Have you ever wanted your own Transformer? While many of the Transformers action figures and statues capture the spirit of the franchise, there’s nothing quite like the idea of owning a car that can actually transform into a robot. For the last four years, Takara Tomy – the Japanese company behind the Transformers – has teamed up with Brave Robotics and Asratec to create a working “ridable transforming humanoid robot.†Earlier this month, Asratec unveiled a fully functioning prototype that may be the most “real†Transformer we’ve ever seen.
Via Quartz, Asratec debuted footage of the J-deite Ride, a car that transforms into a 13 foot robot. Or should we say that it very slowly transforms into a robot? It’s somewhat miraculous that it works at all, but it’s not exactly built for speed. In the following video, it takes almost an entire minute for the car to complete its change to robot mode while two riders sit inside of it. But the end result is still very impressive.
The J-deite Ride doesn’t appear to be based on any particular Autobot or Decepticon, but it may soon have a home all over the world. Asratec plans to mass produce the J-deite Ride and integrate it into international theme park attractions. The J-deite could also be an attraction in of itself. After all, who doesn’t want to ride in a real robot car?
According to Asratec, the J-deite has a maximum speed of 37 mph in car mode and 18 mph when rolling on wheels in robot mode. It can also walk in its robot form, but at a much, much slower rate. More specifically, it would take an hour to go 0.06 miles. As a mode of transportation, it needs a lot of work. As a dream given form, it’s almost everything we’ve ever wanted in a toy.
What do you think about the J-deite Ride? Let us know in the comment section below!
Image: Asratec
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