Audiophiles know Bang & Olufsen is known for designing high-end consumer electronics, from headphones to speakers. Now Buenos Aires-based designer Luca Martini has dreamed up an electric scooter in the design language of Bang & Olufsen called BeoSpeed, a conceptual render created as a design exercise. The design rendering above is not affiliated with or connected to the Bang & Olufsen brand in any way, so don’t call your local sound electronics store wanting to order one.
BeoSpeed follows Bang & Olufsen’s iconic design language, bringing a contemporary twist to a classic taste that Martini believes is always fresh. Although the scooter bears a strong resemblance to a classic Cushman, it is intended to capture the electronics company’s sharp focus on the overall look of its products. To achieve that, Martini coated BeoSpeed with a polished, clean exterior that emphasises its durability with the weighty appearance of the stainless steel finish.
That’s not the only reference to the “parent” company’s designs, points outthis write-up from Yanko Design. Striking a mix between modern and classic, BeoSpeed dons natural leather seating and handlebars reminiscent of Bang & Olufsen’s headphone cushions. Working Bang & Olufsen’s curated sophistication into BeoSpeed, the electric scooter features smooth edges, minimally adorned wheels, and stripped-back leather accents that give it a retro and slicked-back almost Bauhaus-style personality. In contrast to the scooter’s steely and hard appearance, warm headlights and wheel lights are subdued with leather straps and metal stencils, giving the scooter a soft, attractive persona while coasting through night-dark city streets.
Martini hopes that, like a pair of Bang & Olufsen headphones, BeoSpeed exudes techno cool that both draws on and promotes Bang & Olufsen’s laid-back but vivid brand. The stainless steel coat implicitly showcases its sheer weight and durability, while the minimal natural leather accents and metallic stencils engraved in various places over the scooter’s frame pose a mysterious and attractive question: what will it sound like?
