Russian EV prototype looks ridiculous, targets 2025 production

A brand new electric vehicle prototype has stepped onto the scene, and it’s shocking. Shockingly ugly. Created by Moscow Polytechnic University, it’s called the Amber and resembles a parrotfish that is had its face clubbed by a frying pan.

The university didn’t release specs on the Amber’s range, power and even what type of charger it uses. In response to World Today News, production is scheduled to start out in 2025 at an Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad. That site once built cars for BMW, Ford, and Hyundai before those firms pulled out of Russia following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

With many high-profile western firms refusing to do business in Russia, in addition to foreign government-imposed sanctions, the Amber’s developers have stated this will probably be a completely Russian effort. Nevertheless, as Ukraine Today says, supposedly Russian technology is usually made in China.

But let’s get back to the styling for a minute. The Amber’s comically absurd exterior is probably going a results of using off-the-shelf parts. As outlets such The Autopian have identified, its glass and mirrors have likely been purloined from an existing vehicle. The bug-eyed headlights appear to be something from AliExpress. 

The unnecessarily tall height hides what is probably going a not-very-well-integrated battery pack under the cabin floor. What’s less explicable are the 2 portholes on the fitting side. Perhaps the Amber can have dual charging ports, but their haphazard placement indicates more off-the-shelf components strewn together.

The Amber’s ugliness set off a wave of ridicule across the web, including a dose of derision from Ukrainian social media users. Comparisons to the Fiat Multipla were probably inevitable. Russian cars built through the Soviet era — Lada, UAZ, VAZ — often sported a homely but utilitarian appearance. Within the case of the Amber, it seems that a minimum of some semblance of an attempt was made at design, but that just about makes the resulting misshapenness worse.

To be fair, Avtotor says, as World Today News reports, that the production model will look different from the prototype. Let’s hope so. Five Ambers will probably be submitted for certification in 2024.