Paging David Hasselhoff: Sebastian Toddenroth’s High-Tech VW Schwimmwagen

Remember in Baywatch, how the cast used to tool around in canary yellow cute utes with jet skis strapped to their trays? Did you ever wonder why they didn’t just eliminate the middleman and employ WWII-era Schwimmwagens?

German industrial designer Sebastian Toddenroth certainly toyed around with the idea and the result is the Volkswagen Rescue Rover concept you see pictured here.

The driver sits at the rear, with a stretcher and an integrated first aid kit built into the body ahead of him / her. The wheels are of the Mecanum type with AWD, thanks in part to the electric motors built into each wheel hub. There’s no propeller; rather the tires are designed to act as miniature paddle wheels and propel the craft forward.

All told, Toddenroth’s design is an effective mix of innovative-yet-proven ideas that could feasibly work in real world conditions. All its missing is a buxom blonde is a bright red one-piece swimsuit.

Check out our full gallery below and feel free to leave a comment.

By Tristan Hankins

Designer: Sebastian Toddenroth via Yanko

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A Photo Tour of the VW Group’s 2011 Wörthersee Festival with 150 Images

For the past thirty year, tens of thousands of enthusiasts of Volkswagen Group cars assemble on the shores of Lake Worthersee in Austria to participate in the largest festival of its kind in the world. Over the years, Volkswagen and the other brands of the German group including Audi, Seat and Skoda, have used the show to unveil special concepts, new models and studies that hint at future production versions or accessories.

At this year’s event (June 1 to 4, 2011), the VW Group prepared several vehicles for the festival including the production VW Golf GTI 35 Edition with 235HP, the VW Golf Cabriolet GTI and R concepts, the wild 503HP Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro study, and the Skoda Fabia RS 2000 Convertible prototype. As you may have noticed, the company didn’t show much love for its Seat brand which was left to display its current lineup.

The official cars joined an army of privately owned tuned and classic VW Group vehicles. To put it simply, if you are a fan of the Volkswagen Group and especially of the Golf GTI, then Wörthersee was the place to be. You can get a taste of what went on in Austria in our extensive gallery after the jump.

For those of you that would also like to see the girls of the show, stay tuned, as we’ll bring you a dedicated gallery later on today.

PHOTO GALLERY