No, Hyundai's Elevate 'walking car' concept is not a clever way off getting past traffic jams - nor a prop for a forthcoming science fiction movie.

 

In fact, the teaser image of the vehicle, whose wheels sit on articulated arms, suggest it could be used as an advanced rescue vehicle.

 

The teaser picture is a rendering of the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle with the Red Cross symbol on its side, underlining its life-saving credentials.

 

The Elevate vehicle comes from the Korean car giant's Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experiences - a title confected to fit the catchy acronym CRADLE. This group acts as both a venture capital arm and a research and development lab for Hyundai's future tech.

 

The Elevate will be a "totally new" vehicular concept that, according to the firm, will “take people where no vehicle has been before”.

 

The machine will be unveiled at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, next week on January 8.

 

Details about the machine remain scarce - so many will be eager to see the concept in the flesh - and in action.

 

At last year’s CES, Hyundai revealed its Nexo hydrogen fuel cell SUV, but this year it seems they have been thinking outside the box - or possibly outside of the galaxy.

 

These kind of eye-catching concept vehicles are often designed and built specifically for auto shows, so that the firm in question secures plenty of column inches - both for its concepts and its money-spinning (yet usually much duller) flagship products.

 

With luck, we'll get to see the Elevate move over a giant pile of rubble as shown in the teaser image - or at least over a traffic jam.