Designs you (mostly) can’t buy — and that’s the point 🌞 – #55

Buonasera from Merano!

Welcome to this week’s edition of what’s hot in brands and products.

This one comes with a twist.

Most of what you’ll see today — you can’t actually buy.

Either the pre-order’s closed, the release is months out, or it’s just a gorgeous concept with no real ETA.

It started when I stumbled on the Swiss passport redesign from 2022.
You can’t buy it (…legally…), but wow — that’s how you do national branding. If Apple made identity documents, they’d look like this.

So I leaned into the theme.

This week’s picks are what I’d call on-hold design dreams: inspiring, thoughtful, and mostly out of reach — for now.

No impulse shopping today. Just good taste and delayed gratification. Your wallet will thank me. 😉

Next week: back to things you can actually click and own.

If you’re new around here: Every week, I share 5 of the coolest products from Europe I’ve discovered in the past 7 days.

I scout, you explore. Let’s get to it!

With love 🌞
Jakob

AirCar [🇸🇰]

This is not photoshopped. Not AI-generated.
It’s a real, road-legal car that actually flies. Made in Slovakia by Klein Vision.
Certified. Tested. Ugly in a sort of charming way — like if a BMW Z1 had a baby with a glider (but to be fair: it’s just the prototype).

It’s not commercially available yet (unless you own a runway and a lot of patience) and I would probably prefer owning a regular car and a Cessna 172 then this mix. But hey — couldn’t not share this one.

Watch it take off!

Pegasus Electric Hydrofoil Boat [🇫🇮]

Made in Finland. Priced like a Porsche.
The Pegasus by FoilOne is a fully electric hydrofoil boat that lifts you above the water like it’s nothing. Quiet, minimal, weirdly elegant — like if a Bond villain went full Scandi.

You can actually order one. You just might need to sell your second house first.

Glide into the details

Slavia B Café Racer [🇨🇿]

Even if this ever becomes reality, I probably won’t be the first in line with a helmet.
But what I like about designer Romain Bucaille’s Slavia B concept for Škoda is the restraint.

It’s a modern café racer that doesn’t shout. No fake retro gauges. No flames. Just a clean tribute (in their typical brand style) to their 1899 roots. Cruise the full story

Ami Buggy [🇫🇷]

Citroën’s Ami just went full vacation mode with its buggy edition. No solid doors. Soft top. Gold wheels. It’s not a car, it’s a summer mood with a steering wheel.

Perfect for hauling a baguette and three existential questions.
Available to order now. But deliveries won’t roll out before August.

Take it for a spin

Motif65 Keyboard [🇬🇧]

Some keyboards are for typing. This one’s for people who care what their desk looks like at golden hour. The Motif65, by Timothy Achumba, was released as a limited group buy — a kind of design-world preorder where production only starts once enough people commit.

There’s a deadline. No second chances. You had a window, you missed it, and now it’s gone. Sorry.

But what a piece: sculptural, playful, and dialed in down to the last switch.

You can’t buy it anymore, but you can stalk the next drop.

Admire the one that got away