What do get if you cross an electric vehicle with a wind turbine and a kite? The eco-friendly car Wind Explorer. Dirk Gion and Stefan Simmerer, the brains behind Wind Explorer, recently caught the attention of Popular Science and others when they successfully drove 5,000 km across Australia in their one-of-a-kind car.

While the Wind Explorer can be plugged into the power grid for juice, the preferred powering option, if the wind cooperates, is to spin up its portable 9 foot diameter wind turbine to recharge its batteries while parked overnight. To conserve the batteries during daytime driving, another alternate power system - the kite - can be deployed. Presumably careful route planning is a must to avoid bridges and the like, but hey, I hear that there's plenty of space in Australia!

The team's aim in performing the trip was to inspire others to search outside the box for transport alternatives. Did I say I like lateral thinkers?