Can-Am's Weird Electric Car Patent Is Back And More Detailed Than Ever

Is Can-Am going to make an EV car? Or is this a red herring?

Photo by: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

By: Jonathon Klein

Aug 13, at 8:44am ET

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A while back, RideApart found a patent done up by Can-Am's parent company, Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), that seemed to indicate the company was possibly entertaining the idea of delivering an on-road, all-electric car. For those of you who are unaware of the brand's other offerings, they include things like turbocharged 2-stroke snowmobiles, ludicrous jet skis, 240-horsepower UTVs, a duo of all-electric bikes, and one EV ATV, too.

The company does not, in fact, have anything that'd remotely be considered a car, let alone one with an all-electric drivetrain. So when we found the patent, it confused the hell out of us. And, honestly, I figured it was a red herring for some upcoming all-electric side-by-side. Why show the UTV's body until absolutely necessary, you know? But that might not be the case.

See, while scrolling through the patent database yesterday, I came across two more patents from BRP. And they not only stick with the original patent's exterior design, but they expound on it and are more detailed than ever. Folks, I think there might be a Can-Am EV car coming out real soon...

Can-Am EV Automobile 5

Can-Am EV Automobile 2

Can-Am EV Automobile 4

Can-Am EV Automobile 6

Photos by: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Returning in the latest few patents is the original's basic car shape, and while other BRP off-road patents denote they're off-road, the newest patents just state they're for an "electric vehicle." But the most definitive piece of the patent is its Field of Technology section, which states, "The present technology relates to vehicles, more specifically to electric automobiles." Did you catch that last word? Automobiles.

Not side-by-sides. Not UTVs. Not off-road vehicles. Automobiles.

What I can see in the patent is a skateboard-type battery-electric vehicle, where the floor encompasses the battery—just like a Tesla and every other modern EV automobile—and where the body sits atop it. The new details in the patent include more insight into the vehicle's interior, including the dashboard, HVAC system, steering wheel, and more of the seating layout. But again, the patent's details state it's an automobile, not the traditionally used nomenclature of off-road vehicles, which BRP has used in its prior UTV patents.

Here's where I do need to add a grain of salt, or maybe some context clues that could point to BRP being cunning, though. Look at the door structure, seats, and rear cargo space.

Can-Am EV Automobile 3

Photo by: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

What do you think?

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Those, to me, look like the brand's UTVs. The seats themselves appear to be a design lifted straight from its Maverick and Sport series UTVs, though modified with added padding and such. The doors, however, seem to have a weird forward-pivot system and crash structure that most certainly wouldn't meet modern road-going safety standards. And that rear cargo space looks to be plucked straight from the company's new HD11 Defender.

Still, I'm not sure I'm convincing myself that this is just a sneaky UTV, cause it absolutely looks like it could be some quasi-electric Jeep fighter complete with a sunroof. WHAT ARE YOU?!