Rinspeed: More Cutting-Edge Madness

ichange_dyn_4At Geneva next week, we will see revealed a transformative vision of future automotive adaptability. We will see revealed a sports car that quickly changes into a “sports van” for three people. We will see (drum roll, please) . . . the iChange. You can also see a really boring video here.

Like its predecessor, the submersible sQuba, the iChange makes waves. A handsome low-slung beauty (but with rear fender skirts!), the car is powered by lithium-ion batteries driving an electric motor the company claims will propel it to 137 mph and get it from 0 to 60 mph in just over 4 seconds.

An iPhone controls “the most important vehicle functions.” Imagine driving this thing at 200 km/h while fiddling with your iPhone, giving new meaning to the phrase “brain-free, hands-free driving.” There’s a special Harman/Kardon sound system that uses less energy, a dual heating system (electric for short distances, ethanol powered for longer ones), special wool for the interior, solar panels for the roof, and on and on. The car aims to be both mean and green.

ichange_int_1

Says Rinspeed founder and resident change agent Frank Rinderknect, “If we want to maintain our individual mobility in the future we have to rethink the car in its entirety, without taboos. Most of all, we have to take its ecological aspects into consideration.”

ichange_side_1Who knows how far Frank’s crazy ideas will go? We think he had a particularly good one for the E2 concept, a Fiat 500 that will switch from 60 to 160 hp. More on that later this week.

If we have to “rethink the car in its entirety,” where would you start? How far would you go?

—jgoods



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