Rinspeed

From the maker of some of the most bizarre vehicular creations in recent automotive history, Rinspeed is back at it with another, well, futuristic offering. It’s called the Snap Mobility Concept, and its name doesn’t do enough justice to what exactly it’s capable of doing. No, there’s no garden growing inside of it like the Oasis Concept from 2016, but it does have a chassis that can connect to different cabins, or “pods," as Rinspeed likes to call them.

The whole concept isn’t at all different from how trucks can carry different trailers, but the Snap Mobility Concept takes that approach on an entirely different level because an entire cabin can be removed and replaced with another, resulting in a concept that’s not at all too different from the Surus platform concept that General Motors unveiled earlier this week. Rinspeed’s whole objective with the concept is to reduce congestion and pollution in crowded cities, so it’s no surprise that the Snap Mobility Concept is completely autonomous and runs on a fully electric powertrain. The actual details and figures are still being withheld though rest assured, there’s a lot more to this concept than meets the eye. Keep an eye out for it when it makes its debut at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January 2018.

Continue after the jump to read more about the Rinspeed Snap Mobility Concept

Anytime a car, no matter who it’s from, is described as a “trendy buddy to Star Wars icon R2D2,” you know that it’s going to be well past the conventional line. And so it is with Rinspeed’s Oasis self-driving concept, a prototype vehicle that isn’t so much a traditional car, but more like a mobile living room.

The Oasis will make its debut at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. But, as early as now, Rinspeed is giving us a good, long look at its interpretation of what future mobility could look like. While it does follow the traditional template of what a car is supposed to look like in the sense that it has four wheels, it’s far from the kind of car that populates the roads of the world today.

For one, it has an unorthodox look that does away with the traditional body panels in favor glazed panels throughout the body. It also has several quirky features that sound good when you look or read about it. A small green space for growing flowers? Yep, the Oasis has one just below the windscreen.

The car is obviously a concept in every sense of the word. It’s unlikely to be seen on public roads anytime soon and even down the road, there’s no rationale that can objectively make a case for it to be built for mass production. But, as far as being an unconventional concept is concerned, the Oasis fits that slot to a tee, right down to the body-hugging armchairs in the cabin.

Continue reading to learn more about the Rinspeed Oasis.

The wild machine you see before you is a product of Rinspeed, a Swiss auto manufacturer and tuner known for its innovative (if not zany) concept cars. It’s called the Etos, and it started life as a BMW i8 – currently one of the most advanced platforms in production. Upping the ante is a sci-fi novel’s worth of future tech, including fully autonomous capabilities and a rear-mounted drone. It’s a vision of things to come, and you’ll find it first right here in the U.S.

That’s because the Etos will make its global debut at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a fitting venue for a self-driving, drone-wielding hybrid sports car. “The major and especially the disruptive innovations in future automotive engineering will come from the digital realm,” says Rinspeed boss Frank M. Rinderknecht. The man has a point, especially when you consider the automotive slant CES has adopted over the past several years.

All told, the Etos is overflowing with ideas about the future of personal transportation. Read on for a deeper look at this four-wheeled crystal ball.

Continue reading to learn more about the Rinspeed Etos Concept.

Believe me when I say that I know all about the joys of driving. However, I also know that for the majority of folks out there, the automobile is not a platform for enjoyment, but rather a simple tool of transport. Anyone who’s been stuck in a traffic jam or bored to tears on some monotonous highway journey will tell you that from time to time, driving is not so fun. Sometimes, you just want to get there. And when you consider the heavy price we pay for the freedoms that the car provides, both monetarily and in terms of human life, you can’t help but think hat maybe there’s a better way.

Swiss automobile manufacturer and tuning designer Rinspeed certainly thinks so. Founded in 1979, Rinspeed specializes in restoring classic cars and modifying modern platforms like Porsches and Subarus. Additionally, it’s designed non-production, concept vehicles for the annual Geneva Motor Show every year since 1991.

Rinspeed’s latest creation is the Budii. Described as a “friend on wheels," the Budii concept is an electric autonomous vehicle that “will keep learning each day, and as a result will get better and better at mastering the complex challenges of modern-day private transport,” as stated in a press release.

Rinspeed says that the city-dwelling Budii is designed to be “the perfect chauffeur that quickly adapts to the habits and preferences of its ‘boss’.” Although details of how the driver AI will adjust its behavior are rough, we do know that the car “will take data from its environment and the ‘experiences’ of other vehicles along its route into account.”

While vague, we can speculate that the “preferences of its ‘boss’" might reference a particular route that the driver/passenger may enjoy, while “environment and the ‘experiences’ of other vehicles” could be shared car-to-car information like road and traffic conditions.

Either way, a self-driving car that has the ability to adapt and learn sounds great to us. If it eases the more tedious parts of driving, while also making the roads safer, it’s an idea that’s hard to argue against. Just don’t plug it into Skynet, and we’ll give it our approval.

Click past the jump to read more about the Rinspeed Budii Concept.

While this may sound more like a vehicle designed for 2050, but it will actually be on display at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Called the "XchangE Concept," this vehicle was designed by the Swiss company Rinspeed, and the company plans to revolutionize the automotive industry with it.

The new "XchangE" concept is all about autonomous driving and making long trips even more enjoyable. The concept is "smart" enough to drive autonomously up to 120 km/h (74 mph), while the driver and the passengers read, listen to music, surf the web, play games, watch movies or any other activity besides driving.

A very cool feature of the new concept is the seats, which are inspired by the relaxing business-class seats of an airliner, with a world-record-setting 20 functionalities built in. Thanks to the new seats, the driver is not obligated to stare at the road, as he can also rotate the seat and talk with the rest of the passengers or watch TV on the 32-inch high-definition screen.

Not much is known about what changes Rinspeed has done to the Tesla Model S on which the XchangE is built from, so we suspect the Tesla’s standard fare of 60- or 85-kHw electrical systems to be used.

The thought of never having to fight the morning rush hour or keep yourself awake on a late-night road trip sounds very enticing. Plus, being able to control the car when the roads got twisty or when trying some 5.4-second 0 to 60 mph runs in the 85 kWh model, might be the best of both worlds.

Full details on the Rinspeed XchangE Concept will be revealed during its official debut in Geneva, but click past the jump for what we know so far.

Click past the jump to read more about the new Rinspeed XchangE Concept.

2013 Geneva Motor Show is still months away, but as usual Rinspeed is among the first auto makers to announce their line-up for the auto show. The microMAX - also known as - " my, your, our car!" is an all-electric concept car designed to revolutionize short-distance transport.

The concept measures 3.6 meters (141.7 inches) in length and 2.2 meters (86.6 inches) height and offers enough interior room for the driver, three passengers and a stroller or shopping cart. The concept is being equipped with a coffee maker, a refrigerator and unlimited connectivity that offers the passengers the best driving performances.

The concept is also being equipped with unique space-saving upright seats equipped with safety belts that offer the passenger the best safety. The concept has been designed as all-electric vehicle, but Rinspeed did not provide any details on the car’s powertrain.

More details will be offered during the car’s official debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Stay tuned!

Rinspeed looks to be giving themselves plenty of leeway time to get their next concept up and ready. The next major auto show is the Detroit Auto Show in January 2012, but the company has decided to skip that one and prepare their new Dock+Go for the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.

The Dock+Go is based on the ides of docking "backpacks on wheels." The concept uses a single-axle pack that can serve a variety of purposes depending on the requirements of the day, but can also be left at home if it is not truly needed. The best part is that it can be attached to any electric city car.

The specific vehicle being sent to Geneva will be for demonstration purposes only and will use an electric Smart Fortwo as its base. With the addition of a wide variety of "packs," the car was transformed into a pizza delivery car; it even uses an integrated heated box. That being said, the pack can be used for any occasion including camping, golfing, skiing, going to the beach, or as a party pack.

The Dock+Go will be equipped with an "energy pack" with a combustion engine or range extender, packed with batteries or powered by a fuel cell that provides the decisive added range to reach farther destinations. This allows the concept to have a range of more than 120 km, but Rinspeed hasn’t revealed the official numbers just yet.

UPDATE 02/20/12: The Rinspeed Dock+Go, about as novel a concept as we’ve ever seen, was recently subjected to the proverbial photo shoot, adding even more photos - and a new video - to its photo gallery. Check them out in the gallery below!

The 2011 Geneva Motor Show is still four whole months away, but the dreamers over at Rinspeed are already preparing their newest concept set to be revealed in Switzerland. Looking like a cross between a Scion xB and a Jeep Wrangler, loosely speaking, the Rinspeed BamBoo appears to be the perfect beach-going vehicle.

Since the vehicle is called BamBoo, it’s easy to guess that the material will be found somewhere in the workings of the car. Rinspeed states that bamboo fibers are a part of major components of the interior, but we’ll probably have to wait for Geneva to get more information. In fact, we’ll have to wait until the Geneva Motor Show in March to find out a lot about this open-top vehicle. The only other information we could pull from the press release is that, if produced, this vehicle will more than likely be electric for that little bit of modernization needed for this retro design.

The Rinspeed BamBoo - described by Rinspeed as a "grown-up golf cart" - isn’t really our type of car which is made apparently clear with the statement made at the end of the press release...

"Anyone not blinded by horsepower orgies, chrome tinsel, and top-speed frenzy should take a closer look." If that statement didn’t describe us to a Tee then we would think this car was pretty cool.

Press release after the jump.

The Swiss custom car builders at Rinspeed don’t disappoint when it comes to their award winning show cars, and after announcing details about the UC? concept that is set to debut in March at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, we are certain that they will deliver. The UC is a new electric concept car created specially for urban commuters with the clever nickname, "You see?" Measuring just over 8 feet in length the UC’s electric motor produces 98 lb-ft of torque and is operated with a central joystick. The concept can hit a top speed of 68 MPH and has a 75 mile range on a single charge.

Rinspeed’s goal was to create a new mobility concept that integrates individual car ownership and public transportation by designing a logistics system that allows the Uban Commuter to traverse longer distances. Thanks to a transverse loading system using custom railcars that allows loading and unloading of numerous “UC?” vehicles simultaneously and in a very short time for increased efficiency. Train passages are booked and reserved online directly from inside the vehicle. Harman International provides the permanent 3G internet connection as well as a marvelous sound system. While VoIP2Car technology keeps the occupants connected to the outside world by providing IP telephone service, video chat, video conferences, e-mail and many more features in the “UC?”.

According to Rinspeed, the UC has a pretty good chance of going into production.

Press release after the jump.

Rinspeed can’t bring two outrageous cars to the Geneva Motor Show, it’s already tough enough to take the iChange seriously. So next to the car with the morphing body, Rinspeed will pace a Fiat 500 painted in copper. Oh yeah, and this one will have a pretty cool engine, too.

It’s called the E2, which is named for two different power levels. THe first level is called “Commuting” and the engine puts out 60 hp (9 hp less than the smallest standard Fiat 500), gets about 59 miles per gallon. The second model is called “Highway”, and then the same engine produces 160 hp (25 more hp than the 500 Abarth)

The technical details of the engine were not disclosed. We’re just hoping a company like Rinspeed is more innovative than just using technology that we’ve had for years, like cylinder deactivation.

Press release after the jump.

The staff at Rinspeed must just sit around all day and think about ways to be different. What else can explain a bunch of people who look at a Lotus Elise and say, "That looks like the perfect submarine!" But the SQuba was at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, so how is Rinspeed going to top that this year? How about an electric car that changes its shape for the number of passengers.

The car starts out as a single seater for best aerodynamics, and will expand to carry two more passengers when needed. Rinspeed has built the set up so that the rear end containing the extra seats will "pop up" and only create the extra drag when necessary. The iChange also has no doors. The entire electrically powered roof section tilts forward to allow passengers to board. This isn’t as complicated as it sounds because the car only measures 1.03 meters (3.4 feet) in height. Another “different” feature is that the car does not have a key. Instead the car an Apple iPhone will is used for access as well as many other important vehicle functions.

The iChange is powered by an electric motor those energy comes from lithium-ion batteries that are available in two different stack configurations for short and long-distance driving. The electric motor produces 201 hp, capable of propelling the car to a top speed of 136 mph and a 0 to 60 mph sprint in four seconds. This kind of performance can be achieved because Rinspeed is using the six-speed transmission out of an established performer, the Subaru WRX.

Press release after the jump

Rinspeed will unveil at the Geneva Motor Show the sQuba, the world’s first real submersible car. The idea was first used in the movie "The Spy Who Loved Me", launched thirty years ago. But if in the movie the idea was just a fake, the sQuba is as real as it can be.

And it is this submerged stabile flight at a depth of 10 meters that sets the “sQuba” apart from military vehicles. It also had to be a sports car that was converted into a diving dream in the facilities of Swiss engineering specialist Esoro. In a first step the combustion engine was removed and replaced by several electric motors. Three motors are located in the rear. One provides propulsion on land, the other two drive the screws for underwater motoring.

They are supported by two powerful Seabob jet drives in the front, which ‘breathe’ through special rotating louvers from HS Genion (for opening and closing the water intake). The rotating outlet jets were designed to be extremely light yet twist resistant by using high-tech nano materials, so-called Carbon Nano Tubes.

Power is supplied by rechargeable Lithium-Ion batteries. Rinderknecht: “The ‘sQuba’ is a zero-emission car as documented by the rotating license plate in the rear. It produces no exhaust emissions.

Press release after the jump.

Rinspeed unveiled the X-treme, a model based on the Porsche Cayenne 957. It has a maximum power of 600 hp and hit a top speed of 300 km/h.

Is it just a clever computer animation or maybe more a fiction from a Hollywood movie? Or is it actually a real car sitting there? Many visitors to the upcoming Geneva Motor Show (March 6th thru 16th, 2008) will ask themselves just these questions when faced with the new Rinspeed creation “sQuba” - the worlds first real diving car. This astonishing concept vehicle from the renowned Swiss powerhouse for new designs and ideas looks almost like it just came out of a James Bond movie.

The creator of the Splash, Senso, zaZen, eXasis concept cars presents the "Sensosphere." Coming soon to a commercial airliner near you?

Non-polluting driving is this year the principal topic at the Geneva Motor Show. In cooperation with Rinspeed, Saab will be showing with the "9-5 BioPower Rinspeed" how vision and reality can harmonize. The model is equipped with a Bioethanol-engine and demonstrates that already today is possible to reduced CO2 without giving up the pleasure of driving.
The latest climate report a clear change: humans by their collective behavior are primary contributors to global warming. The (...)

Is it just a clever 3-D projection or maybe a mirage of a four-wheel art object? Or is it actually a real car sitting there? Some visitors to this year’s Geneva Auto Show (March 8th thru 18th) will ask themselves just these questions when faced with the new fully transparent Rinspeed creation “eXasis.” The insect-like body and even the floor pan of the seemingly “glass” concept car from the renowned Swiss powerhouse for new designs and ideas actually consist of a transparent high-tech plastic with a tinge of pale yellow.