Best known for its construction of oddball but impressive concepts like the sQuba, a James Bond-esque underwater Lotus, Rinspeed is now delving into the design of electric vehicles with its svelte iChange design concept.
The iChange, powered by a 174hp (130kW) electric motor, features a '1-2-3 seater' layout. What does that mean? The body structure is adaptive via an 'electronic trick-tail', which adjusts the car's dimensions based on the passenger load required. With only the driver on board, the car adopts a streamlined tear-drop shape, and as more passengers join, the car's rear section rises to make room.
Frank M. Rinderknecht, the proprietor of Rinspeed, said, "“Thinking about variability and the constantly changing energy demand, we have created an extremely flexible vehicle.” The goal was to optimize weight and aerodynamic drag to get the most out of the electronic vehicle's performance and range. The car, though still just a concept, bears the seed of future development, thinks Rinderknecht, and represents an avenue for real change.
“If we want to preserve our individual mobility in the future, we have to re-think our conception of cars - above all we need to accommodate the ecological aspects,” he said.
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