Rinspeed iChange EV Changes Shape To Suit Passenger Numbers
Swiss auto-maker Rinspeed has revealed a revolutionary electric car, that morphs its body shape depending on the number of passengers onboard (see gallery below).
The Rinspeed iChange is the brain-child of prolific Swiss designer Frank Rinderknecht, also responsible for the sQuba ‘fully submersible’ EV (video). The car, showcased at this week’s Geneva 2009 Motor Show, starts off as a one-seat sports car, but is capable of changing to a three-seat coupe thanks to a pop-up rear end. The intention is that the zero-emission EV can optimize its aerodynamic profile according to the passenger load required (more pictures after the jump).
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Performance-wise, the iChange can accelerate from 0-62 mph in just over four seconds, and is capable of a top speed of 137 mph.
The car is powered by a 150-kilowatt electric motor, (supplemented by roof-integrated solar panels, which help to operate cooling fans to vent the interior), routed via a six-speed “pre-selector” gearbox adapated from the Subaru WRX. Energy is stored in one of two ’stack configurations’ of lithium-ion batteries, depending on whether urban or freeway driving is planned.
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- Rinspeed iChange
And I am sure for just a hair under $200,000.00 I to could own one.
One platform, two passenger commuter, three of four passenger possibility, can I get a “cargo dump” like a small pickup truck to attach, sometimes, so I can do weekend chores and gardening, and is it possible to sell me an easily exchangeable battery pack, I can charge off-peak at home? And, by the way, can I power my eco-friendly solar home and vice-versa when the grid is down, or too expensive, like at peak? If Ford can give me 620 hp, 8mpg , 230 mph cars, all of which I do not need, why can’t you extend your basic idea to give me what I really want? No planned obsolescence, no shortened design life, a quality utility that will no devaluate with annual model changes! I dream, I know, but hope springs eternal in the minds of dreamers and simpletons, and I am both!
History indicates that this will also fail to sell. It has been tried before by various manufacturers and in various sizes.
The problem is that very few persons will actually take the time and effort to change the configuration, which makes a non-adjustable design lighter and more efficient, not to mention less expensive.
when shall it come to the Americas?