BamBoo shoots for Geneva show

Swiss-based design house Rinspeed never fails to deliver an offbeat -- actually, downright kooky -- concept at the Geneva motor show each year (more here and here) and, sure enough, another instalment is in store for the 2011 show next March.

Pictured alongside is the Rinspeed BamBoo, which company founder Frank Rinderknecht conceived as a minimalist, retro-inspired chariot that harks backs to the 1970s.

Rinspeed itself describes the Mini Moke-esque BamBoo as a "grown-up golf cart" and the comparison isn't without substance as its front wheels are driven by a Fräger electric motor that cranks out 54kW and 140Nm. (It would certainly make for a quick round of golf as Rinspeed quotes a 0-50km/h split of 4.7sec and a top speed of 120km/h).

The lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) battery pack provides a range of around 105km at 90km/h, so it stacks up as a viable four-seater conveyance for a day out at the beach. There's even an "onboard foldable two-wheeler for the last mile".

In keeping with its name, many of the vehicle's interior components are made from bamboo fibres, and the design brief was apparently to come up with "plain aesthetics in their purest form. No bells, no whistles".

Tipping the scales at 1090 kg, the BamBoo measures 3.89m long, 1.62m wide and 1.61m high -- roughly equivalent to a three-door Toyota Yaris.

The vehicle's chassis is composed of steel and a composite polymer developed by German-American firm Ticona.

We must admit the BamBoo does have a cute, unpretentious charm about it, and it seems remarkably sane and practical compared with Rinspeed’s usual loony offerings.