Rinspeed plots Geneva change-up

Swiss-based Rinspeed is renowned for coming up with wacky concepts at the Geneva motor show, and the 2009 instalment of the expo will be graced by the 'iChange' -- a low-slung, zero-emission car that can allegedly be configured as a sportster or a minivan of sorts.

The iChange -- presumably with apologies to Apple (purveyors of the iPod and iPhone), and Barack Obama's "Change you can believe in" campaign -- is billed as a "1-2-3-seater" with its body structure able to be configured as required via a so-called "electronic trick-tail".

According to Rinspeed's press guff, if there's only one occupant (ie the driver) on board, the iChange retains the teardrop shape depicted in the renderings here, but in case one or two passengers join the fray, the car's rear end rises "as if by magic" to accommodate the latter.

"In the blink of an eye the full-blooded sports car turns into a compact sportsvan," boasts Rinspeed.

Company boss Frank M. Rinderknecht says the rationale behind the vehicle was to maximise energy efficiency by conceiving it with the novel flexible body configuration.

Propulsion for the iChange comes from 130kW electric motor, and the result -- according to Rinspeed -- is a zero-emission car that's extremely lightweight and aero-efficient.

"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," said
Rinderknecht.

The iChange comes in the wake of equally left-field Rinspeed concepts in years gone by. These include the sQuba (Lotus Elise-based "diving car" capable of submerging 10m below the water's surface), the eXasis(transparent plastic car) and the Splash (hydrofoil-equipped amphibious car).

One thing's for sure... the company can never be accused of coming up with formulaic concepts.