Rinspeed

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Rinspeed Logo

Rinspeed is a Swiss automobile manufacturer and tuning designer. It specialises in restoring classic cars, and tuning and modifying modern cars such as Porsches and Subarus. Since 1991, they have also designed exotic concept and special vehicles for the Geneva Motor Show each year, but do not enter into production.

Rinspeed was founded in 1979 by Frank Rinderknecht.

Concept Cars

sQuba

Built around a Lotus Elise, the Rinspeed sQuba is a concept car that can 'fly' underwater and has zero emissions. It debuted at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, 30 years after its inspiration: the movie The Spy Who Loved Me. The sQuba was featured in the first episode of 14th season of UK motoring show Fifth Gear.

Splash

The Rinspeed Splash is a concept amphibian vehicle with hydrofoil design capable of 45 knots on water or nearly 200 km/h on land. Propelled by a 750 cc two cylinder turbo-charged engine burning natural gas which supplies 140 hp (100 kW) at 7000 rpm and weighing just 825 kg, this strange-looking vehicle can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.9 seconds. It premiered at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show. The Splash was featured in an episode of Top Gear. In 2006 it set a record for crossing the English Channel in a hydrofoil car, making the journey in 3 hours 14 minutes.[1]

iChange

The iChange is a concept car that changes shape and configuration based on the amount of passengers inside, up to three. It was unveiled in 2009 Geneva Motor Show. The car features are controlled by an Apple iPhone and is powered by a 150 kW electric motor. The iChange has a 0–100 km/h (62 mph) speed of slightly over 4 seconds, and hit a top speed of 136 mph (219 km/h).[2]

UC

The Rinspeed UC is a micro concept electric car that was presented at the Geneva Motor Show 2010.[3] The name UC stands for "Urban Commuter" or "You see". It is a 2.5 metres long micro vehicle, operated with a central joystick. The electric motor delivers 124 Nm of torque. The concept car can reach a top speed of 110 km/h, and on-board batteries enable the car a capable of 120 km range in one charge.

Modified / Tuned Cars

  • In 2005, Rinspeed modified a Subaru Forester to make it appear more feminine - Forester Lady 2006
  • In 2007, Rinspeed offers a modified 997 911 Turbo that has been transformed into a Le Mans 600.

Other Concept Cars

References

  1. ↑ Stuart Waterman (2006-07-27). "Rinspeed "Splash" sets English Channel record". Autoblog. Retrieved 2013-10-20. 
  2. ↑ "Rinspeed iChange Concept - A Shapeshifting Electric Car". Automoblog.net. 
  3. ↑ "RINSPEED UC Electric Vehicle Concept Set for Debut in Geneva". worldcarfans.com. 

External links

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