Rinspeed confirms beach buggy concept for Geneva

Rinspeed, the outlandish auto designer known for its thought-provoking concept cars, has released details of the car it intends to showcase at this year's Geneva Motor Show.

Named BamBoo, the car promises to brighten up the chilly March days of the Geneva show with a glance towards what summer could be like in tomorrow's vehicles.

Resembling a golf-cart more than a car, the tiny electric vehicle is the latest in a long line of concepts from Rinspeed, headed by Swiss automotive futurist Frank M Rinderknecht.

Last year, the company displayed a clever concept which merged the idea of electric cars with trains to cover long-distance commutes, and it was also behind the sQuba, a car which can be driven on land and underwater.

This year, Rinderknecht has focused on the fun side of future technology, adding an inflatable roof which can be detached to double as a beach blanket and removable rear seats that can also be used on the beach.

Remarkably, Rinspeed wasn't the first to dream up a car with an inflatable roof - a Citroen model at last year's Paris Motor Show offered a similar feature in a beach-buggy concept produced with fashion brand Lacoste.

There are some wholly unique features though, especially at the front of the car, where instead of the front radiator grill (unnecessary as the car is powered by a 54 kW electric motor), Rinspeed has added a screen which is custom developed to show the driver's mood through colors or other messages such as "want a ride?"

Technology also dominates the interior, thanks to the integration of a seven inch tablet PC from HTC which keeps the driver and occupants connected to their vehicle while enjoying the sun, and Harman's Aha Radio system which integrates audio with Facebook and Twitter and includes a dash-mounted webcam.

The Bamboo will be on display at the Geneva Motor Show, which is open to the public March 3-13 in Geneva, Switzerland.

http://www.rinspeed.com