Known for it’s off beat designs, Swiss automaker Rinspeed has unveiled a new concept car that will be showed at the 2009 Geneva auto event. With a ton of unique design ideas packed in, the iChange car stands out from the very beginning, as it doesn't ignite via key, but an iPhone, which plugs into the dashboard and controls key vehicle functions.

Moreover, the Rinspeed ‘iChange’ is the world’s first car whose body adapts to the number of passengers on board. The car can transform at the push of a button from a single-seater sports car to a vehicle that accommodates three people. The extra seats are contained under the rear end of the teardrop-shaped panel that pops up, creating more room.

 

The car has solar panels integrated on the top and sides of the roof that provide electricity to the cooling system in the car on hot days. While parked, the panels charge the vehicle’s on-board lithium-ion batteries. The battery stacks can be configured in either a city driving or long distance driving orientation. The electric motor of the “iChange” produces 150kW, capable of propelling the car to a top speed of 136 mph.

 

The iChange is a streamlined, lightweight zero-emission car with dramatically reduced energy consumption. It is a thoroughbred, futuristic sports car. The AEZ alloys support this by looking like the wheels on a classic Bugatti - and that suits the streamlined design of the Rinspeed. In this form, the "iChange" is a fun car for one person, but "when the rear is raised as if by magic," it changes in the blink of an eye into a small sports van for three people.

 

"We have designed and built an extremely flexible vehicle. In it we have brought the themes of versatility and continually changing energy demands to their logical conclusions,” Frank M. Rinderknecht, the Risnpeed boss, said.

 
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