Innovative Swiss car company Rinspeed - known for its often bizarre but creative concept cars - is set to unleash a "rolling oasis of ideas" in the automotive desert of Las Vegas in January, 2017.
With his new "Oasis" concept vehicle, Swiss car visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht has created a memorable character in the history of personal transportation, built for the European urban market.
The Oasis is a clear alternative concept to the martial appearance on urban asphalt, claims Rinspeed. The two-seat runabout is intended to look "futuristic," featuring large glazed areas and front wheel spats. The company suggests R2D2 as a sibling. We'll let you decide.
The large, rakish windshield and see-through doors certainly are unmistakably different from anything now on the road. It features huge plastic wrap-around bumpers on the rear and front end, and the roof features solar panels.
Inside, one is meant to think "living room," with an armchair, sideboard, TV and multi-function steering wheel. Apparently, this is an autonomous drive vehicle as well, since the windshield transforms into a screen for virtual as well as augmented reality.
It's almost impossible to judge whether this will ever see European roads. No other Rinspeed cars have, though it's understood that all previous ones have been meant to be avatars and trend-setters in design and function, rather than production-ready or even potential roadworthy vehicles.
And yet, with tweaks, and with rapidly advancing autonomous driving tech, it's plausible that something like this - at least the shell of this concept - could be taken up by a major company and seen on the road in the early 2020s.
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