Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Rinspeed sQuba concept.

While the Geneva Motor Show provides its own brand of ridiculousness, the Rinspeed crew takes the cake in Switzerland. We've already seen the pics, the prosperously pompous video and have attempted to rationalize the Rinspeed sQuba concept, but until we saw it in person, we just couldn't cope with the realization that a perfectly good Lotus Elise could be made into a pseudo-submarine. Well, we saw it. We shot it. And our necks are sore from shaking our heads.

Our previous post on the sQuba concept tells the whole tale and we've assembled a gallery of live shots to prove that where there's an ill-advised will, there's a way.

click above for more high-res images of the Rinspeed sQuba

Back in 1977, James Bond took a Lotus Esprit for a swim in The Spy Who Loved Me. It's only fitting that Swiss design company Rinspeed, known for its crazy concepts that often involve playing in the water, has based its newest creation on the Lotus Elise. Called the sQuba, this submersible convertible was first previewed back in December, but the firm has released tons of high-res photos, video and new information on its water toy.

The sQuba is an all-electric vehicle with three motors, one to drive the car on land and two to power a pair of screw drives for underwater movement. These are aided by two Seabob jet drives that "breathe" through rotating louvers mounted on the car's fenders and appear to give the car its maneuverability underwater.

Some might think a submersible convertible sounds like a submarine with a screen door, but Rinspeed has got a handful of reasons why it didn't go with a closed cockpit. Safety is one, because in an emergency, occupants might not be able to exit a closed cockpit vehicle underwater. Buoyancy was another, as the vehicle would've needed two tons of extra weight to offset the volume of air inside a cockpit, which would've seriously compromised the car's on-road handling. The small issue of breathing underwater is solved by an onboard breathing system that works like, what else, scuba gear.

Click the image above for a gallery of the Rinspeed X-treme.

It may seem like Rinspeed has been hitting the Absinthe bottle with its recent spate of far reaching concepts, but the Swiss tuner might be looking to another green libation for inspiration of its line of 957 Porsche Cayenne parts.

Despite stealing Mountain Dew's 1998 ad campaign when naming its modified Cayenne, the X-treme's parts list proves that it's more than just a tuning package for poseurs. Bigger air intakes, a new front fascia, front splitter, rear bumper, side skirts and flared wheel arches make the already imposing Cayenne more so. The rolling stock, consisting of 23x11-inch wheels wrapped in 315/25R23 rubber, is nestled within wheel arches that have been dropped by 35mm through a modified air suspension setup.

While a custom exterior and bespoke interior bits are nice, they've got to match the motivation. According to Rinspeed, it's boosted the output of the Cayenne to 600 hp through the use of a custom sports exhaust. Although Rinspeed didn't go into detail about how its achieving that number, we'd assume that some significant tweaks were made to the Porsche Turbo's ECU.

Rinspeed's full press release is after the jump and you can check out a gallery of the X-treme below.

Click above to view a high resolution image

Swiss design company Rinspeed is known for its eccentric concepts, including last year's translucent eXasis Concept and the "Splash" hydrofoil car that set a speed record crossing the English Channel. Rinspeed is once again turning to the water for its latest concept, although this time they will be heading below the surface instead of skimming above it. Set to debut at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show, the sQuba concept is the world's first diving car, according to the company, and can be submerged up to 10 meters below the surface. An electric motor provides power to the rear wheels as well as two propellers and dual jet drives, and a futuristic cockpit comes with its own supply of oxygen. Like many of Rinspeed's other unique creations, the sQuba will only remain a one-off and there are no plans for production. The press release from Rinspeed can be seen after the jump, and two not-so-real photos can be viewed in the gallery.

[Source: Rinspeed via WorldCarFans.com]

click above image for more pics of the Rinspeed Le Mans 600

As the gap between rich and poor becomes more pronounced, so does the gulf between the fastest and not-so-fastest cars. The latest entrant in the go faster stakes is Rinspeed, which has done a number on the 997 Turbo. Called the LeMans 600, the car bundles 600 hp and 590 lb-ft into the already fast-as-blue-blazes Porsche.

Two VTG turbos combine with a ram-air intake system, new intercoolers, and a high performance exhaust to provide the added grunt. With the power of the earth's core behind its rear wheels, the car gets to 62 mph in 3.3 seconds, and goes 213 mph. Cosmetically, the restyling is purposeful but subtle. The front gets a new skirt with carbon splitters, new daytime driving lights, and reshaped air intakes for the brakes. Speaking of brakes, you get 8-pot calipers -- count 'em, 8 -- to bring all of that Rinspeediness to a halt. Behind, the mirrors get a dash of carbon, and new side skirts lead to a reshaped rear valance with a high-performance exhaust system. Also in the rear, hovering over the sound and the fury, is a whopping great tail.

Keeping all that hurdy-gurdy on level is an adjustable suspension, and 20-inch aluminum Rinspeed wheels that are 12 inches wide in the rear. Rinspeed's press release is after the jump if you prefer and the gallery below.

Click the image above for our gallery.

The open-wheeled excess continues -- this time it comes courtesy of the wacky blokes over at Rinspeed. We've already given up most of the details over the past month, but as a reminder, the translucent body gives you a voyeuristic view of all the components that make the up the eXasis, including the bioethanol burning, 150 HP, two-cylinder 750cc mid-mounted engine.

We've got an assortment of live pics in the gallery, along with a shot of the engine, removed from the eXasis and cross-sectioned for all to see.

Click photo for 37 more hi-res images

Well, this one's a surprise. We thought that the radical eXasis concept would be all Rinspeed had on hand at the Geneva Motor Show, but instead, the Swiss tuner has teamed with Saab to create a matching 9-5 BioPower station wagon, as well. Lowered and painted a striking yellow, the car features fiberglass elements similar to those seen on the eXasis. Rhombus patterns adorn yello fiberglass inserts in place on the grille, headlight surrounds, rear licence plate area, and dashboard. The shape pops up again on the car's seats,which are padded with a "technogel." Upsized black five-spoke wheels with metallic outlines fill out the wheel wells quite nicely.

At the time of this writing, no English-language press release was yet available. Trollhattan Saab has posted a basic translation of the German one at Saab's Swedish media site. If a picture says a thousand words, however, we have a gallery equivalent to 38,000 of them linked below. We'll update this post with the English press materials as soon as they're made available, and of course, our Geneva team will being you live coverage from the show itself when it opens next week

[Source: Saab via Trollhattan Saab]

Rinspeed, the Swiss firm known for organically-styled flights of fancy, as well as tuning less fanciful cars, will roll out a jet-fighter of a car at the Geneva Auto Show in March. The eXasis is the name of this little speed capsule, constructed out of translucent high-tech plastic. The seating is not unlike an old warbird, and transparency signifies the process of bringing a car to life. Being able to look through the outer skin brings you closer to the thoughts, ideas and engineering that went into the machine as a whole, not just the exterior styling.

One of the best angles to see the eXasis is the rear 3/4 view, where you can get a glimpse of the juiced-up 750cc, 150 horsepower engine that burns bioethanol. The fan you can see peeking out from underneath the strakes of the grille gives a nice industrial touch that makes the eXasis look ready for action. The little two-cylinder mill with the big horsepower number is only saddled with 5kg/horsepower, putting it in Porsche territory. There's lots of flowery prose about the concept of the eXasis at the Rinspeed website, and we can't wait to see how it'll look in the flesh plastic. We're pretty sure that it won't pass any kind of FMVSS rigors as it is, but we'd sure dig watching the road scream by under our feet, through the translucent floor.

More pictures after the jump.

[Source: Rinspeed]

Click to enlarge

Subtle.

Subtle always works. At Rinspeed, sometimes subtle simply isn't in the vocabulary. Other times, however, you'd think it's the only language spoken. This schizophrenic nature is what makes the company what it is. They're at home no matter what they're doing, whether it's creating a gonzo Cayenne-based pickup truck concept or putting together accessories for regular existing road cars.

The Indy 4S falls squarely in the latter category. As its name suggests, the Indy 4S program is based on the 997 Carrera 4 and 4S. Convertible? Hardtop? No matter. All the pieces work regardless of which body style you choose and which animal resides under the engine cover. Like the Cayman-based Imola we discussed earlier in the week, the Indy 4S gets improved downforce via a new front skirt, and continues the look all the way around with new side and rear treatments. The updated rear fascia is visually enhanced by a diffuser and Rinspeed's exhaust kit, which can be as simple as new tips or as comprehensive as a new system from the headers back.

The company's excellent-looking 20" five-spoke wheels return, and a choice of handling upgrades is available for both the standard suspension and the trick PASM setup. And finally, the interior can be customized with new leather, a range of steering wheels, and a full line of aluminum accessories.

Best of all, the checkered-flag theme is nowhere to be found. Like we said: subtle.

(Photo, press release after the jump)

[Source: Rinspeed]

With styling cues inspired by its 997-based Indy, Zurich-based Rinspeed has developed an appearance and light tuning package for the Porsche Cayman. Dubbed "Imola," the slinky Cayman gets a blazing orange finish that's accented with Rinspeed's checkered-flag motif introduced on the Indy-- a love-it-or-hate-it element that we could certainly do without.

The bodywork incorporates new skirts in front and back with rocker panels to match. The rear skirt features a diffuser insert that accommodates either a center-exit or dual exhaust, which Rinspeed can also provide along with new headers and cats. Our opinion: the dual-exhaust version shown after the jump looks super. Handling is improved thanks to the tuner's suspension upgrades, which range from new coilovers to a full kit that fully integrates with the factory Porsche PASM system. Simple, good-looking five-spoke aluminum wheels complete the picture.

The cabin gets trimmed out with aluminum accents, an F1-style wheel, and velour floormats. To the chagrin of many, the flag-waving models pictured above are not included.

For Rinspeed, a company known for stylistic risk-taking, the Imola is pretty tame compared to some of the tuner's other quirky projects. For most shoppers, though, "tame" will translate to "just right." The Rinspeed Imola should find plenty of takers. Just nix the checkers....please.

(Press release, photo gallery after the jump)

[Source: Rinspeed]