Stay with us for a moment, on this one. Rinspeed, the Swiss manufacturer of downright bonkers concepts, has a treat in store for visitors to the forthcoming Geneva show. The XchangeE is a concept car that's set to totally redefine the meaning of autonomous driving. And then some.
Rinspeed says the Tesla-based XchangeE concept is a vision of how driverless cars will operate after the technology becomes commonplace in the future. According to Frank Rinderknecht of Rinspeed, "traveling in a driverless car will no longer require me to stare at the road, but will let me spend my time in a more meaningful way."
We understand the specially built concept car will feature airline-type seats with up to twenty tilting, reclining and swivelling positions. The steering wheel has hands-on recognition and a steering column with 'bionic' (yes, really) design and steer-by-wire technology. Inside, the passengers are treated to infotainment by high-end supplier Harman and it supports HTML5 for secure data transmission, no less.
The luxury continues - it even adds a 32-inch monitor for the full on-demand movie experience. This is controlled by hand gestures, naturally. Connection to the outside for entertainment or business is by "Car2X" - a cloud-based communication system. Of course, one can do all this while enjoying an espresso from the in-cabin coffee maker. Bonkers? Yes, certainly. Coming soon? Well, not today or tomorrow, but like all crazy concepts don't be surprised if some of it filters down as useful cabin tech in years to come.
Anything else?
Rinspeed does have some form with this kind of concept in the past, though. Taking a nod from the James Bond movie The Spy Who Loved Me - when Rodge famously drove his white Lotus Esprit into the sea - Rinspeed launched the sQuba submersible car based on the Lotus Elise.