Rinspeed Snap Envisions an Autonomous, Fully Electric Future

Recently, noted Swiss tuner and concept creator Rinspeed showed off the Snap, its latest concept, ahead of its official debut at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show. While not necessarily intended for production, the Snap is Rinspeed’s idea of a fully autonomous electric vehicle. Like we’ve seen before with concepts like the GM Hy-wire to the Faraday Future FFZero1, Rinspeed packaged the powertrain and the chassis together, creating a “skateboard” platform that’s separate from the pod-like body. The Snap is different, however, because it allows the body pod to be swapped out constantly.

The benefit of this approach is two-fold. First, the pods could be customized to serve a wide variety of purposes, from a taxi to an easily moved pop-up shop, or even a food truck. The release also suggests it could be used as “a cozy cuddling pod,” but we’re not going to touch that one. Second, Rinspeed sees the chassis wearing out or becoming outdated more quickly than the bodies, so separating the two will allow for more cost-effective updates.

And while there are essentially endless possibilities for different types of pods, for CES, Rinspeed worked with Harman and Samsung to create a high-tech lounge full of screens and connected-car features. It features automotive-grade quantum dot LED technology, as well as organic LED displays to show sharp, bright images while also reducing power consumption. LEDs that emit ultraviolet light are also used to kill bacteria and keep the cabin sanitary.

Since the Snap is supposed to be a futuristic concept, it showcases a lot more than a fancy interior packed with screens. Harman gave it voice-controlled smart speakers, smart locks, live health monitoring, over-the-air update abilities, and cutting-edge cybersecurity software. The Snap also gets a suite of six projectors to communicate with people outside the vehicle.

Unfortunately, like with Rinspeed’s other concepts, the Snap will probably never see production. Still, we wouldn’t be surprised if other automakers borrowed a few ideas from Rinspeed for future autonomous vehicles.

Source: Rinspeed