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Tuesday Twist: Rinspeed Micromax

Rinspeed boss Frank Rinderknecht, purveyor of wacky and weird, has unveiled his company's 2013 Geneva Motor Show concept, the Micromax. The press statement for this odd little mini-bus promises “an outstanding sense of spaciousness with ho


Rinspeed boss Frank Rinderknecht, purveyor of wacky and weird, has unveiled his company's 2013 Geneva Motor Show concept, the Micromax.

The press statement for this odd little mini-bus promises "an outstanding sense of spaciousness with homey lounge character." We suspect it'd be of particular interest to those stuck on Sydney's M5 toll road.

It's not an original idea, of course - many concepts in recent years have tackled the idea of taking the living-room to the road. 

At 3.6 metres, the Micromax is as long as a MINI, but stands a lanky 2.2 metres in height, allowing for easy entry and exit, as well as simple stowage of things like strollers and shopping carts (Or a coffee table? - Ed.)

Boasting three seats and a baby seat, the Micromax can also be equipped with a coffee machine or a "a refrigerator for passengers' happy hour drinks." (Yep, definitely needs a coffee table - Ed.)

The idea of the Micromax is that it would form part of a ride-share system. Using a mobile app, potential passengers can punch in their destination and a driver going the same way will be directed to your location to pick you up.

Rinspeed points to the potential for a drop in CO2, user costs and traffic jams as other advantages.

Above all, Rinspeed wants you to think of the Micromax as  "your taxi or your bus every now and then, the short four-wheeled friend first and foremost wants to be one thing: your car."

The Micromax is electrically powered, but Rinspeed isn't giving away any concrete technical details yet.

The Swiss company positions itself as an "automotive think tank" and clearly takes that idea very seriously - the crazier the better, to get people talking and thinking about mobility.

Rinspeed's 2013 concept joins a long list of Geneva presentations. In 2012, we got the Smart-based Dock+Go - essentially a set of  interchangeable back-ends for a Smart ForTwo.

And who could forget the Lotus Elise-based sQuba, a tribute to the submersible Esprit from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me?

The Micromax will be at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, which runs in early March.

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