Swiss car designer Rinspeed has a penchant for designing over-the-top concepts, and this new car(?) it plans to show off at this year’s CES is exceptionally extravagant.
Called the Snap, it’s less of a car than it is a comfortable self-driving pod that’s snapped onto a skateboard of sorts. As CNET pointed out on Tuesday, Snap was initially confirmed in October for debut at CES next month.
The pod can separate from the skateboard when Snap isn’t in motion, allowing it—Rinspeed says—to become anything from a “spacious camping pod” to a “cozy cuddling pod” or a “variable shopping pod.” Cute.
This sort of territory isn’t new for Rinspeed, which has pushed the envelope on concept cars for years. But the Snap’s by far one of its most ambitious concept cars to date, even if it is over the top.
Take the interior. Each passenger has three displays to play around with. Three! I can’t even justify a second monitor, but sure. Two additional, larger screens are situated in the center of the vehicle for movies and the like. There’s even a personal assistant onboard—an “autonomous intelligent” robot to help out passengers in need.
“It will also be happy to help with running errands, carrying purchases, or handle other tedious tasks,” Rinspeed says. OK!
What else can it do?
How about ... project a night sky while you and your significant other hold each other under the, uh, night sky.
Is the Snap on a roof there? I don’t know!
Have no interest in looking at the other passengers? Cool.
Hosting a meet and greet, while you plan a construction project? Let Snap tell the world.
CNET reports that Rinspeed envisions the Snap being used for carshare services or even sold to consumers. With tech companies and automakers eyeing “mobility” as a business of the future, the former makes sense as a comfortable, autonomous pod to ferry people around. The justification of selling this to a car buyer seems ... not so obvious.
Whatever the case, CNET says Rinspeed plans to have this in Las Vegas next month for the CES conference. It’ll almost surely stand out among the tech-heavy crowd.