The idea of a car controlled by Apple's wildly popular iPhone may sound like fantastical science fiction, but Swiss design firm Rinspeed has set its sights on bringing just such a fantasy concept to reality when it debuts at the Geneva Motor Show next week.
Rinspeed's futuristic vehicle design, fondly known as the iChange, uses an iPhone as the car's key by – locking and unlocking it, turning on the engine as well as performing other core functions we hope to learn more about when the car finally makes a grand appearance. The iPhone neatly hooks into the dashboard just to the left of the steering column.
Designers hope that their concept will have the same impact on the the auto industry the iPhone has had on lackluster mobile phone manufacturers. A notorious group of lethargic corporations content on settling for a disturbing lack of innovation until Apple served up its epic game changer with iPhone.
The electric-powered iChange is a streamline teardrop-shaped single seater sports car that reveals an additional two seats when the rear opens up with the push of a button. The unique shape-changing design accommodates one to three passengers. The intent of the team behind building the iChange was to stimulate the struggling car industry with fresh, innovative thinking.
The iChange is a zero-emission modern car design featuring both extremely low weight and aerodynamic drag, further reducing power consumption. This sleek, sexy concept reaches far past the fugly speculative iCar designs that emerged back in 2007 after it was reported that Steve Jobs was meeting with Volkswagen chairman Martin Winterkorn.
Swiss car designers have proven they certainly know how to think different. The slick iPhone integration in the iChange cock pit only serves to seal the deal. The question remains, will big automakers be able to shed their beer goggles long enough to focus on an inspired glimpse of the future? I want to believe.
