Bedouin – The Quick-Change Artist From Rinspeed
Rinspeed Design, the Swiss powerhouse for automotive concepts and emotions, once again presents a unique attraction this year – the Bedouin.
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Named after the centuries-old hardy nomadic tribes in Arabia, the Rinspeed concept model can be transformed from a roomy 2-seater pick-up into a sporty yet spacious 4-seater wagon sporting the trendy ‘allroad’ look. The rear space gained by the transformation can alternatively be used as an enclosed cargo bed by folding down the backrests of the rear seats.
“With the Bedouin, we wanted to show that there’s lots of untapped creative potential regarding multi-purpose vehicles,” says Frank M. Rinderknecht, the boss of Rinspeed AG. “From our point of view, MPVs can contribute to the preservation of the world’s resources since they’re capable of taking on many of the specialized uses of second or third cars. And they can adapt to the specific transportation needs at hand within seconds.”
The transformation sequence starts with the entire roof being lifted electrically. Then the front part of the roof folds and in effect becomes the tailgate window while the rear part of the roof turns into the cargo bed.
The tailgate is also electrically powered and can be lowered to extend the bed by another 45 cm to an overall length of 185 cm. The entire transformation mechanism is equipped with redundant self-locking safety features and is operated with a remote control.
The Bedouin is powered by a future-oriented environment-friendly twin-turbo engine running on natural gas. The 4-valve per cylinder engine is from Porsche and produces 309 kW/420 bhp at 6000 rpm. It also delivers its impressive maximum torque of 560 Nm at just 2700 rpm, giving the 1,640-kg Bedouin a claimed acceleration capability of around 5.9 seconds to 100 km/h from standstill, and an electronically and mechanically-limited top speed of 250 km/h.
The lines of the Bedouin are somewhat reminiscent of the Porsche 911 (type 996), from which it takes the 4×4 platform. In keeping with the tradition of sporty wagons, the roofline exhibits a dynamic swing that gradually flattens out toward the rear. The wide rear fenders and their striking air inlets exude raw power, as do the large air inlets in the front.
A sporty stainless-steel exhaust from Remus with milled all-aluminium tailpipes provides the adequate sound. The body sits about 15 cm higher than the Porsche, thanks to a sporty yet comfortable custom Eibach suspension. The suspension’s height and firmness are both adjustable.
The Bedouin runs on fully off-road capable 18-inch Continental SportContact 4×4-tyres in sizes 255/55 in front and 285/50 in the rear. The tyres are mounted on two-piece Rinspeed aluminium wheels custom-made by ATP. The installed progressive-rate Wandfluh steering contributes greatly to the agility of the Bedouin. A mere half a turn of the steering wheel separates the full left from the full right position.
The rearview mirrors as well as the front and rear bumpers are painted with sparkling crystal paint from Swarovski, which also contributed the fully crystal hood emblem and the rear badge featuring SDS technology. In.pro. custom-developed chrome-plated LED taillights for the Bedouin, which not only initiate a new design trend but also offer increased traffic safety due to their exceptionally fast reaction time.
Most of the interior of the Bedouin was retained from the Porsche 996 and was custom-upholstered with exquisite “Poltrona-Frau leather” from X-Mobil. The brown hue of the colour harmonizes perfectly with the exterior colour, which changes from slightly green to copper.
Innovations are also evident in the material selection: the unique gearshift-lever grip is made from solid Swarovski white crystal with a shift pattern embedded using endographics. Lasers were used to imprint the leather seats with Rinspeed logos, which were then in turn covered with crystals.
A Blaupunkt entertainment system with DVD player and 7-inch colour monitor integrated into the roofliner provides first-class entertainment on board.
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