THIS FUTURISTIC sports car powered by natural gas can transform into a pickup truck. Based on a Porsche, the 911 Turbo-based Rinspeed Bedouin was created to show how a powerful car can also use renewable energy. Frank M. Rinderknecht, CEO for Swiss-based manufacturer Rinspeed has been building concept-cars for the Geneva Motor Show for over 20 years. He calls himself “an automotive futurist”, with the Rinspeed Bedouin being just one of his many innovative creations. He told Ridiculous Rides: “The Bedouin was created to show sustainability, powered by natural CMG gas.” The vehicle was built in 2003, at that time the batteries were still too weak to power a car like this one. By taking on this project Frank was faced with big challenges to maintain the basic shape of the Porsche. “We did not want to obstruct the original design, but to compliment it," he said. “Then we had to fit all the technology in a relatively small amount of space." The Bedouin still provides the luxuries of a sports car, with soft leather seats, engraved with thousands of crystals. Of course, the main feature of this innovative creation is how the backside can be transformed at the touch of a button into a pickup truck, a rare find in the motoring world because of the cost of manufacturing. Frank explained: "It's cheaper to have like two different vehicles instead of combining two in one, but it's still in the people's heart to have a car which serves many purposes.”
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MotorTranscript
00:00 At the tip of a finger it transforms into a pickup truck. A very powerful car but powered
00:10 by sustainable CNG natural gas. The Bedouin is beautiful and clearly can see the sparkle
00:18 of thousands of small crystals in a bling bling way.
00:26 Back in 2003 this was the future. A natural gas powered sports car that converted into
00:33 a pickup truck.
00:39 My name is Frank Grindernacht. I'm the CEO of Rinspeed and I'm an automotive futurist.
00:48 Frank has been building cars for the Geneva Motor Show for 20 years and this is just one
00:56 of his many creations.
00:58 The Bedouin at the tip of a finger it transforms into a pickup truck. The Bedouin which we
01:08 built quite some years ago was to show sustainability. The Bedouin was powered by natural gas. When
01:15 we built the vehicle in the early 2000s batteries were still too weak to power a vehicle.
01:26 And if you think the shape of this car looks familiar, well you'll be right.
01:31 The Bedouin, our really eye catcher based on a 911, is set in beautiful and very soft
01:40 leather and then the seat backs are engraved by little crystals saying Rinspeed in a bling
01:47 bling way.
01:48 If I want to activate the back side to be transformed I just hit a simple button and
01:55 here we go. Obviously you need to be stationary to do so. And beneath everything as it's in
02:02 a 911 we have the rear six cylinder engine.
02:06 And what did Porsche think of Frank's creation?
02:09 We had at the time a very good relationship. They looked at it positively because we never
02:14 did really the unthinkable or too crazy stuff. Still within the outrageous we stayed on the
02:20 ground.
02:21 We still wanted to maintain the basic design lines. We did not want to obstruct the original
02:28 design but to complement. And then we had to fit all the technology. We have to make
02:33 it work on a relatively small amount of space.
02:41 I'm now sitting in the Bedouin. What one clearly can see is the sparkle of thousands of small
02:47 crystals not only in the doors but on the shift gear but also on the steering wheel.
02:53 The steering wheel by the way looks kind of odd because it's not round. The reason is
02:58 that the steering wheel within a little bit more than 90 degrees turns fully to the right
03:03 or fully to the left but that in a progressive way which allows you much easier parking but
03:10 more stable driving on the freeway.
03:14 We showed the Bedouin for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show. The Geneva Motor Show
03:20 still is on our agenda.
03:23 Affordable vehicles today are still kind of rare because it means also a lot more money
03:29 to be invested in the vehicle and it's cheaper to have like two different sorts of vehicles
03:34 instead of combining two in one. But it still is in the people's head to have a car which
03:42 serves many purposes.
03:44 With many years of creating unique concept vehicles you never know quite what's next
03:49 from Frank and the team at Rinspeed. But one thing's for sure, whatever they do, they'll
03:55 do it in style.
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