The 2011 Geneva Motor Show is still four whole months away, but the dreamers over at Rinspeed are already preparing their newest concept set to be revealed in Switzerland. Looking like a cross between a Scion xB->ke1337 and a Jeep Wrangler->ke425, loosely speaking, the Rinspeed BamBoo appears to be the perfect beach-going vehicle.

Since the vehicle is called BamBoo, it's easy to guess that the material will be found somewhere in the workings of the car. Rinspeed states that bamboo fibers are a part of major components of the interior, but we'll probably have to wait for Geneva to get more information. In fact, we'll have to wait until the Geneva Motor Show in March to find out a lot about this open-top vehicle. The only other information we could pull from the press release is that, if produced, this vehicle will more than likely be electric for that little bit of modernization needed for this retro design.

The Rinspeed->ke73 BamBoo - described by Rinspeed as a "grown-up golf cart" - isn't really our type of car which is made apparently clear with the statement made at the end of the press release...

"Anyone not blinded by horsepower orgies, chrome tinsel, and top-speed frenzy should take a closer look." If that statement didn't describe us to a Tee then we would think this car was pretty cool.

Press release after the jump.

2011 Rinspeed BamBoo

Specifications
  • Make: Array
  • Model: 2011 Rinspeed BamBoo
  • [do not use] Vehicle Model: Array

The exterior and the interior

The engine

The competition

When can I buy one?

Press release

The names of the concept cars from Swiss car visionary Frank M. Rinderknecht are more than marketing-driven slick onomatopoeia that polls well with focus groups. At Rinspeed names often have a deeper meaning.  That is also true for the latest creation from Rinderknecht. “BamBoo” is the name of his latest ‘baby’ that resembles a grown-up golf cart and is bound to evoke plenty of admiration at the next Geneva Motor Show which runs from March 3rd through 13th, 2011.

Nomen est omen - the name says it all - is immediately apparent: Many interior components are made from bamboo fibers. But the four-seater “BamBoo” takes it to a whole new level - to the Meta level so to speak: This open-top vehicle awakens the longing for sun, summer, for lightness and easiness, the desire to be at the beach. It is a reminiscence of the Seventies, of the south of France and St. Tropez. And one would expect to find Brigitte Bardot behind the wheel with playboy Gunther Sachs at her side heading towards Tahiti beach..

Anyone who might think that this is simple retro design for nostalgia’s sake underestimates the boss of the Swiss concept powerhouse. Yes, Rinderknecht incorporates the automobile references of the time. But he doesn’t leave it at that. He reinterprets them and evolves them into the future. And he focuses in them the yearning to get back to the roots, paired with the absolute desire to be in harmony with creation. That makes electric drive, also for the onboard foldable two wheeler for the last “mile”, a must.

Anyone not blinded by horsepower orgies, chrome tinsel and top-speed frenzy should take a closer look. “BamBoo” pushes the ‘reset’ button, clears the mind for a new way of thinking. It sports simple, clean lines. No bells, no whistles.  Nothing is superfluous. Plain aesthetics in their purest form. As stated before and even in a figurative sense: Nomen est omen. Simply bamboo.