Rinspeed Dock + Go concept car (2012) - a more practical Smart

And over on the Rinspeed stand at the 2012 Geneva motor show, you can expect to see the new Rinspeed Dock + Go, a Smart Fortwo with a new mobility concept.

It adds a bespoke trailer to the Smart city car, letting customers drive into town two-up in the regular Smart, or go on a longer journey to the seaside with all the clobber (for two, no families allowed – unless the children can be flatpacked into the boot) stuffed into the trailer.

Frank Rinderknecht calls the Smart trailer 'a backpack on wheels'. It's a pleasingly simple device, and shows clever lateral thinking from the legendary tuner.

Although on the face of it a simple gimmick, it does make you wonder if we really need huge estate cars or SUVs with their greedy footprints when a simple Dock + Go system could in fact provide more than enough stowage for many motorists.

Rinspeed's solution has imagined a variety of packs that can be stowed on the back. One trailer is a toolbox for tradesmen, while another packs camping gear or golf/skiing equipment.

Ingeniously, there's even a 'backpack' which has a separate power source built in. It's a bit like adding a heavy-duty battery to the bottom of your bedroom torch – the trailer could house a range-extender, bigger battery or even a fuel-cell onboard.

By Tim Pollard