Rinspeed to debut autonomous XchangE concept at Geneva motor show

Dutch coachbuilder Rinspeed has built a reputation for imagining and creating cars from 10 years in the future and making them a reality, either for well-heeled customers or for auto show crowds. So it came as no surprise when it revealed its newest project slated for the 2014 Geneva motor show, meant to preview the interiors of the self-driving cars of tomorrow.

Yes, that's a Tesla Model S underneath with a (mostly) muted restyling of the front fascia, though it is really the interior that's meant to be the showpiece. While everyday autonomous cars are still a few years away, it seems Rinspeed's bosses have been kept awake at night by the yet-to-materialize issue of what people will actually do with their time when their cars will drive them to and from work.

Rinspeed's XchangeE is one of several prototype interiors that the company is developing, and one of the features it has in common with other concepts is the sliding steering wheel hub. The idea is that early autonomous vehicles will be able to operate in manual as well as autonomous modes, and while humming along in the latter their occupants won't need the controls. So the steering column (which is meant to steer-by-wire, a technology that's already here) has been redesigned to be folded and repositioned to the center of the dash, so as not to distract the occupants from tweeting, or whatever they'll be doing in the future.

Rinspeed
The freedom of not having to drive will revolutionize car interiors, Rinspeed predicts.

And speaking of the now-liberated(?) occupants, they'll be free to recline the front seats all the way to the back seats and stretch out their legs, as in a chauffeur-driven personal limousine. Rinspeed imagines that once cars will start driving themselves, there'll be no need for the occupants to even face forward, so the front seats in the Tesla Model S concept have been made to swivel around and let the occupants put their feet up on the folding rear seats and watch something futuristic on a giant flat screen television in the back.

Rinspeed
Rinspeed predicts that autonomous cars will make taking the wheel a rare occurrence.

We have to admit Rinspeed's vision of autonomous car interiors is intriguing, and will likely come true in one way or another.

A handful of automakers are already fielding small fleets of autonomous cars that are essentially functioning prototypes of what we'll see in a few years, but those cars tend to be relatively unchanged on the inside. Indeed, the focus has been on achieving reliable autonomous driving technology, rather than figuring out how interiors will change. Rinspeed hopes to set the fashion for the interiors.

By Jay Ramey