Ladies and gentleman, brace yourself for the next generation of metro mobility, at least in the eyes of Swiss boutique automaker and tuner Rinspeed and its mad scientist, Frank Rinderknecht. As Rinderknecht's company does every year, it will use the hometown 2010 Geneva Motor Show to debut its newest concept vehicle called the UC? -- short for Urban Commuter? or You See? -- an electric-powered microcar that aims to combine individual and public transport.
How can it possibly do that, you may ask? Well, the very creative minds at the firm have designed the all-electric UC? to be transported by train if need be. It features a railcar loading system to make traveling long distances less impactful on the environment. The car, officials say, intertwines the two means of mobility and therefore is to be considered a "Web-based" vehicle.
The UC? measures a tad over 8 feet long and is controlled by a centrally mounted joystick inside its compact cabin. Its EV motor features 91 pound-feet of torque and a reported 75-mile single charge range. It also is said to have a 68 mph top speed.
Rinspeed is quick to point out that plans for the UC? to make it into production are already underway with multiple global companies.