World Debut at the 81st Geneva Motor Show, March 3rd- 13 th, 2011

Rinspeed meets Mitsubishi – Car Customizer Rinderknecht is the First to ‘Pimp’ Two Mitsubishi iMiEV Cars

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Rinspeed meets Mitsubishi – Car Customizer Rinderknecht is the First to ‘Pimp’ Two Mitsubishi iMiEV Cars: “Sexy” Electro-Twins from Japan – Mitsubishi meets Rinspeed

What a shocker: Mitsubishi i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) meets Rinspeed! The Swiss car visionary and customizer Frank M. Rinderknecht is in all likelihood the first tuner to tackle the first mass-produced electric vehicle in the world. The mission: Making “E” as in “Electro” even more appealing. The Rinspeed boss – he has been in this position for 34 years now – has always been driven by his conviction that a car must stir emotions: “It is always a personal statement by the owner. The prime directive: It should be attractive, meaning appealing – some called it ‘sexy’ even.”

The old hand knows every trick in the book when it comes to automotive cosmetics: Since twins always attract attention, two Mitsubishi i-MiEV cars are part of the Rinspeed exhibit in Geneva. They are painted bright yellow and matte red, the colors specially created by the specialists from Akzo Nobel. The same colors can also be found on the concept car “BamBoo,” this year’s Rinspeed attention getter at the show - “BamBoo & friends,” so to speak. Carbon-fiber films supplied by specialist FOLIATEC in Nuremberg add stylish highlights on front, roof and rear. Both electric cars sit low to the ground thanks to custom suspension springs from German manufacturer H+R, and run on low-profile Goodyear Eagle F1 tires, mounted on three-piece Work rims from Japan.

Colorful topstitching, large motifs and playful variations in black, red, and yellow lend a special flair to the interior of the iMiev. The message from the creative minds at Strähle + Hess and Schäfer-Oesterle is in tune with the times: high-spirited exuberance has come to the automobile. The bright flowers of the "iMiev Pop" interior appear sassy and feminine, while bold seams and zestfully curved lines give its twin, the "iMiev Wave", a powerful masculine note.

Aluminum components from Sparco such as the shifter and pedals exude Italian chic. Recaro with its Cross Sportster CS is responsible for the ergonomic seating comfort - who else?

The i-MiEV twins are online at all times thanks to an HTC “Flyer” tablet computer and Harman multimedia equipment with multifunctional connectivity. Both twins are also always in close contact with the charging stations and charging infrastructure of electricity giant RWE. Did you know that the first RWE charging station outside the European Union is in Switzerland? It is located in the vicinity of Zurich, in Zumikon, on the premises of Rinspeed. By the way, the electric city car Mitsubishi i-MiEV has four seats, a 49-kW electric motor, and has been driving emission-free on Swiss roads since December 20, 2010. It sells for 45,990 Swiss Francs.

The bottom line: Mission successful!

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