02 Mar 05
Swiss prototype-builder Rinspeed is always good for a spectacular show car, and this year's concept for the Geneva Motor Show is the Senso. As its name suggests, it's an intuitive vehicle - it uses biometric data collected from the driver to set the cabin ambience, adapting the lighting, colours, patterns and even music and fragrances to help keep the driver relaxed yet alert. It collects data via a watch which measures pulse rate, and a 'mobile eye' camera which monitors driving behaviour such as lane changing, distance from the car in front, speed and so on to discern levels of aggression or frustration. High-tech 'smart surface' LCD monitors then emit light in yellow/orange, blue/violet or neutral green patterns, and fragrances are released: a calming vanilla-mandarin or a stimulating citrus-grapefruit. If the driver is really about to nod off, motors in the seat can shake him or her awake.
The Senso's cabin has an unusual seating layout, with a single centrally-positioned front seat for the driver and two passenger seats behind. It is finished in carbon-compound materials with Italian designer fabrics, but the overall effect is "clear-cut, no-nonsense", says Rinspeed. The bodywork is a recyclable plastic composite, with scratchproof polycarbonate windscreen, and an eggshell matt-effect finish (developed by chemical consortium Bayer) replaces conventional paint. The windscreen weighs little more than half as much as a conventional glass screen, and Rinspeed says that it "opens up entirely new possibilities for car designers."
Weighing just 1385kg, the rear-wheel drive Senso is powered by the Porsche Boxster S's 3.2-litre, 250bhp flat-six, modified to run on both petrol and clean-burning natural gas. It'd be good for 0-60 mph in 5.9 seconds. It doesn't sit on an adapted Boxster chassis, however, but a custom-built adjustable set-up developed by KW Automotive. Further showpiece technologies include a satellite-linked emergency call system and fingerprint recognition technology to identify the driver and adjust the cabin settings accordingly. Rinspeed head Frank Rinderknecht says that "the driver, and not the technology, should be the focal point of the car." Bayer spokesman Johannes Seesing adds: "Together with our partners in the automotive industry, we are already carrying out research on the car of tomorrow. The Senso is an outstanding example of unconventional ideas and lateral thinking."
