CES 2020: MetroSnap, Rinspeed’s biggest concept to date

Rinspeed, the Swiss concept house returns to CES in 2020 with yet another of its bespoke Snap concepts. The previous two years Rinspeed has presented Snap, a four-seat modular autonomous car that can be a shuttle, a mobile conference room, or with a change of bodies, can be a transporter with a truck body or just a rolling container of cargo. Last year, the MicroSnap was introduced, a small version of the Snap, again, reconfigurable into all sorts of configurations, from two passenger coupé to rolling cargo box.

The Snap concepts are envisioned as part of an ecosystem wherein the Level–5 self-driving chassis and the glassy, cuboid ‘pod’ bodies can exist separately from each other, with the chassis having a shorter operating life before being recycled and replaced.

Which brings us to this year. Rinspeed is introducing the MetroSnap, the largest of the group of Snap concepts. It can seat six in a 3+3 arrangement like a mini-bus or shuttle, it can again, be a mobile conference room, or be outfitted for all manner of commercial or logistics/cargo solutions.

It has become a cliché to speak of the future of cars becoming a skateboard or sled – the chassis with batteries and motors, and the ’Top Hat’ – the body, whether coupé, saloon, or box truck or something else. Rinspeed certainly did not invent the concept. But while everyone else is talking, Rinspeed is making the concept happen, perfecting the modular solution with each generation of Snap proposals.

The MetroSnap consists of a skateboard – the chassis, and a pod – the body, which snaps into the chassis. Rinspeed has developed a catalogue of patented solutions for swapping, linking and securing the different components of a MetroSnap. Additionally, both body and chassis have batteries, so every swap helps recharge the vehicle, thus cutting down the wait for a fresh charge to the power system.

Critics point to the Snap series as an example of what is the predicted end of cars- boxy pods running around on electric sleds- all function but no design, or at least not the desirable kind. But the MetroSnap and its smaller siblings are more about the future of commercial vehicles and logistics than passenger vehicles. The cost savings for commercial vehicles that could be reconfigured and recharged several times a day allow for all sorts of logistics solutions.

MetroSnap passenger configurations

Where passengers are involved, the MetroSnap allows for commercial transport of passengers whether as a hotel shuttle, an Uber-type service, or as a mobile conference room or business office. One could even see a recreation vehicle pod snapped into a chassis that could be hot swapped in less time than it would take to fill a similar ICE vehicle with petrol.

MetroSnap and its siblings are about mobility and logistics services, but also lifecycles – of components, of systems and divergence between the worlds of software and hardware – both in powertrain and passenger compartment or cargo box. There are a lot of ideas moving forward with each generation of the Snap concepts and that makes it a fascinating concept to follow, even if it looks more life shipping container than what we think of as a car or truck.

If you are at CES, look for the MetroSnap at the Osram lighting stand. It will also appear at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in late February, and of course, at its home show in Geneva in March. We look forward to getting another look at all the Snap concepts then.