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Rinspeed’s Budii Shows Us How an Autonomous BMW i3 Could Look Like in Geneva

When we first saw the Rinspeed Budii we were split between liking it and totally hating it. The thing is, we might not agree with the way it looks but we sure like what it’s bringing to the table from a performance and technology point of view.
Rinspeed Budii at Geneva 14 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf / R. Kah
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Based on BMW’s electric i3 this is supposedly the way we’ll be driving in the future, either autonomously or sitting behind the wheel. And that’s where the first revolutionary step shows its face.

The Budii has a steering wheel but it can be used by either occupant of the car as it is attached to an oscillating arm that sits right in the middle of the car when it is not being used. When someone wants to actually drive, the arm swings its way and allows him or her to take over.

The interior is as futuristic as it possibly can, with big displays all around (including the sun visors) and there’s only room for two. That’s because the back seats have been converted to a rack for two mini vehicles that are also electric and can carry you to complete your journey for short distances.

As far as autonomous driving goes, the car can actually be operated from the outside, telling it to follow you or park itself. This is all possible due to the huge sensor installed atop of the roof that can go up to 27.5 inches above the car. Over there, it scans the road ahead and keeps the Budii safe, avoiding obstacles in its path, including even medium sized rocks.

It’s all sounding almost too good to be true but there are a few hops to get over first, before jumping in. One of them is the design that might simply turn people away. If you can get past that, this concept is to be remembered for posterity.
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