February 28, 2006, marked the world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show of the Rinspeed concept car, "zaZen", created by the Swiss designer Frank M. Rinderknecht. It represents his vision of the car of the future and will be showcased as a kind of "automotive enlightenment" on four wheels. It also embraces a technical revolution in car manufacture, with the transparent backlite being turned into a luminous holographic area. As if from nowhere, the third brake light shines out of what looks like a floating transparent hardtop.
The Car of the Future
The world premiere of the "zaZen", with its holographic brake lamp and smoothly contoured, transparent, one-piece roof dome made of high-tech Makrolon, marks the beginning of a new era in lighting technology in vehicle design. For Ian Paterson, who is responsible for innovation on the Board of Bayer MaterialScience, this novel lighting system represents a small step on the way to building the car of tomorrow: "Together with Rinspeed, our goal is to get people thinking about the car of the future. We contribute our high-quality materials and the combined creative know-how of our engineers."
The breathtakingly designed vehicle concept was born at the Swiss engineering specialists, Esoro, from one single vision and many imaginative ideas. The entire roof dome down to the belt line is made of Bayer's transparent Makrolon polycarbonate. A glass-clear elastic sealant from Revoflex AG has been used to achieve an optimum joint with the body. The striking hardtop is light in both senses of the word. Not only does it appear to float airily above the rather chunky body, it is also weighs less than glass - not that it would be possible to make it from glass in the first place.
The Interior
The interior fittings of the "zaZen" are also dominated by this ethos of transparency and reduction to essentials, cleverly combined with strategically placed highlights. The transparent plastic seat shells of Makrolon fitted with Technogel upholstery were produced in cooperation with Recaro. A bright, friendly mango-orange color has been chosen for the rest of the leather/fabric interior trim. It was made by hand by Strahle
