This time, the victim/vehicle to undergo the Rinspeed knife is none other than a Tesla Model S. But rather than just adding aero-bits and altering the wheels, the company has transformed the luxury electric saloon into a completely new autonomous concept called the XchangE.

 

Over the years Rinspeed has gained a reputation for its eccentric and envelope-pushing ideas. The latest entry is no exception. The Rinspeed XchangE Concept, engineered by 4erC and built at Esoro, is the Swiss firm’s future vision of how autonomous should be, versus how the technology is currently perceived.

On the exterior, the car is still clearly a Model S, but with obvious aesthetic modifications. A flying rear spoiler on the trunk lid is one subtle difference from the stock model, but aerodynamic tweaks in the form of redesigned front and rear bumpers, a more aggressive grille, plus the addition of body skirts and gold accent pieces definitively give the XchangE concept away as unconventional. Oversized 20-inch Borbet wheels help finish out the visual update.