Pretty soon the world is going to run out of words to prefix 'i' onto to try and sound cool. Damn you Apple! Here's the latest one: the iChange concept car from Rinspeed.

Sadly, the glib nomenclature doesn't refer to the car's Transformers-like ability to change into a dancing robot like the Citroen C4 can, but surprise surprise, it's about the environment.

Well, it can change a bit, actually. The rear end, or the 'electronic trick tail' as Rinspeed calls it, can rise 'as if by magic', turning the ground-hugging computer rendering into a two- or three-seat 'compact sportsvan.' There are as yet no pictures available of the iChange in 'compact sportsvan' form, though now that the phrase is out there, expect Audi to unveil one before you can say "hey everyone, I've found a new niche."

Back to the environment bit, we really can't put it any better than bonkers designer Frank M. Rinderknecht himself does, so here it is, verbatim: "Thinking about variability and the constantly changing energy demand, we have created an extremely flexible vehicle.

"If we want to preserve our individual mobility in the future, we have to re-think our conception of cars - above all we need to accommodate the ecological aspects."

Agreed, Frank. So how does the iChange do that, exactly, apart from the snazzy name?

Erm, it's got a 130kW (174bhp) electric motor. That's it. No biodegradable chassis, no tree-planting for every car sold, not even a folding roof made from hemp. It looks quite good though. The iChange will make its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March (if we're not all queuing for bread by then), when hopefully we'll be able to see the magical tailgate in action.

Mark Nichol - 12 Dec 2008