Autonomous Rebadged BMW Hybrid Has Own Drone and Landing Pad

By Tony Markovich - December 28, 2015

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Meet the Rinspeed Σtos, a sportscar that has about 80 percent of future technology automotive features but still doesn’t really make all that much sense. But that’s the point. The Swiss company Rinspeed identifies as a “creative think tank and mobility lab for the automotive industry.” Basically, it cooks up a bunch of cars people look at and think, “what in the world is that and why is it doing what it’s doing?” They make you wonder, and that’s a necessary part of progress.

Based on the BMW i8 hybrid sports car, the Σtos will be debuting at CES, a great spot for a company looking to disrupt the industry, in Las Vegas next month. Among the many important features of this car, the most notable might be the retractable steering wheel that leads to autonomous driving. Once the wheel pulls back into the dash, the driver has access to two adjustable curved 21.5-inch Ultra HD widescreen monitors.

With a Harman Connected Car, the Σtos’ smart personality does everything a normal infotainment system does, but also acts like artificial intelligence in the way that it recognizes patterns and starts to cater to your lifestyle. A feature called ‘E-Horizon’ also adds to the connected car idea by tapping into infrastructure to sync with traffic lights, and maximize cell phone reception.

On the back of the car is a DJI drone complete with its own landing pad (which can act as a messaging system through its 12,000 LEDS) designed by Weidplas. Being a super impressive piece of technology the drone would naturally have some impressive uses, right? Meh, not really. The press release offers two examples of using the drone: for live-streaming selfies and for going to pick up flowers for bae.

This all comes with the same plug-in hybrid powertrain you get in the BMW i8 sports car. Some extra crazy features on this thing include eight HD exterior cameras, super light Gorilla Glass, ceramics and metal alloys, and wireless cell charging.