Rinspeed and Bayer MaterialScience have been working on zaZen, a revolutionary new concept car. A large third brake light shines out of what looks like a floating, transparent teardrop roof. The technical revolution in the car's design is that the transparent rear window has been turned into a luminous holographic area.
zaZen, with its holographic brake light and smoothly contoured single-section roof dome made of the high-tech polycarbonate Makrolon, marks the beginning of a new era in lighting technology in vehicle design. The name of the new concept car was chosen to reflect the overall attitude with which both companies have driven the entire project forward over a period of many months: a special form of insight that is only attainable if you are prepared to give up preconceived ideas.
This highly transparent four-wheeled creation, the product of one vision and many imaginative ideas, is currently taking shape at Esoro. The entire roof dome down to the belt line is made of a single sheet of transparent Bayer polycarbonate. The material can be made non-transparent at the press of a button.
Because the transparency can simply be switched on and off, it means that any superfluous knobs and displays on the dashboard can be simply faded out so that the driver can concentrate on what is most important, the speed indicator. And instead of a living-room atmosphere, the occupants sit in glass-like plastic seat shells in a bright and friendly orange color.
In za Zen, everything has been reduced to essentials. The extremely organically designed body exerts a quiet fascination with its mineral-white color, achieved through the use of millions of tiny precious Swarovski crystals protected by a self-healing polyurethane clear coat.
zaZen made its first appearance in February at the Geneva Motor Show.