Rinspeed Chopster

[BMWDave]

Link With Pictures

Rinspeed Chopster
Fine Chopped Cayenne: Not Just The Next Porsche Tuner, Rinspeed Chopster Is One Thorough Overhaul
MATT DAVIS
Published Date: 5/16/05
RINSPEED CHOPSTER
ON SALE: Now, in Europe
BASE PRICE: $460,000
POWERTRAIN: 4.5-liter, 592-hp, 590-lb-ft twin-turbocharged V8; 4wd, six-speed sequential automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 5470 lbs
0 TO 62 MPH: 4.4 seconds (mfr.)

We first saw the wild Rinspeed Chopster, based on an already impressive 444-hp Porsche Cayenne Turbo, on the Internet in 2004, and it was orange then. We saw it at this year?s Geneva show in matte silver, and it was time to take a drive. Swiss Porsche tuner Rinspeed partnered with Edag in Germany?among a long list of others?to create a 592-hp version of the 4.5-liter Porsche V8.

The Edag chop job on the completely redone bodywork, which the company says is inspired by linebackers? physiques in American football, is daunting in person. A whopping 2.75 inches of height is lopped off the passenger cabin. Sitting in the stunning leather and Alcantara interior feels like sitting in a mobile bunker. You can actually tell the Chopster is scowling at the outside world from the way pedestrians in crosswalks react. Swiss school kids are decidedly not neutral in their reactions.


The vehicle has the mass to match. Whereas the standard Cayenne Turbo hits the scales at 5192 pounds, the Chopster breaks the scale at 5470 pounds. In testing, we found the rear gate had to be propped up by hand as the added weight exceeds the limit of the hydraulic dampers meant to hold it up. A more robust unit is to be added prior to the Chopster?s delivery to a Russian client.

BSO 2001 in Germany performed a complete engine overhaul?new low back-pressure race exhaust with 100-cell metallic catalytic converters, two large water-cooled intercoolers, higher-pressure turbochargers and a new electronic control unit?and beefed up the six-speed gearbox to withstand the 590 lb-ft of torque vs. the Cayenne Turbo?s 457 lb-ft. That?s a lot of torque, but the gearbox is said to be able to withstand a Bugatti Veyron-like 738 lb-ft.  Literally, this is a tank built for Siberia.


Driving this hulk is every bit as cool as you?d expect. The sheer power at the touch of the throttle lives up to the image of the exterior. You can accelerate to 62 mph in a bit more than four seconds and top speed hits 180 mph against the Turbo?s 165. To stop this moving mountain, the Chopster has larger cross-drilled floating brake discs originally designed for racing GTs, again by BSO 2001.

Inside is a specially crafted carbon composite floating center console with full multimedia displays for front and rear occupants. The comfort of the four individual Recaro racing seats adds another unique element to an already unique machine.


Fore and aft fender panels in carbon composite are inflated considerably, giving the Chopster a width of 80.2 inches vs. the standard Cayenne Turbo?s 75.9. The proportions are right on the money, and we like the Chopster?s attitude.

The body-lift air sus?pension is kept from the standard Cayenne Turbo, and the Chopster looks best when hunkered right down to the hilt. Aiding this overall uncompromised posture are 11x23-inch alloy wheels custom-cast by CW Fahrzeugtechnik and supreme Continental 315/25 SportContact UHP treads. This is the future of Swiss bling.

Got $460,000 for starters? Save it; NHTSA and the EPA aren?t high on the Chopster?s conquest list. There are a handful of orders on the books back in Switzerland though, so it looks like Rinspeed may have finally chopped its way through to the big time.

[giant_mtb]

I didn't read it except for the general information and the linky with pics...and I think it's pretty sweet.  It looks weird but it's a heck of a performer for that huge of a vehicle!  :P  

[BMWDave]

I didn't read it except for the general information and the linky with pics...and I think it's pretty sweet.  It looks weird but it's a heck of a performer for that huge of a vehicle!  :P

Its performance is astounding...they went a bit overboard on the cosmetic part of the conversion though.

[giant_mtb]

I didn't read it except for the general information and the linky with pics...and I think it's pretty sweet.  It looks weird but it's a heck of a performer for that huge of a vehicle!  :P

Its performance is astounding...they went a bit overboard on the cosmetic part of the conversion though.

Yeah...just a little overboard.  <_<     :P  ^_^

[BMWDave]

I didn't read it except for the general information and the linky with pics...and I think it's pretty sweet.? It looks weird but it's a heck of a performer for that huge of a vehicle!? :P

Its performance is astounding...they went a bit overboard on the cosmetic part of the conversion though.

Yeah...just a little overboard.  <_<     :P  ^_^

just a tad :blink:  

[giant_mtb]

I didn't read it except for the general information and the linky with pics...and I think it's pretty sweet.  It looks weird but it's a heck of a performer for that huge of a vehicle!  :P

Its performance is astounding...they went a bit overboard on the cosmetic part of the conversion though.

Yeah...just a little overboard.  <_<     :P  ^_^

just a tad :blink:

Just an itsy-bit.  *signals to stop taking up the thread*  :P  

[Raza]

A fast SUV...what's the point?  It may handle well, for an SUV, but you're much better off buying a 911 and saving 300K+.  Unless you need to get to soccer practice just that fast.

[BMWDave]

A fast SUV...what's the point?  It may handle well, for an SUV, but you're much better off buying a 911 and saving 300K+.  Unless you need to get to soccer practice just that fast.

Some for this price can buy a Cayenee Turbo, a 911 Turbo, and a Minivan to get them to soccer practice.  This whole idea is a bit crazy--there is absolutely no sensible reason to buy this SUV.

[giant_mtb]

I bet it has incredible off-road abilities!  :P