Remember When Rinspeed Made a 911 Dakar With a Deployable Truck Bed in 2003?

Nearly 20 years before the Porsche 911 Dakar was a thing, Swiss tuning company Rinspeed Design created one of the coolest concept cars of this century. In a nutshell, the Rinspeed Bedouin was a 996-generation Porsche 911 made into a four-seat shooting brake that could turn into a two-seat pickup truck at the push of a button. I’m not sure there’s a cooler description of any vehicle, ever.

The Bedouin was a funky machine, with Swarovski crystal-bedazzled trim, chrome roof and tailgate strakes, and a steering wheel so heinous it makes me yearn for Tesla’s yoke. It might qualify as the most 2000s-looking vehicle ever made. However, the concept was brilliant.

It started off life as a 996 911 Carrera 4, making it all-wheel-drive. Rinspeed then modified the engine by giving it two turbochargers and making it run on natural gas, to make it far more emissions-free than the standard engine, resulting in 420 horsepower and 413 lb-ft of torque. The six-speed manual transmission remained but gained a rather hideous crystal-topped shift knob. Rinspeed claimed a zero to 60 mph time of 5.9 seconds but that’s the least interesting part of the car.

What really made the Bedouin fascinating was its body shape and rear hatch mechanism. In its normal body style mode, the Rinspeed was a four-seat shooting brake, providing more rear passenger space than a standard 996, while also adding the practicality of a hatchback. The strange chrome strakes kind of ruin the look but they might have been cool when frosted-tip hairstyles were also still cool. However, with the push of a button, and 10 seconds worth of patience, the roof would fold in and the tailgate would fold down, creating a pickup truck-like bed. So it was equal parts wagon, equal parts ute, all made from a twin-turbocharged, six-speed Porsche 911.

The Bedouin also had a little safari car in it, thanks to specifically designed Eibach suspension that lifted the ride height by 15 centimeters. The ride height and firmness were also adjustable. And since the body was made from pre-preg composites, it was lighter than it looks.

Hopefully, the Rinspeed Bedouin regains some popularity and another company, or maybe even Rinspeed yet again, decides to build another one. With the current market’s desire for blending genres (see: 911 Dakar and Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato), a car like the Bedouin could actually sell. As long as someone’s brave enough to build it.

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