Just as General Motors is asking for $40bn in bailouts from the American government a new concept car hits the market.

The concept car called the iCharge is gearing up for next weeks Genneva Car Show. The iCharge conecpt car is the brain child of Swiss company Rinspeed. The iCharge has been built around the iPhone. The iPhone plugs into the cars dash bard and controls functions such as the locking mechanising, the ignition key and other vital systems.

Apart from being built and controlled by the iPhone the iCharge boasts being the first car that can adapt its body shape to the number of passengers on board. Rinspeed reports, “In seconds a streamlined one-seater sports car transforms into a comfortable car with ample room for three. The trick: At the push of a button the rear end of the teardrop-shaped car magically pops up”. This allows the iCharge to offer optimal aerodynamic properties for the amount of people it is carrying, minimizing energy consumption

The iCharge concept has been supported by the Swiss government, the car is intended to stimulate ideas and the suffering automotive industry by pushing it into the 21st century. Rinspeed says “The iChange is a symbol for the fundamental changes the auto industry undergoes worldwide. And it is clear that only those companies will survive that have innovative answers for the demands of a new automotive era”.

The final result is a iPhone Driven shape shifting energy efficient vehicle for the 21st century.

Photos [Rinspeed]