Rinspeed Chopster Overview: Generations and Which One to Buy
The Rinspeed Chopster is a 5-door SUV built for 2005 only, with a single 600 hp modification. This overview covers its one generation and the version worth looking for.
The Rinspeed Chopster is a 5-door SUV produced in 2005 only, with 600 hp across its single modification. It suits buyers looking for an extremely rare, high-performance SUV rather than a practical everyday vehicle: with one model year, one body style and one drivetrain configuration, the Chopster is a collector's proposition first and a transport tool second.
Rinspeed Chopster generations
1 generation (2005–2005)
The 1 generation Rinspeed Chopster was built for a single model year, 2005, exclusively as a 5-door SUV. The power range is flat at 600 hp, because the lineup contains exactly one modification: the 4.5 AT. That version pairs a 4511 cc engine with an automatic gearbox and 4x4 drive, and accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds — a figure that puts this SUV in sports-car territory for its era. With only one gearbox option (Automatic) and one drive type (4x4) in the data, there are no drivetrain choices to weigh within the generation: every 1 generation Chopster is mechanically the same specification on paper.
Which Rinspeed Chopster to buy
- 4.5 AT (1 generation): the only modification in the lineup, with 600 hp from a 4511 cc engine, 0–100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, an automatic gearbox and 4x4 drive.
On the used market the search is simple in structure and hard in practice: the Chopster exists only as a 2005 car in one specification, so there is no cross-generation comparison to make — the decision comes down to finding an example at all and judging its individual condition.
Summary
The Rinspeed Chopster lineup is as narrow as a lineup can be: one generation (2005–2005), one body (5-door SUV), one modification (4.5 AT), one gearbox (Automatic), one drive type (4x4) and a single power figure of 600 hp. The 4.5 AT's 4.4-second sprint to 100 km/h defines the car's character — a very fast SUV from a single production year. Anyone shopping for a Rinspeed Chopster is choosing the 4.5 AT by definition; the only variables are availability and the state of the specific car.