Set up in 1977, the company made its debut two years later, unveiling the GTI Turbo model based on the VW Golf. In the years 1995-2001 Rinspeed manufactured avant-garde cars upon special order.

Since 1983 the company has been tuning Porsche cars. At the 2003 Geneva Motor Show, the world saw the debut of their concept car Bedouin, a cross between a station wagon and a pick-up, based on the Porsche 911 Turbo (996) and equipped with a natural gas 3.6-liter 420 hp engine. In 2004 in Geneva the company presented an amphibious concept car – the roadster Splash, with a natural gas turbo 2.0-liter 140 hp engine, developing 200 km/h on land and 80 km/h on water. In July 2004 the SUV Chopster had its debut, followed by low-volume production launched in April 2005. It is a remodeled Porsche Cayenne with a 4.5-liter 610 hp engine, reaching up to 290 km/h and sprinting from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 s. At the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, the company presented their next concept car, the roadster Senso with a Porsche 3.2-liter 250 hp natural gas engine (250 km/h, 0-100 km/h in 5.9 s).

It is interesting to mention that the Rinspeed ROne presented at Geneva Motor Show 2001 was the lowest car in the world being only 972mm (38.3 in) high.