Automotive
First introduced as a concept at the 1995 Frankfurt Auto Show, Audi’s mighty, yet compact TT sport-coupe has changed little since its inception. But with its war-on-weight campaign, Audi decided the already lightweight TT could use a trim. So off to the fat farm went the Ultra Quattro Concept, and when all was said and done, a 300 kg (661 lb) lighter vehicle remained. Read More
When it comes to electric vehicles, the conversation invariably diverts to concerns about vehicle range, infrastructure, and recharge times. To address the last of those issues, Volvo and Siemens have developed a new fast-charging system that cuts recharge times down to 90 minutes. Read More
The auto world's attention may still be tied up in China, but Toyota is hoping to pull it westward. Debuted earlier today at the Le Rendez-vous Toyota, Toyota’s brand experience center on the Champs Elysées in Paris, the ultralight ME.WE is a concept car that strips the automobile down to its basic core in an attempt to reframe consumer expectations. Read More
In the world of utilitarian power rangers, Mercedes-Benz’ Unimog and Econic transporter rank up there as two of the toughest, most versatile vehicles available. Mercedes Special Truck division is hoping to maintain that reputation with the unveiling of its latest models. Read More
Bugatti has introduced the Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Car limited edition. That's an awful mouthful for the name of a car – 254 mph (408.84 km/h) tells the story much more concisely, as does "world's fastest convertible." Just eight lucky multimillionaires will get to drive home in one of their very own. Read More
With the burgeoning Chinese car market seeing a large percentage of cars being snapped up by younger people, it's no surprise Volkswagen chose the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show as the location for the world première of its iBeetle – a marriage of Volkswagen’s iconic Beetle and Apple's equally iconic iPhone. The iBeetle will come in Coupe and Convertible models and features a centrally located docking port specially designed in collaboration with Apple that allows a docked or undocked iPhone to interface with the vehicle using the Beetle app. Read More
Hyundai has been running the IDEA festival, an internal contest to challenge designers and engineers to come up with futuristic transportation solutions, for three years. In preparing for IDEA 2013, Hyundai provides a look at some of the best concepts conceived during IDEA 2012 – everything from flying cars, to egg-shaped transporters, to spare tires that transform into bikes. Read More
After weeks of teasing by boutique Chinese/Italian auto designer Icona, the high performance, hyper-red Vulcano hybrid has finally been unveiled (in front of a snack bar) at the Shanghai Auto Show. Based on initial images and performance specs, the one-off GT seems to live up to its magma-inspired moniker. Read More
Volkswagen's stylized CrossBlue Coupé hybrid
Just when you thought you couldn’t fit one more SUV into the market, along comes Volkswagen with the new CrossBlue Coupé concept. With the unveiling of the Coupé (which isn’t really a coupe) at the Shanghai Show, VW clearly has its sights set on impressing the burgeoning Chinese market. Read More
From the boxy, gas-guzzling full-sized pickups-with-cabins of old, to the new generation of chunky, car-based crossovers, the "utility vehicle" is here to stay. The least auto manufacturers can do in that case is design models that are more visually dynamic than four-wheeled cargo crates or short, bloated station wagons. With the SUV-X concept, Acura attempts to take that next step by blending in some styling derived from its NSX supercar. Read More
