Concept Cars

It's understandable that U.S. auto makers are nervous about the prospect of having to sell luxury cars that are diminutive in size, as public perception has not yet caught up with the reality of urban congestion and the energy crisis. It's even more of a problem when your name is Cadillac, a brand that is synonymous with acres of bonnet, aircraft-sized motors and enough interior room for an entourage. So it's not surprising that Cadillac's Urban Luxury Concept is a technological tour de force, with every creature comfort imaginable, or that the press release reads like an apology. Read More

The sales of traditional sedans have taken a hit in recent years due to the popularity of crossover SUVs, but that hasn’t stopped Nissan coming up with a new sedan concept in the form of the Nissan Ellure Concept hybrid vehicle. The company says the car, which will debut at the 2010 LA Auto Show, isn’t intended as a preview of any upcoming production model, but is rather a confirmation that the sedan still has some life left in it yet and will remain a core part of Nissan’s product portfolio. Read More

It has been an exciting year for hybrid power train development in major racing series, with the teams deciding that KERS will return to Formula One in 2011, the growing success of the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup and now the news that Oshkosh Corporation will be fielding a 400 bhp hybrid diesel-electric Light Concept Vehicle in the Baja 1000 desert race which begins later this week in Mexico. Perhaps even more interesting than the hybrid powertrain is its TAK-4 suspension which offers 20 inches of independent wheel travel. Read More

Electric vehicles offer quiet operation, zero local emissions and instant torque – attributes that are attractive across the transport sector, not just for cars and motorcyles. One of these areas is light trucks and the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) Canter E-CELL concept is a taste of things to come on urban roads. Based on the 3.5 ton Fuso Canter 3S13, the Canter E-CELL sees the combustion engine replaced with an electric motor producing peak power of 70 kW and 300 Nm of torque. The result is a range of around 75 miles with top speed limited to 50 mph, while recharge time on the 40 kWh battery pack is around six hours via a 380-volt power network. Read More

We’ve seen cars that transform into boats, into airplanes, and even into helicopters, so why not one that transforms into all three? That’s the idea behind UK designer Philip Pauley’s Halo Intersceptor concept. Now, before you start picturing a kind of Swiss Army knife-type vehicle, you should know that the Intersceptor concept revolves around a central car that remains unchanged, that simply “plugs in” to different attachments. It’s definitely an intriguing idea, even if you may never be able to buy one. Read More

Nissan might not be planning on putting all its electric eggs in one basket with the upcoming LEAF. This week the company unveiled its “NISSAN New Mobility CONCEPT’ that takes the form of an ultra-compact 100 percent electric vehicle designed as a convenient mode of transportation for the increasing numbers of the elderly and single person households and also addresses the trend of driving short distance or in smaller groups. Read More

RM Auctions recently declared James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 to be “the world’s most famous car,” but there's no doubt another contender for that title – the Batmobile. One thing that muddies the waters a bit is the fact that the term “Batmobile” actually describes at least three different vehicles: the modified Lincoln Futura concept car from the 60s TV series, the vaguely Corvette-shaped 1989-and-beyond movie cars and now the car from the most recent two movies, the military-spec Tumbler. Michigan-based movie props artist Bob Dullam really likes the Tumbler, so he did what any of us would do in his position – he built one of his own from scratch. Read More

For the past six years, the Los Angeles Auto Show has invited automobile designers to participate in its Design Challenges. The challenge for this year’s show was to come up with a design for “a 1,000lb [453.6kg], four-passenger vehicle that is both comfortable and safe, while delivering satisfactory driving performance without sacrificing the styling consumers’ demand.” Entries are being judged not only for meeting the weight constraint (no more than 1,500 pounds/680 kg with passengers), but also for artistic beauty, comfort, uniqueness of design, roadworthiness, sustainability, performance and user-friendliness. The winner will be announced at the show, on Nov. 18. Here’s a look at some of the higher-profile entries... Read More

Over the years, there have been numerous attempts to create vehicles that operate on both land and water. It's fair to say that such designs have generally not caught on. Perhaps it's because of the fairly limited effectiveness of some of those offerings, or maybe it's because so many of them have been ugly monsters. Then again, it could be that society just hasn't found a niche for them yet. By the year 2050 though, we may need to give such craft some serious consideration. Juan Pablo Bernal P has come up with a concept design that certainly ticks all the right boxes for looks, and also takes the environment into consideration. Read More