Concept Cars

If our politicians continue contributing to global warming through spouting hot air, German industrial designer Mario Pitsch's concept for the Nomad - a sustainable "cross-country RV for the far future" - may need to become a reality sooner rather than later. Read More

It is estimated that by 2030, urban areas will be home to more than 60 percent of the world’s eight billion people. That doesn’t bode well for cities with public infrastructure that is already struggling to meet the growing demand for transportation. General Motors (GM) and its strategic partner, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC) have come up with a concept two-wheeled vehicle to address the need for personal urban transportation in the cities of the future - the Electric Networked-Vehicle. Read More

Lotus rolled-out this carbon fiber clad Evora showcar alongside its 414E Hybrid plug-in concept at the 80th Geneva Motorshow. Retaining the same aluminum chassis of the production car, the Evora Carbon Concept mixes exposed carbon fiber panels - including a structural carbon fiber roof - with white pearlescent paint and diamond cut forged 19” alloy wheels. Read More

The all-electric Tesla Roadster is indeed a fine-looking, high-performance automobile, but its projected $US109,000 price tag will likely put it out of reach of the much sought-after Generation Y demographic. Tesla’s less-pricey Model S four-door sedan is more of a refined, subtly-classy car – again, not something the fun-loving twenty-somethings will be flocking to. So, how does an electric car company come up a vehicle that the young folks will like? Easy, they get some of those kids to design the car for them. In Tesla’s case, the result is a stunning concept vehicle called the Eye. Read More

This year's Geneva Motor Show has seen a deluge of delectable concepts unveiled and one of the finest pieces of eye-candy presented must surely be the Pandion. Created to celebrate Alfa Romeo’s one hundred year anniversary and also marking 75 years of collaboration with Italy’s legendary styling house Bertone (think Lamborghini Countach among many others), the Pandion hides a 4.7 liter, 450 CV 8-cylinder Alfa Romeo engine beneath some very well honed curves and a narrow T-shaped grill at the front that would make this the perfect ride for a Cylon. Read More

Things are beginning to heat up in the race for the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE, as the kick-off date for the actual on-the-road events approaches. The fun will begin April 26th in Michigan, continue through August, and culminate in a September awards presentation in Washington, DC. A number of the contenders were on hand at the Detroit Auto Show this week, where the official announcement was made. Read More

While rear-hinged back doors are not new in the motor industry (Rolls Royce Phantom/Ghost and Mazda RX8), the first pictures of the GM/Opel/Vauxhall Meriva have surfaced and the FlexDoors and FlexSpace features seen in concept cars over the last few years are finally set for market launch in a family car (main pic and top right). First seen in the groundbreaking Flexstreme Concept Car from IAA Frankfurt 2007 (bottom right pic), then further refined with the Meriva Concept at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show (centre right pic), the flex theme combines improved access/egress and a suite of features offering a quickly reconfigurable interior and is likely to be welcomed by families which need to cater for several types of mobility with one vehicle. Read More

Volkswagen’s L1 narrow-track tandem Concept was one of the stars of the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, but a more conventional vehicle using a similar hybrid electric turbo diesel powertain was on show at the Los Angeles Auto Show this week which will be the world’s most efficient and economical four-door when it, or something very close to it, goes on sale in 2011. The UP! Lite is capable of carrying four adults in comfort, delivers 115.7mpg, emits just 65g/km of CO2 and is capable of 100mph. The UP! Lite heads down the same road as the smart phone, with one central computer display controlled by touch screen and hand movement sensors – this handles such systems as active thermal management, passive park ventilation, Internet, telephone, MP3, video, telephone, trip computer and radio. Read More

Since Nicholas Negroponte first came up with his landmark teething ring visualization of the coming together of communication, computing and content, the term convergence has become the uber buzzword. Now there’s convergence going on in the personal transport industry, with the car and the motorcycle morphing as car makers attempt to downsize their vehicles to make them better suited to the world’s increasingly crowded roads. This article begins with Nissan’s tandem two-seat, half width tilting car, the Landglider, and examines all the other work being done around the world as narrow track vehicles seriously begin to make their case. Read More