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Concept Cars
Futuristic Nanospyder Concept (psst - it’s a Volkswagen)
By Mike Hanlon
November 1, 2006 A team of highly creative Volkswagen designers based in California have unveiled their own unique take on the future of modern transportation. The result is the Volkswagen Nanospyder. Futuristic nanotechnology supported by hydrogen fuel cells, solar power, wheel-mounted electric motors and inflatable organic body panels combine to form the unusual shape of the two-seater concept. Read More
Transportable HD Radio receiver, Dockable Entertainment featuring Game Boy Advance, and Wireless Charging Concept on show at SEMA
By Mike Hanlon
October 31, 2006 The Specialty Equipment Markets Association (SEMA) Show opens in Las Vegas today and one of the stars of the show will undoubtedly be the extensively modified 2006 Scion xB on the Visteon stand which incorporates several new and pretty important technologies in not just automotive entertainment but mobile entertainment in general. Visteon is using the Scion to showcase the first transportable HD Radio receiver (pictured with docking stations in the car and the home), an in-vehicle portable entertainment system that plays movies, music, Nintendo Game Boy Advance video games and a Wireless Charging Concept (main picture), that allows users to charge handheld devices such as an iPod, cellular phone or PDA and does not interfere with the operation of other electronics. Read More
Fiat Adventure Concept Car changes colour
By Mike Hanlon
October 19, 2006 Not a great deal of information has been released in English about the newly revealed Fiat Adventure Crossover Concept Car shown at the Sao Paolo Autoshow to celebrate Fiat’s 30th anniversary in Brazil. Designed by Centro Estilo Fiat do Brasil, the Concept Car Adventure is powered by a 167 bhp five-cylinder 2.4 litre engine from the Fiat Stilo Abarth. The two-seater Adventure is painted in color-changing paint and accordingly varies in appearance from yellow to red. Read More
Volkswagen Atacama 4WD van concept
By Mike Hanlon
October 7, 2006 Ooooh, we really like this one - VW has revealed a striking off-road vehicle based on the recently-launched Crafter van. Named Atacama, after the desert in South America, the four-wheel drive concept is the product of the Volkswagen Design Centre in Wolfsburg, Germany, and shows further potential for the Crafter in the leisure and fun segment. ’could become a limited production vehicle. VW Sales Manager, Harald Schomburg, is very enthusiastic and is seeking customer feedback. "If it is positive", says Schomberg, "we will build a series of up to 100 vehicles." So there you have it folks - email your local distributor if you think this is a good idea. Read More
Renault’s Twingo communicating city car concept
By Mike Hanlon
October 2, 2006 After previewing its spectacular Nepta Concept with motor-driven gull wing doors in the weeks leading up to the Paris Show, we figured Renault had played all its cards, but we were very wrong. At the opening of the show, Renault trotted out the youth-culture-inspired Twingo Concept, the most wired and desirable city car we’ve yet seen. The centre console features a USB port as well as sockets for devices like an Apple iPod and the Nokia Smartphone. A mixing deck built into the dashboard is ideal for partying with friends. The tiny city car is no slouch – powered by a turbocharged 1.2-litre engine delivering 73kW (100hp), the Twingo combines efficiency, response, power and environmental friendliness. Read More
Ford iosis X concept
By Mike Hanlon
Updated October 2, 2006 Ford of Europe's Design team has interpreted the Company's distinctive new 'kinetic design' form language in an exciting new crossover concept - the iosis X – which makes its debut at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. One of the specific purposes of iosis X is to prepare the public for the introduction of a future Ford of Europe niche model. Ford Europe’s CEO John Fleming, President and CEO, Ford of Europe. "The iosis X is intended to send a very strong message that we will be entering this market in around eighteen months from now, and that our new model will be both stylish and individual." Read More
EuroCombi – innovative commercial vehicle concepts unveiled at IAA
By Mike Hanlon
September 25, 2006. The International commercial vehicle industry has opened up a new chapter in truck history at the IAA, where it has presented the innovative commercial vehicle concept “EuroCombi” to the public for the first time. The modular and road-friendly combinations are designed to transport 50 percent more goods per vehicle while reducing the amount of traffic. As such, they represent one way of dealing with the expected 20 percent increase in freight transport by 2015. The EuroCombi consumes 15 percent less fuel for each ton of transported goods, and ideally could replace 23 percent of conventional truck trips and thereby reduce long-haul traffic in Germany alone by 2.2 billion vehicle-kilometers a year. In international transport, EuroCombi can generate economic savings of more than 10 percent, and cut operating costs by 16 percent per palette area. The EuroCombi consists of a truck (tractor) with a semitrailer attached to a dolly, or of a tractor truck with a semitrailer to which a trailer is connected. Two EuroCombi variants are being presented at the IAA: a volume-oriented concept with a length of 25.25 meters and 48 tons of GVW, and a weight-oriented variant of the same length and up to 60 tons of GVW. Read More
Kia pro_cee’d concept car previews all-new Kia cee’d hatch to launch in 2007
By Mike Hanlon
September 20, 2006 The custom of Asian manufacturers giving ridiculous names to their export offerings was taken to new levels today by Korean auto manufacturer Kia in naming its latest concept car the pro_cee’d, complete with an underscore and apostrophe. Set for a Paris Motor Show debut later this month, the strikingly styled, pro_cee’d showcar is based on the forthcoming three-door ‘sporty hatch’ version of the all-new Kia cee’d C-segment model. This five-door family hatchback has its world premiere (in production-ready form) at Paris and will be manufactured at Kia’s first European assembly plant in Slovakia from November 2006. Read More
Hyundai C-Segment Arnejs concept
By Mike Hanlon
September 15, 2006 Hyundai has released the first pictures of its stunning Arnejs concept; the best clue yet as to what the company’s all new C-segment car will look like when it arrives next year. The Arnejs, pronounced Ar-nez, will be formally unveiled the Paris Motor Show, on 28 September 2006. Designed at Hyundai’s European Research and Design centre in Russelsheim, Germany, the Arnejs builds on design elements first seen in the Genus concept at Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. And it marks a further significant milestone in Hyundai’s development of a stronger brand identity. Read More
Peugeot 207 EPURE fuel cell concept car tipped as future model
By Mike Hanlon
September 9, 2006 Peugeot is clearly talking up its latest Paris Motor Show concept car as a glimpse of a future 207 model and the prospect is very exciting – the 207 EPURE concept car uses an electric motor combined with PSA Peugeot Citroen Group’s new 20 kW GENEPAC experimental fuel cell which has been designed in partnership with the French AEC (Atomic Energy Commission). The electricity produced by the fuel cell is used to provide extra power and operating range to the lithium-ion battery and hence the 50kW electric motor. The combination fuel cell - electric powertrain gives the 207 EPURE a range of around 218 miles while still providing a maximum speed of 81 mph. The pearl white exterior of the 207 EPURE highlights the purity of the concept car’s lines while strengthening the ecological credentials of the technology that powers it. Read More
Citroen's spectacular C-Metisse Concept
By Mike Hanlon
September 7 2006 Citroen seems to save its best concept cars for its home Paris Show and this year it has unveiled a beauty. The C-Metisse Concept will be seen in the flesh for the first time at the 2006 Paris Motor Show. With its elegant proportions, flamboyant bodywork and spectacular door design, the C-Metisse is an elegant 4-seater 4-door coupe reminiscent of the most prestigious Grand Touring vehicles. The car has a high-performance diesel hybrid drivetrain, excellent aerodynamics and a weight of just 1400 kilograms complete with batteries. C-Metisse is based on the same future-oriented solution as the C4 HDi hybrid demonstration vehicle apart from one key difference: the electric motors are installed in the rear wheels. Looking at C-Metisse is a visual shock in itself. Long (4.74 m), wide (2 m) and low (1.24 m), the car is sculptural and almost intimidating. Read More
GM builds the Sequel advanced hydrogen fuel-cell concept vehicle
By Mike Hanlon
August 28, 2006 Way back at the start of 2005, the world’s largest automotive manufacturer, General Motors, showed the Sequel advanced hydrogen fuel-cell concept vehicle at the 2005 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), billing it as the culmination of US$1 billion of intensive research it had conducted into fuel cell technology. Like most show cars, the Sequel was not a working model, but now General Motors Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner has gone on record as saying “the most technologically advanced car GM has ever built” has actually been built, has an operating range of 300 miles, and will be made available to journalists in the near future. The Sequel is a truly remarkable vehicle, having superseded the AUTOnomy and Hy-wire as GM’s primary showcase of future fuel cell vehicles. See the extensive technical diagrams and photographic library we have assembled here, and read on for all the available detail. Read More
Volkswagen Reveals Iroc Sports Car Concept
By Mike Hanlon
August 25, 2006 Volkswagen has revealed its Iroc sports car concept at a special event in Berlin last night. The Iroc marks the return of the Scirocco, Volkswagen’s iconic sports coupe, which made its debut at the Geneva Motor Show 33 years ago. Under the bonnet, the Iroc features Volkswagen’s TSI petrol technology, which uses a turbocharger and a supercharger to produce diesel-like consumption with impressive performance. Designed to maximise driving fun, the concept has a 210 bhp TSI engine, but a range of TSIs, starting from under 150 bhp, are also feasible. Most distinctive, however, are the gauges and controls in the Iroc’s cabin. Two large and newly-designed round instruments form the visual centre of the cockpit. The driver looks into two cylinders with twelve illuminated bars which create a three dimensional segmentation within the instruments. The Iroc combines practicality with driving fun and expressive design in a car that as a possible series-production vehicle would be “attractively positioned in price” according to VW. Read More
All-New Chevrolet Camaro almost identical to NAIAS concept
By Mike Hanlon
August 11, 2006 GM CEO Rick Wagoner announced yesterday that GM will build an all-new version of the Chevrolet Camaro sport coupe based on the award-winning concept that stole the spotlight at the North American International Auto Show. The all-new Camaro will begin with early production versions at the end of 2008 and will go on sale in the first quarter of 2009. The new Camaro will be almost identical to the concept, a thoroughly modern interpretation of the 1969 model, considered by many to be the best design of the car’s first generation. The front-engine, rear-wheel-drive sport coupe will feature an independent rear suspension, and will be offered in a variety of models with the choice of manual and automatic transmissions and V-6 and V-8 engines. Extensive image library. Read More
Nissan GT-S Concept
By Mike Hanlon
July 1, 2006 British Nissan development engineers working in their spare time have transformed a 350Z into a highly tuned ‘Saturday Special’. Called the GT-S, the supercharged super coupe is a performance-focused version of Nissan’s acclaimed ‘Z-‘car’ and is designed to appeal to enthusiastic 350Z owners who simply want more. Its first public outing will be at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (7-9 July) as an official Nissan-sanctioned entry in the hill climb, a sign the company is giving the GT-S concept serious consideration. Using a Novidem supercharger, power has increased by more than 25 per cent from 300PS to 382PS, while torque rises from 353 Nm to a heady 425Nm. Performance gains include a one second cut in the benchmark 0-60mph time (5.8 seconds for the standard 350Z) with 2.5 seconds slashed from the 0-100mph time. Read More
Fiat Truckster Concept
By Mike Hanlon
May 26, 2006 Fiat has taken the wraps off the new Fiat Ducato at the Madrid International Motor Show which opened yesterday and in the process has revealed the Truckster Concept, which takes the new Ducato commercial vehicle jointly developed with Citroen and Peugeot, to extremes, demonstrating just how flexible the Ducato is for converters. The Truckster is generously proportioned - 6.48 metres long, 2.55 m high and 2.49 metres wide - and has style that can only be described as modern and “exuberant”, thanks to a strategy which accentuates the concept of sporting performance applied to a commercial vehicle, with features such as 28 inch wheels, LED headlights, hydraulically-controlled gull wing doors, smoked glass windows and an aerodynamic spoiler. The interiors have also been given the same sporty feel, emphasizing its “road racer” personality. Read More
Citroen C-Buggy off-road concept car
By Mike Hanlon
May 13, 2006 Citroen will use the Madrid International Motor Show later this month to unveil an adventurously styled C-Buggy off-road concept car. A derivative of the C-Airplay concept, the C-Buggy is Citroen’s futuristic interpretation of a two-seater, go-anywhere car. Clearly designed for warmer climes, due to the absence of a roof, windscreen and windows, the C-Buggy exudes a carefree charm whilst wide wheel arches, big wheels, glass door portholes and sump guard hint at its off-road credentials. Read More
BMW Mille Miglia Concept Coupe
By Mike Hanlon
May 12, 2006 The world’s most expensive travelling museum gets its annual showing this weekend when the fabled Mille Miglia is run over the original course from Brescia to Rome and back. The most famous motor race in the world in the immediate pre- and post-WW2 period, the Mille Miglia was held on public roads over 1000 miles with Sterling Moss setting a record for the journey in a Mercedes 300 SLR averaging 157.65kph in 1955. Banned in the late fifties, it is now run as a reliability trial where some of the most memorable automobiles in motoring history participate. Each year more than 20 cars are liberated from motoring museums to drive in the event, and the total value of the 375 entries would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. This year, the magic of the event was heightened when BMW unveiled a concept vehicle to commemorate the BMW 328 Touring Coupe which won the event in 1940. The chances it will ever be built are very low – which is an enormous shame because under that gorgeous skin are the mechanicals of the 252 kW BMW Z4 M Coupe. Perhaps there’s a market for retro sports cars built with modern methodology? Read More
The unique Mercedes-Benz Museum concept
By Mike Hanlon
May 6, 2006 On May 19, 2006, the new Mercedes-Benz Museum will open its doors to the public putting another must-see on the map of the automobile enthusiast. This new building at the gates of the parent plant in Stuttgart-Unterturkheim (Germany) is far more than a home to 120 years of automotive history. The museum was created in a very similar process to that of a new car series. First it was conceived and rough-sketched in the mind and with computer assistance. All parties involved entered unknown territory with the concept. Prototypes of the structure were designed, some even full-scale, to test the feasibility of the idea. As everything gradually neared completion, an intensive test run was conducted to put the entire museum to the acid test. Now the new model is ready. It stands for the brand and its values and is intended to display the permanent innovative spirit of the Mercedes-Benz culture which professes that innovations are the milestones on the way to the future. Read More
FUSE Sports Coupe Concept
By Mike Hanlon
April 13, 2006 - Scion, a brand of Toyota Motor Sales unveiled the all-new FUSE Sports Coupe Concept vehicle at a press conference today at the 2006 New York Auto International Show.FUSE was designed to be the new Scion sports coupe icon. Its goal was to push the limits of a coupe concept by combining entertainment, digital technology, and versatility into one sinister looking package. Most importantly, its styling makes a visual statement about its intention to expand the performance envelope among affordable, entry-level sport coupes. Read More
ULTRA AP (Armored Patrol) Military Combat Vehicle Concept
By Mike Hanlon
April 9, 2006 The ULTRA AP (Armored Patrol) Concept vehicle was created to investigate options for improving survivability and mobility in future military combat vehicles. On the mobility side of things, the designers naturally looked to high-output diesel power (the military has a one fuel policy) but also looked to high-performance automotive engineering practices by adding NASCAR race expertise to the team, along with the use of on-board computers to integrate steering, suspension and brakes. The protective aspects were enhanced by an innovative crew capsule created by a combination of lightweight composite armour materials, a commercial truck chassis, and faceted crew capsule geometries that provide better deflection of pressure waves from blasts compared to current configurations. Read More
Acura To Debut New MDX Concept At New York International Auto Show
By Mike Hanlon
March 29, 2006 Celebrating its 20th anniversary as a brand, Acura overnight announced plans to debut a concept version of the all-new MDX luxury sport-utility vehicle, April 12, at the New York International Auto Show and released an artist's rendering of the new vehicle. Scheduled to debut later this year, the 2007 Acura MDX will be the second generation of Acura's luxury SUV to be designed, developed and manufactured exclusively in North America. "The 2007 MDX will speak clearly to the advanced image of Acura and promises to put MDX solidly at the front of the pack with a striking new image, new technology and performance unmatched in the segment," said Honda’s Dick Colliver. "The designers and engineers working on this new MDX have a tremendous passion for this product that will be evident in all aspects of its design and performance." Read More
Fioravanti Fiat Punto Skill Concept
By Mike Hanlon
March 11, 2006 One of Europe's leading styling and design companies, Fioravanti, revealed an open top version of the new Fiat Punto it has dubbed the Skill, and which is the star of the company’s stand at the Geneva Show. Indeed, the Skill would appear to be the ideal small car for a summer lifestyle, with its combination of a flip-top glass roof that drops down behind the seats in a matter of seconds and a pick-up load bay. Read More
Macarena Concept has folding glass roof
By Mike Hanlon
March 8, 2006 French automotive manufacturer Heuliez is showing a unique concept vehicle on its stand at the Geneva International Motor. The Macarena Concept Car has a glass roof with a difference. The three glass panels automatically fold and compactly store themselves away into the trunk in order to offer plenty of luggage space. The Macarena name came from the likeness to the way the two roof arches fold like the arms of the dancers in the famous Macarena dance. The roof can have a substantial span and is hence particularly suitable for turning larger four door cars with four comfortable seats into an elegant and sporty coupe-cabriolet. Though the Macarena is based on the Peugeot 407, Heuliez is hoping to license the system to auto manufacturers around the world. Read More
Honda’s 200 bhp Civic Type R Concept set for 2007 delivery
By Mike Hanlon
March 6, 2006 With a level of success way beyond Honda's initial expectations, the Civic Type R which ended production last year proved a smash hit among those seeking the thrills of a sporty, high performance car, yet still delivering a strong dose of practicality at an affordable price. That dual personality thrilled over 35,000 customers, far exceeding Honda’s initial sales forecasts during its relatively short production run. The bold styling of the Civic Type R Concept unveiled at Geneva last week provides a clear indication of how the final production car will appear. Honda engineers have designed a 'superhatch' to deliver blistering performance (200 bhp). The aggressive, lower and wider-looking body encases a new 2.0 litre DOHC i-VTEC engine and the model, built in Britain, will go on sale in early 2007 priced around UKP18,000. Expect to see more 3 door versions at the London Motor Show in July. Read More
Gary Noel
- November 22, 2009 @ 06:20 UTC
