Archive for Concepts

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The Toyota RiN, whatever that stands for, is the world’s biggest car company’s take on designing the car of choice for the health freak of the future. With a massive greenhouse, seats that keep your spine in its proper position, an oxygen-level conditioner and humidifier, plus a meter that gauges your mood through the steering wheel and then displays a colour based on your psychological state, Toyota thinks it can make better, happier motorists, that are more aware of nature and the society that infuses it.

Focusing on “increased comfort” and “serene, healthy living” features include leaf-shaped foot pedals and sliding doors with glass that wraps underneath the floor providing a view of the road below. Plus, you can motor along (supposedly) knowing that when your headlights are on, you won’t blind any pedestrians or oncoming motorists because the light is thoughtfully being distributed to avoid such stresses.

The design language is based on the deep-rooted and tall-growing Yakusugi tree (a variety of Japanese cypress) for its exterior and interior design to express both “harmony with nature” and “healthy mind and body”.

But seriously, if Toyota could implement a few of the less crazy ideas into future models then perhaps we may see a world without road rage and happy, smiling faces in every car and less occurrences of heart problems on the road.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO 2007 LIVE: Toyota RiN Concept

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Probably the closest you’ll ever get to a real life Optimus Prime is the Nissan NV200 concept. Aimed at small business professionals that are constantly on the move, it portrays a rugged image on the outside but keeps things safe and in place on the inside. The NV200 first appeared at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, but it was only display again at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.

At the heart of the interior is a rolling job site featuring a patented sliding cargo pod which houses a unique pod that can smartly accommodate a variety of business needs. The pod is divided into customizable trays and boxes for efficient storage of profession-specific equipment, materials, work gear and apparel.

The end of the pod facing the inside of the van - it forms a bulkhead behind the front seats when the pod is not deployed - has hanging space for dry clothes. It also houses a small refrigerator, an extending sink unit and first aid kit. The NV200’s tanks hold enough water to supply a shower, fitted on the outside of the pod, to allow for example, diving equipment to be washed after use.

The example used, as per the pictures in this post, is that of an oceanic photographer. Power for the computer, shower, ‘fridge and other electrical fixtures comes from a small generator housed within the van. This, in turn, is charged by solar panels situated on the roof of the pod.

When the pod is deployed, the solar panels are directly exposed to daylight. But even when the pod is pushed back into the van, the panels line up beneath the skylight. In this way, power can be generated in daylight hours whether the vehicle is stationary or not.

The pod is latched inside the shell of the load area when the van is being driven. But upon arrival at its destination, it slides out rearwards to allow easy access to the storage zones. Deployed via hydraulic rams, it will sit securely on integrated ‘drop-down’ legs when fully extended.

From the outside, the Nissan NV200 doesn’t stray from the looks of a contemporary van with a usefully long 2820mm wheelbase and is 1840mm tall. All we need for it now is to transform into a kick-ass robot.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO 2007 LIVE: Nissan NV200 Concept

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Not to be outdone by Toyota, Honda has its own ideas of how one might enjoy relaxed motoring in the future and it comes in the form of the Honda Puyo Concept. The weird name, claims Honda, is an onomatopoeia (words that imitates the sound it is describing, such as “click,” “buzz,” “oink”, “quack”, or “meow”) that, “expresses the sensation of touching the vehicle’s soft body - a warm and friendly sensation.”

And you thought the sexy things at motor shows were the girls. The Puyo’s “gel body” actually is soft, which Honda claims increases safety. A few people “touched the Puyo” (yes, I am aware that sounds kinda dodgy) and it actually feels like silicon. Furthermore, the supposedly glows-in-the-dark as well.

Since the theme of Honda’s display this year is “For the endless joy of mobility on our earth,” the Puyo is unsurprisingly a green vehicle and is powered by a fuel-cell. The design concept is that of a cornerless “Seamless Soft Box” which provides the functionality of a cube-like design with a soft presence lacking any edges. Input methods are equally futuristic, for example the Puyo uses a joystick.

However, the extreme size of those scissor doors are a bit hard to wrap your head around but they do gel with the idea of creating as open a space as possible, hence, the entirely glassed body from the beltline upwards. The tiny wheels are at the extreme corners of the vehicle, and the car is capable of making 360-degree turns in place. smart fortwo, your parking skilz have just been pwned!

Developed to have a ‘Silky Feel’, the interior is designed with a feeling of transparency helped along by features such as an instrument panel monitor and controls that actually rise up when the vehicle starts up and a luminous fluid meter display.

More shots after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO 2007 LIVE: Honda Puyo Concept

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Mazda’s latest series of concept cars seem like odd organic cars that do not look like it may make it’s way into production form anytime soon, and the latest is the Mazda Taiki concept which continues to follow the Nagare theme established with the first car in the new concept line, the Mazda Nagare. Nagare means flow, and Mazda turned to nature for inspiration - using cues from natural flow lines all around us - shapes in sand dunes etched by the wind, ocean waves, lava flow down a volcano, and etc.

All three design centers - US, European and Japan contributed to this series of concepts, with cars like the original Nagare coming from the US-based design center and the Mazda Ryuga from the Hiroshima Design Center in Japan. The Mazda Hakaze design concept came from the European Design Center.

The Mazda Taiki is the fourth in the series, and this one comes from the Hiroshima Design Center team led by Chief Designer Yamada Atsuhiko. Every concept car represents a different segment of future cars, for example the Mazda Ryuga was envisioned as a future compact car. The Mazda Taiki points to a possible future design direction for Mazda sports cars.

The stretched coupe has short overhangs and its interior has a liberating and free feel to it thanks to an all-glass canope. It has a drag coefficient of 0.25 and zero lift. Air is channeled through the front fender via a tunnel formed between the body and the rear fender - this creates downforce.

This design concept is also used to unveil some technical goodies. The 2-seater Mazda Taiki is conceptually powered by the next generation RENESIS rotary engine engine called the RENESIS 16X. The engine will be mounted at the front and will power the rear wheels, a proven formula for a sports car.

More details on that engine will come in a later post, but you’ll be pleased to know that Mazda is the latest manufacturer to jump on the twin clutch bandwagon. The RENESIS 16X engine will be mated to a 7-speed dry twin clutch transmission. Suspension is a double wishbone setup for both front and rear, and the car rides on 22 inch Enkei wheels wrapped with Yokohama Advan Super-E spec Prototype 007 tyres in 195/40R22 size. As for dimensions, the Mazda Taiki is 4620mm long, 1950mm wide, 1240mm tall and has a wheelbase of 3000mm.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO 2007 LIVE: Mazda Taiki Concept

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If you remember earlier, BMW promised there would be a car on display at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show based on the 1 Series chassis, and some speculated it to be perhaps the X1 or an M-badged 1-Series. At the press day today at the motorshow, BMW unveiled the BMW Concept 1 Series tii, a design study based on the 1 Series.

The BMW Concept 1 Series tii is an interpretation of classic BMW brand values, with specific motorsport requirements taken into account in the design of the car. BMW says they emphasized on agility, lightness, youthfulness and superior sportiness when designing the car.

On the exterior, body aerodynamics is optimised with the front air dam design, side-sills and rear air dam. Special wickerbills generate additional downforce on the rear axle. Weight has been reduced through the usage of lightweight engineering and carbon fiber components such as the bonnet, mirror caps, and front air intake inlays. There is no usual vertical bar kidney grilles on the Concept 1 Series tii, instead air flows into the engine bay through a wide honeycomb grid.

On the interior some of the enhancements you have are the sports bucket seats with integrated headrests and side airbags, three-spoke sports steering wheel, and a gearshift knob with alcantara cover. The use of dark alcantara on the door linings and instrument panel prevents reflections on the windscreen. For this concept, the meter panel’s rev counter now has a white face.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of BMW Concept 1 Series tii

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The Renault Kangoo Compact Concept made its first appearance at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, but here it is again at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. It’s styling points to the future of the Renault Kangoo, and we can expect the next generation Kangoo to look pretty much like this.

The Kangoo Compact Concept was designed to be light and airy, to appeal to the lifestyle crowd mainly comprised of young active town and city dwellers.

Developed in partnership with Rollerblade, you can see two little Rollerblades in the rear of the car in the photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO 2007 LIVE: Renault Kangoo Compact

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We’ve already seen the new Ford Escape announced a few months ago with full details on how the exterior and interior looks like, but Ford surprises us with this new concept Ford Escape at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show called the Ford Escape Adventure Concept.

The front gets a new three-bar grille with silver-accented air intakes and new projector headlamps. The lower fascia air intake is flanked by two silver triangular intakes. The antenna has also been relocated from the right hand fender at the front to the roof. Finally, it is painted with a new colour called Fire red, a combination of a red base with a mix of yellow pearl in the clear coat.

On the rear, the Escape Adventure Concept uses LED tail lights. The lamp cluster takes a new approach to LED lighting for the reverse indicators - instead of multiple white LEDs, just two LEDs are used and this emits light which is carried through a light tube to illuminate the entire tail lamp in a more uniform way.

Check out more live photos of the car at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show as well as product photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of TOKYO 2007 LIVE: Ford Escape Adventure Concept

This concept car is not from a car manufacturer but is instead from Kumho, a Korean tyre company. It is more of an idea concept instead of a working concept prototype, but the ideas that Kumho have for the car of the future are rather interesting. The concept car is called the Kumho Epoch.

For a start, the chassis of the Epoch is supposed to be grown from bamboo, which provides an immediate carbon offset. Its body panels are made of recycled tyre tread rubber. The car moves via in-wheel power, however it is far from what we’re used to with in-wheel propulsion like the Mitsubishi i-MIEV.

Instead, the Kumho Epoch uses Maglev units, or Magnetic Levitation units integrated into the four wheel hubs. This means zero friction, and maximum torque across the entire speed range.

The tyres used use EAP technology, which stands for Electro Active Polymer. The tread and shape of these tyres can be changed on a fly by passing an electric current through the rubber, thus enabling the tyre to have different characteristics in different situations. Grooved during wet, slicks during dry, and varying thickness to switch between performance and comfort is an idea.

The interior rubber uses Kumho’s scented rubber technology which uses heat-resistant oils to give the rubber scents such as lavender, neroli or jasmine. This technology has already been used for a production tyre - the Kumho ECSTA DX Aroma.

One more shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kumho Epoch Concept

This looks very similiar to a Toyota Alphard with the latest in a series of Toyota grill designs slapped on, but it is actually the Toyota FT-MV concept that will make its appearance at the Tokyo Motor Show, opening for the press beginning tomorrow and for the general public later.

It is designed to fit 6 luxuriously, and the middle two seats have fully automatic ottomans, a kind of foot stool. It’s first class travel for those who need more space than what an E-segment luxury sedan can provide, similiar to the direction the Mercedes Benz R-Class took, which is also a 6-seater luxury MPV.

This info is from a pre-motorshow preview release so more details will be available tomorrow when the motorshow starts.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota FT-MV Concept

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Reader thechef spotted these cool Mazda 3 hatchbacks in Thailand sporting Coca Cola paintjobs and he wishes to share it with fellow readers, so here they are!

I think they look pretty neat, in fact it’s always interesting to see how companies do up their fleet if a custom paintjob is required.

More photos after the jump.

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Click here to read the rest of Coke-themed Mazda 3 hatchback in Thailand