Archive for Concepts

For the relatively lower end of the C-class loving Brabus customer market you have the Brabus C-Class with bored and stroked 4.0 liter V6, and then on the opposite end of the market you have this monster - the Brabus Bullit.

Based on the W204 Mercedes-Benz C-Class, them engineers at Brabus have stuffed their frightening flagship 6.3 liter twin turbocharged V12 engine into it. Just a recap - this engine puts out 720 horsepower at 5,100rpm and 1,320Nm of torque from 2,100rpm on RON98 fuel. Yes, way over a thousand Newton meters of twisting action, but Brabus has taken the liberty of electronically limiting this to 1,100Nm of torque so that the car is actually driveable, not to mention to protect the gearbox and lengthen tyre lifespan.

A strengthened 5-speed automatic gearbox (4 speed plus 1 overdrive, 40% rear differential locking rate) sends power to the rear wheels, a few cogs less than most high powered supercars these days but to be honest with that kind of torque, I think it might just survive on just one gear from 0km/h to top speed. But with 5 cogs, you get from 0 to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds, and up to 200km/h in 10.49 seconds - much faster than most cars can even get to 100km/h. 300km/h is achievable in 24.5 seconds, and top speed is more than 360km/h.

The bodykit fitted on the Brabus Bullit has been wind-tunnel engineered and every little vent is functional, either providing cooling to the radiators or the front brakes, and their very shape minimizes aerodynamic lift. The engine bay hood is made of aluminium and features ventilation slots for cooling purposes. The Brabus rocker panels smoothen out the air stream along the sides of the car.

The aluminium fenders are flared, making the Bullit wider by 6cm compared to a standard W204. The extra width is necessary to accommodate the wide Brabus wheels wrapped with Yokohama Advan high-performance tyres - 265/30/ZR19 at the front and 285/30/ZR19 at the rear.

The Brabus height-adjustable coil-over suspension has been tuned to support the heavy V12 at the front and features 10 different selectable settings for bound and rebound. The setup uses a three-link, anti-dive geometry design with a sport sway bar at the front while the rear uses a 5-link, anti-dive and anti-squat design, also with a sport sway bar. Brakes are 12-pot aluminium fixed calipers and 380mmx37mm vented and grooved discs at the front, while the rear stoppers are 360mmx28mm discs with 6-pot aluminium fixed calipers.

Many more photos available after the jump.

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Brabus C-Class with bored and stroked 4.0 liter V6
Brabus S V12 S Biturbo S-Class
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Brabus E V12 Biturbo

Click here to read the rest of Brabus Bullit: W204 C-Class with 1,320Nm of torque

Opel’s Flextreme Concept is GM’s third E-Flex vehicle, with the first two being two variants of the Chevrolet Volt concept car shown earlier in January this year. The Opel Flextreme is a more European-focused car than the Volt which seems to be American-centric so its only natural that the Flextreme be based on diesel technology instead of the first E-Flex car’s flex-fuel technology. The E-Flex lithium ion battery pack is charged by a 1.3 liter inline-4 Ecotec turbodiesel engine.

The concept car features suicide doors, and the boot of the car carries a pair of Segway scooters, which can be charged from the Flextreme’s on-board electrical system. On a full charge, the car can go 64 kilometers before it needs to be charged by either the on-board turbodiesel or a plug-in system which allows the batteries to be charged via a conventional power outlet. If you factor in the turbodiesel engine using all of it’s fuel to continuously keep the batteries charged, maximum mileage on a full charge + a full tank of diesel is 715km - this is shorter than the Chevy Volt’s 1000km combined range.

More photos after the jump.

Related Posts:
Chevrolet Volt Concept

Click here to read the rest of Opel Flextreme Concept to debut at Frankfurt 2007

Renault will be exhibiting this concept coupe variant of the third generation Renault Laguna at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, which represents a near-production variant of the Laguna Coupe which will join it’s sedan and estate brothers in production in the second half of 2008.

The Laguna Coupe Concept will also be a technological exhibit for a new four-wheel steering system called Active Drive. More details on Active Drive should be available once the motor show begins.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Renault Laguna Coupe Concept

The Mitsubishi i MiEV SPORT is based on the previous i MiEV Concept research vehicle, though the two cars look quite different from each other. The i MiEV SPORT Concept features Mitsubishi’s unique in-wheel motors and S-AWC all-wheel drive.

The MiEV system’s lithium-ion battery is installed in the lowest area under the floor, and in place of the rear engine in the standard combustion engine Mitsubishi i, you have your motor and inverter arranged underneath the luggage compartment. This arrangement provides an optimal weight balance and a low center of gravity.

Three motors - one in-wheel motor in each front wheel (27 horsepower, 250Nm torque) and another for the rear wheels (63 horsepower and 180Nm of torque) - together from an E-4WD system which electronically optimizes output to each motor. Electric Active Yaw Control (E-AYC) regulates torque between the left and right rear wheels, thus resulting in power to all four wheels being variable.

The i MiEV SPORT will be unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show in October this year.

Click to enlarge

Mitsubishi will be exhibiting the Mitsubishi Concept-ZT at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, one of the three concept vehicles that will be on display this October. The Mitsubishi Concept-ZT is powered by a 2.2 liter clean turbodiesel with a Variable Geometry Turbocharger that makes 188 horsepower and 400Nm of torque. This engine is mated to a Twin Clutch SST dual clutch automated gearbox, and like the Concept-cX, it will have a Green Plastic-based interior.

It also has S-AWC all-wheel drive combining a front Electric Limited Slip Differential, ABS and ASC, based on Mitsubishi’s famous 4WD system.

It looks like an enlarged version of the 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer, which might mean we are actually looking at the next generation Mitsubishi Galant here. It’s wheelbase is 2815mm, compared to the Lancer’s 2635mm wheelbase. Compared to the giant Mitsubishi 380/Galant which can be considered it’s predecessor, it is longer at 4950mm compared to 4835mm, but narrower at 1820mm compared to 1840mm.

The chassis is built using an aluminium space frame structure which combines aluminum extrusion and aluminum die casting, giving the body strength and rigidity yet being relatively lightweight. Outer panels use a shock-resistant, recyclable resin, similiar to the one on the Delica D:5’s front fenders.

Mitsubishi has also equipped the Concept-ZT with a number of gadgets. The Mitsubishi Concept-ZT has a pre-crash safety system that uses millimeter-length radar waves to detect cars far ahead as well as obstacles in the adjacent lane. It warns the driver to take action if the chances of a collision are high.

A lane-drift warning system uses a front camera, steering angle sensor, speed sensor, and a yaw rate sensor to calculate the possibility of the car veering out of its lane, thanks to the camera which can recognize lane markings on the road.

Wide-angle lense cameras are placed at the front, the rear, and the left and right sides of the car. Optical distortions are corrected by the system before displaying it on a screen in the car, allowing the driver to view the situation around the car as seen from the top.

A park assist system can also maneuver the car into a parking space without any driver intervention except for braking. Finally, the car is equipped with a pop-up hood that minimizes pedestrian injury by popping up the hood before the pedestrian’s head hits it, creating a buffer.

UPDATE: Check out more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Concept-ZT to be unveiled at Tokyo 2007

Not much details are known on the SEAT Tribu Concept other than what you can see in these photos here that have been let out onto the internet before it’s debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The 2-door compact SUV is most likely based on the Volkswagen Tiguan/Audi Q5 platform.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of SEAT Tribu Concept - initial photos

The Fiat Panda Aria concept car marks the return of the twin-cylinder engine to cars, something which Fiat thinks is the next step to reducing fuel consumption and improving emissions. For the longest time, the smallest of cars like the K-cars of Japan have been using 3-cylinder inline engines. Fiat’s new SGE 900cc Turbo twin-cylinder engine knocks one off the cylinder count.

Fiat Powertrain Technologies decided to downsize from a conventional 4-cylinder engine to a 2-cylinder turbocharged engine. The engine incorporates Fiat’s Multiair electronic inlet valve control system (fancy word for throttle-less intake), turbocharging, and a Stop and Start device to reduce fuel consumption during heavy traffic. Two versions of the engine are available, with a third one under development.

The first variant is a 80 horsepower version that uses a petrol-methane fuel supply system. It runs on a mixture of 70% methane and 30% hydrogen. Then you have the Mono Fuel petrol-only version which puts out 105 horsepower. The third one currently being developed is a normally aspirated version making 65 horsepower.

The engine is 20% lighter and takes up 25% less space than a 4-cylinder engine that makes a similiar power output.

Other than the engine, the Fiat Panda Aria has a few other interesting features. The interior is upholstered with natural fibres, woven coconut fibre and biodegradable elements, while the exterior panelling is made of semi-transparent eco-resin and the structure is treated with opaque ‘totouch’ paint. Even the tyres are Pirelli’s experimental ultra-green tyres which use new compounds and new aromatic oil-free textile weaves.

One more rear shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Fiat Panda Aria features two-cylinder turbo engine

This strange concept car is not as strange as it’s name - the Citroen C-Cactus Concept. It’s powered by a Hybrid HDi powertrain - that’s a PSA Peugeot Citroen technology that uses a 70hp HDi diesel engine with DPFS mated to a 30hp electric motor installed in the clutch housing. The hybrid system also has a Zero Emissions Vehicle mode that runs on the electric motor only.

The Citroen C-Cactus Concept is built on the Citroen C4’s platform. It was built according to the following values - essential, intelligent and ecologically aware. It only weighs 1,306kg which is not too heavy by today’s standards, but what’s interesting is the way Citroen engineers built it.

They’ve simplified the number of parts and mechanisms in the car to an extreme, grouped several functions in a single part, and removed all parts that are non-essential to the running of the car, or to the comfort and well-being of it’s passengers. Yes, this is done to the extent that there is no dashboard - all functions are integrated onto the fixed hub steering wheel, like indicators, lights, wipers, horn and cruise control, tachometer, headlamp controls and warning signals.

Even the doors have been simplified to the extent that power windows or even traditional windows that go down and up are not used, instead there is a simple sliding mechanism. The door panels are made of two parts, compared to twelve in a conventional hatchback door. The seats are also only made of two parts - the foam, and the frame inclusive of rails that fixes to the car.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Citroen C-Cactus Concept

Fiat will be showing off it’s Fiat Grande Punto Abarth “esse-esse” (Super Sport, or SS) prototype at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. The SS tuning kit boosts power of the basic Abarth up to 180 horsepower, up from the stock 150 horsepower that the Abarth’s turbocharged 1.4 liter engine makes.

Other enhancements include a lower stance and more powerful brakes, plus it will have SS badging around the car.

One more photo after the jump.

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Fiat Grande Punto Abarth

Click here to read the rest of Fiat Grande Punto Abarth SS

Hyundai’s i-Blue concept car will be the Korean car manufacturer’s first non-SUV hydrogen experiment, instead as you can see it is based on a crossover car-like platform, most probably a tribute of sorts to the Toyota Prius form factor.

The i-Blue was developed at the Hyundai technical center in Chiba, Japan and runs on Hyundai’s third-generation hydrogen cell technology. Not much details have been revealed at this point on what exactly this third-gen hydrogen cell is. We’ll have to wait until Frankfurt 2007 to find out.