Archive for Concepts

Skoda’s Study S2000 is a concept for a future Super 2000 Rally entry, fully complying with Super 2000 rally regulations - this means a 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine as well as a rollcage. Power goes to all four wheels via an all-wheel drive system. There is no mention of what engine is in this car or how much power it makes. Skoda says the Skoda Fabia S2000 will be powerful yet affordable, making it suitable for private teams and young talents but are on a budget.

One more photo after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Study S2000: Skoda’s Super 2000 Rally Fabia

Japanese car manufacturers seems to have decided Geneva is the place to showcase the possible successors to their flagship hybrid models. Toyota showed the Hybrid X. Now we take a look at Honda, who showed us what might be the next Honda Insight, a little red concept car creatively named Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept.

The Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept uses a 4-cylinder IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) engine coupled with a hybrid electric motor and sends power to the front wheels via a CVT transmission. The body has been designed to put emphasis on low drag to the extent of even doing away with side mirrors, using camera instead. 165/60/R20 tyres on 20 inch wheels provide low rolling resistance, further saving fuel.

More 3D models and artist sketches after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept

Citroën Cruise together with the Espera Sbarro School have come up with the Citroën Cruise Crosser concept for the 2007 Geneva Motor Show. The Citroën Cruise Crosser concept is based on Citroen’s first SUV, the Mitsubishi Outlander-based Citroen C-Crosser which will go on sale later this year. The Citroën Cruise Crosser concept is a tribute to Andre Citroën, the company’s founder, who often went on adventurous automotive expeditions across Africa and Asia.

The strange 6-wheel designed truck is powered by a special hybrid drivetrain that combines a conventional turbodiesel engine with electric motor located under the rear floor. This electric motor powers the third axle right at the rear of the vehicle, while the front and middle axles are combustion engine powered. The turbodiesel engine can be shut off, leaving the car powered by the third axle alone, allowing a zero emissions drive.

One more photo after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Citroën Cruise Crosser by Espera Sbarro School

Toyota’s Hybrid X Concept shows us the future of the Toyota Prius, due to be replaced anytime soon. The four door, four seat open space concept has the dimensions of a conventional family car with an overall length of 4,500mm and wheelbase of 2,800mm, and a width of 1,850mm and a height of 1,440mm.

Designed by Toyota’s ED2 European design center in France, it is an evolution of the current Prius design more than anything else, with the unconventional cues that just shout futuristic and hybrid, important in a market where people want their hybrid cars to look hybrid. Apparently knowing they are helping the environment is not enough, they need everyone to know it.

The front has this quirky U-shaped pillars, and the vast area of glass enhances visibility and creates an open space feel. The rear-hinged passenger doors open automatically with the touch of a button. Wheels are worthy of being put on a concept, huge, and flashy at 20-inch wrapped with ultra-low profile 225/40/R20 tyres.

The front headlamps are lit up by LED, and are strangely positioned inside the car on the dashboard, shining out through the front windscreen. These LED lamps can also display graphics and animations to communicate with pedestrians.

This car also wins the Paul Tan award for the thickest D-pillar ever in the history of the automotive industry.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Hybrid X Concept points to new Toyota Prius

Here are some official press shots of the BMW M3 Concept that BMW is showcasing at the 2007 Geneva motorshow this week. It’s pretty much an evolution of the E92 Coupe design, with modified fenders to portray a more aggressive look, but I don’t really feel much for the strange bump on the bonnet.

The BMW M3 Concept is powered by the new V8 engine derived from the M5’s V10, and the same engine is set to go into the production BMW M3 as well. Gearbox will be a 6-speed manual or a new twin clutch automated manual. No official power figures have been released, but expect about 420 horsepower and more than 400Nm of torque.

Now the question that I want to ask is, will a lightly tuned BMW 335i give the BMW M3 a run for it’s money? Well, in straight lines perhaps, but the M3 will most likely have an M LSD differential, giving it the edge around the corners.

More photos after the jump, with enlarged versions available on click.

Click here to read the rest of BMW M3 Concept at Geneva 2007

This artist’s impression of the next generation Volvo S40 is thanks to German magazine Autozeitung. The talented artists took design cues from the latest Volvo XC60 Concept, which has also manifested in the new Volvo V70. I heard through the grapevines that the 2009 Volvo S40 will replace both the current S40 and S60 models, as the differences in interior room for the S40 and S60 is pretty much negligible. This would mean the 2009 Volvo S40 will likely be based on the Ford Mondeo/Mazda6 chassis instead of the current Focus/Mazda3 chassis.

Europeans seem to have gone the sleek coupe-like liftback style with all their designs. The new Ford Mondeo has a similiar kind of rear windscreen design, and spyshots of the new 3rd generation Renault Laguna shows a similiar roofline too, sloping so much that it requires a rear wiper.

One more photo after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Volvo S40 Artist’s Impression

EDAG shouldn’t be a stranger to readers of this blog now. If you’ve been following my blog for quite some time now, uou’ve probably seen two of EDAG’s works already, the smart roadster-based EDAG Show Car No 8 and the Pontiac Solstice Wagon Concept.

This EDAG LUV is somewhat like a combination between a luxury SUV with features of a pick-up truck, with a cargo bed at the rear having maritime design flairs to it, reminding you of a luxury yacht. The EDAG LUV was designed with a very modular concept. Tthe pick-up module can be swapped out and replaced with a coupe or convertible module. In the rear, the two front seats have UMPCs (Ultra Mobile PCs) integrated into them, as the businessman who would be able to afford a yacht-styled vehicle would most probably have to work for his money - I don’t see any rich dad’s buying this for his kids.

The engine is supplied by Brabus, a 6.1 liter V8 engine making 462 horsepower. Through an all-wheel drive system, the luxury barge goes from 0-100km/h in about 6 seconds, to a top speed of 250km/h. Brabus also provided 22 inch monoblock S wheels fitted with 295/35/ZR22 tires from Yokohama. Other systems supplied from the Brabus product range include the air suspension module as well as the high-performance brake system (12 piston front, 6 piston rear) from its product line-up.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of EDAG LUV

Unlike our local 2.5 liter turbocharged non-intercooled Hilux, the Australian Toyota Hilux comes in three variants - a 2.7 liter VVT-i (found in our petrol Fortuner), a 4.0 liter V6 VVT-i as well as a 3.0 liter intercooled turbodiesel. The 4.0 liter V6 is good for 235 horsepower and 343Nm of torque between 2,400rpm to 4,800rpm. To quality for this concept truck to have the TRD badge on it, what Toyota has done is fit a supercharger to the V6. Official power output has not been disclosed, but expect something in excess of the 320 horsepower range.

The bodykit has TRD all over it, with the letters TRD embossed above the front grille. The front bumper has some very nicely done foglamp inserts, and looks perfect for showcasing a shiny intercooler in the central air intake.

Click here to read the rest of Australian Toyota Hilux TRD Concept

Toyota has always said that Scion cars are for the youth, and the youth generally like modifying their cars. So Scion’s designs have always been designed to be very modder friendly, like a piece of blank canvas that anyone can transform into a customised work of art. Scion wanted to demonstrate this “feature” of the Scion xD’s design concept with a sample customisation - and this is Scion’s customised Scion xD Concept.

Basically, more of an aesthetic modification - custom bodykit, huge 19 inch wheels, and a lowered ride height. No changes to the engine bay - a supercharger would have been very welcome. 128 horsepower from the new Dual VVT-i 1.8 liter isn’t a whole lot, as competitor Honda’s R18 SOHC makes 140 horses.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Pimped out Scion xD Concept

Saab will be unveiling it’s Saab 9-5 BioPower 100 Concept at Geneva next week. As you could guess, the 100 means it is optimised for E100 fuel - pure bioethanol. The result is a car powered by a high compression 2.0 liter turbocharged engine making 300hp and 400Nm of torque, pulling it from 0 to 100km/h in 6.6 seconds. E100 has a higher octane than most petrol, so a higher compression ratio despite turbocharging as well as more aggressive ignition is possible.