Archive for Concepts

A concept for the Volvo XC60, Volvo’s competitor for the future Audi Q5, Merc GLK, Volkswagen Tiguan and other small crossover SUVs like the BMW X3 will be shown to the public next month at Detroit 2006. As part of the Ford group, the Volvo XC60 will be based off the Ford EUCD platform (Land Rover LR2/Freelander, Volvo S80, future Volvo S40/V50), which is in turn loosely based on Ford’s C1 platform (current Volvo C30/S40/V50/C70, Mazda3).

While remaining mostly Volvo-like on the exterior, the interior features a futuristic look including a floating center console which looks like all data is displayed using OLEDs, and controls are touch sensitive. Even shifting the automatic gearbox is via touch sensitive buttons on the floating center console, as you can see from photos.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Volvo XC60 Concept Photos

Mercedes Benz is expected to show us a new 4-door convertible concept prototype based on the current Mercedes Benz S-class at the Detroit Motor Show early next year. The model might go into production with choices of engines that include a performance V12 in 2009, just 2 years from now.

But then again, is Mercedes Benz answering a question that no one asked? Is there actually a demand for a 4-door convertible, and what will having 4 doors do to the car’s structural rigidity?

Click to enlarge.

Honda has released one preview teaser image of the new Honda Accord Coupe Concept that will be unvealed to the public in January 2007 at the 2007 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit.

We’ve seen the Honda Sports 4 Concept which might show the future design direction of the Honda Accord Sedan, but this is Honda’s sneak peak on the design direction of the new Honda Accord Coupe.

More photos to come soon as Honda releases them.

Related Posts:
Honda Sports 4 Concept

Another concept vehicle which made it’s debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show is the Hyundai HCD10 Hellion Concept, a three-door compact SUV looking like it was fishes straight out of the Alien series of movies.

Hyundai used a tough safety cage concept (ala smart) to build the HCD10 Hellion Concept, using three ultra-lightweight structural ribs to create the HCD10 Hellion’s safety cage. These ribs connect to a suspended surfboard-shaped spine. This is probably what contributed to the car’s pretty much organic look.

The Hyundai HCD10 Hellion Concept was also designed not just too look tough, but act tough. Hyundai designed it to be a proper offroader, with short overhangs to allow more aggressive approach angles. The car has a removable canvas soft-top roof, but even though removed, the passangers are protected by some kind of cross bar.

The HCD10 Hellion Concept is painted with a paint scheme called Dakar Gold, to honor the famous Paris-Dakar 4WD rally and it’s influence on it’s design. Wheels are huge 20-inch aluminium 2-piece wheels, and are Teflon-coated for hardiness against tough environments.

On the interior, the same organic-looking ribs that are apparent from the outside are also visible on the inside, giving the occupants a sense of safety. An overhead console is suspended, which houses integrated interior lighting and a drop-down LCD monitor for rear-seat entertainment.

Enough about the looks - this concept is powered by a 3.0 liter V6 CRDi engine making 236 horsepower and 450Nm of torque.

More photos and detailed specs after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai HCD10 Hellion Concept at LA Auto Show

Mazda’s Nagare Concept seeks to showcase Mazda’s future design language under the leadership of it’s newly appointed global design director, Laurens van den Acker. When designing the Mazda Nagare Concept, Mazda used the concept of flow - inspired by the movement of nature’s elements - it’s designers sought to capture motion, energy and light and embed it into the Nagare’s lines.

“Mazda doesnt produce concept cars to spin its wheels, and while some are more forward-looking than others, we simply do not create pure flights of fantasy. We develop these ideas to demonstrate what we really intend to build and sell,” says Mazda design director Franz von Holzhausen. A future Mazda hatchback or coupe might look like this. I think it looks something like the Calamari Cruisers of the Star Wars universe.

More photos after the jump, including a little peek into the interior through the glass windscreen from the LA Auto Show thanks to reader Syahrizal Salleh.

Click here to read the rest of Mazda Nagare Concept

Acura’s designers seem to have been going the opposite way of Bangleification - while everyone else are going for complicated surfaces, Acura have taken a few pages out of the Skoda design manual - the new Acura Advanced Sedan Concept looks like it’s made out of a few pieces of sheet metal welded together.

According to Dave Merek, head of Acura’s new Advanced Design Studio in Los Angeles, the primary purpose of this concept was to produce a car which would look like an ultra luxurious sedan two generations ahead of current design languages. Merek and his team’s interpretation results in a sporty looking car that’s low in stance yet has a pretty high ceiling line, presumably to allow for greater interior room, with pronounced wheel arches that contain huge 22 inch wheels at the front and 23 inch wheels at the rear, and futuristic jewel-like headlamps and taillamps.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Acura Advanced Sedan Concept

Could this be American Honda Motors idea of a new Honda CR-X replacement? The original Honda CR-X was launched as the Honda Ballade Sports CR-X or the Honda Civic CR-X, depending on region. The moniker CR-X itself stood for Civic Racing eXperiment, and was sold in the American market as an economical two-seater hatchback, and in other regions as a 4-seater.

Honda designed the new REMIX Concept to give you a fighter jet-like driving experience with the wrap-around canopy of the car. The platform is a front wheel drive, and is designed to take in a four-cylinder engine (high revving K20A?) and preferably a 6-speed manual transmission. Despite the existence of the 3-door Honda Civic Type R available in Europe, that car is not available in the US market. The car was developed by American Honda Motor’s market research arm Honda R&D Americas, Inc - who have so far had alot of freedom in designing Honda cars because of the size of the US market, evident by US-only Honda models like the Ridgeline pick-up truck, Pilot, Element, and the US-market Odyssey.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Honda REMIX Concept

Volkswagen’s Neeza concept car is a concept car for the Chinese market - looking somewhat like a coupe and station wagon crossover, it was designed with the tastes of Chinese customers in mind. At first glance, it looks like a stretched Touareg - well, that would make it an Audi Q7 actually - equipped with a more concept-like futuristic front and rear end, as well as back-hinged rear doors for easier access to the interior.

The name Neeza is based on a character in Chinese folklore - Ne-Zha. Ne-Zha was a young boy who fought evil spirits with magical spirits, and had incomparible willpower and a youthful and anticipatory spirit. The red band in the interior is a reference to the red silk scarf that Ne-Zha wore.

Volkswagen says the Volkswagen Neeza concept was design based on Chinese cultural motifs - the philosophy of “round heavens and the rectangular earth.” Uh, whatever that means.

More photos including a cartoon depiction of Ne-Zha after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen Neeza Concept

Volkwagen’s Tiguan Concept showcases a preview of it’s upcoming mini Touareg - a small SUV pitched against the likes of the new 3rd generation Toyota RAV4. The concept car being presented at the LA Auto Show is powered by a new “Clean TDI” engine which includes a NOx storage catalytic converter and as a whole reduces nitrogen oxides by up to 90% compared to engines known today. Improving turbodiesel technology is very important for car manufacturers who want to increase market share in the lucrative European market, like what Honda has been doing with their new second generation i-CTDi engine. This new Clean TDI engine is part of the BLUETEC offensive initiated jointly by Audi, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen. The three German marques intend to establish the term BLUETEC as a universal label to denote clean and low consumption diesel vehicles.

The Volkswagen Tiguan Concept is 1.85 meters wide, 1.69 meters high and 4.40 meters long. The front is typical of modern Volkswagen cues, and the grille is flanked by xenon headlamps. Volkswagen wanted to make sure the new Tiguan is immediately recognizable as a part of the Volkswagen SUV family.

Viewed from the side, except for the small VW symbols in the 19 inch wheel rims (wrapped with Continental tyres btw!), there is no logo that “tips off” the viewer that the Tiguan is a Volkswagen, yet you can see the sense of familiarity there - exactly like what people have been calling this car, a mini Touareg.

Production is estimated to begin in twelves months time, making this a 2008 model most probably. More photos after the jump.

[UPDATE: Added two more videos!]

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen Tiguan Concept

Okay, so it looks like Peugeot is trying to milk as much cash as it can from the Peugeot 206 body with it’s latest Peugeot 206 Escapade sold in Brazil, but does anyone remember what the original Peugeot 206 Escapade Concept car looked like?

A perfect example of how a production version might be very different from concepts, the Peugeot 206 Escapade Concept shown in 1998 was based on the 3-door version of the Peugeot 206, kitted out to look like an offroader, had a higher suspension (by 5cm to be exact) and came complete with the spare tyre mounted on the tailgate.

Three more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of The original Peugeot 206 Escapade Concept