Archive for Concepts

Since we can’t do much about the new 2007 Honda CR-V’s quirky D pillar and it’s smiley grille at the front end, we might as well deck it out in some nice kits to see if it does the SUV some good.

Painted in a color called Agile Blue, the Sport Concept CR-V shown at the 2006 SEMA Show features new front and rear bumpers along with a sports suspension which also gives the CR-V a lower ride. Wheel arches are filled up with 19 inch wheels wrapped with 245/45/R19 Bridgestone Potenza tyres.

On the interior, you get new sports fabric seats with blue custom stitching, with the same stitching on the steering wheel and shift knob to match. Is the new 2007 Honda CR-V’s design growing on you yet?

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Sport Concept CR-V by Honda at SEMA

Hyundai has kitted out their new Hyundai Sonata NF for public viewing at the Australian Motor Show 2006, which gives us a preview of a possible future high performance Hyundai Sonata model. The Hyundai Sonata SXi Concept is powered by a V6 engine driving the front wheels through a 5-speed automatic transmission.

Hyundai Australia put the concept together to gauge public response to the model, of which if favourable, could mean we could see a high performance Hyundai going on sale perhaps sometime in 2007.

Rear view after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Sonata SXi Concept

Obviously following the design cues of the recently shown Volkswagen Iroc Concept, the folks over at Volkswagen Design Center California led by Volkswagen Chief Designer Derek Jenkins created this special Volkswagen R GTI for the SEMA 2006 motor show. Are we looking at what could be Volkswagen’s new corporate grille?

A few body panels have been replaced with carbon fibre, and the suspension system has been updated by H&R Tuning to a H&R RSS Club Sport system, which consists of updated shocks and springs and a pair of adjustable sway bars - this results in crisper handling and a lower stance.

For the engine, aftermarket Volkswagen tuner APR was called in for the job. The stock turbo was thrown out for a larger Garrett unit, and boost upped to 1.45 bar with the help of upgraded injectors and fuel pumps designed by APR, as the stock FSI system cannot handle the higher fueling requirements of the additional power. With the larger turbo, a matching intercooler was fitted, and the exhaust system consists of an Iconel manifold and an APR stainless steel exhaust system. On RON93 gas, the car makes 375hp, but if fed with higher octane RON100 fuel, you get 400 horses. All these numbers translate to a 0-100km/h time of 4.8 seconds.

To rein in all that additional power, the brakes have been upgraded to 4-piston Brembo brakes and Brembo two-piece floating cross-drilled discs with billet aluminum hats. Inside the rear wheels are disc brakes fitted with drilled rotors, not as much bite as the front but the whole system works together very well. Wheels are 19 inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup ultra-high-performance radials in 265/30/R19 size. The car is still a front wheel drive, but the clutch was upgraded to one that can handle all the extra torque (460 newton meters!), as well as a Quaife limited slip differential to stop the wheels from going bald trying to move from a stand still.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen R GTI at SEMA 2006

This is the Volkswagen Nanospyder. A two seater Ariel Atom-like car that runs on hydrogen fuel cells powering in-wheel electric motors. It has a strong spine, on which other components is bolted on, and the body panels are constructed from latticework of billions of tiny programmable nano devices each measuring less than half a millimetre in daimeter. These devices can individually be programmed to be as strong or weak as required, meaning the vehicle could have active crumple zones.

These nanopanels are also coated with materials which can inflate to provide further cushioning upon impact, and also doubles as a solar power panel, which assists the hydrogen fuel cell in powering the in-wheel motors.

Of course, such a vehicle doesn’t exist. The Volkswagen Nanospyder is actually the vision of three Volkswagen designers, their idea of what the future car would be. It was conceptualised as an entry for the Design Los Angeles conference. The challenge was to design a car that can make the most of California without harming the environment.

One more photo after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen Nanospyder Concept

Here are some live shots of Kia’s sporty 3-door hatch, the Kia pro_cee’d, based on it’s new range of cee’d European cars. More photos after the jump, with enlarged versions thanks to contributor Ben Corley. For more details on the Kia pro_cee’d, refer here.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Paris Motor Show: Kia pro_cee’d

The Honda Civic Type R will not be restricted to just the European market - we will be seeing a 4-door sedan version of the Type R this time! Honda has announced a prototype Honda Civic Type R based on the 4-door sedan model that will be used as the official car (red flag car) for the Japanese Formula 1 grand prix.

The prototype is expected to finish development and be released in Spring 2007, in the Japanese market. The Honda Civic Type R sedan will have a specially tuned sport suspension and will feature the legendary K20 i-VTEC high-revving engine, over 220PS.

Honda seems to have noticed a demand for cars that are somewhat practical (4 doors!) and can also go at a comfortable pace, this began with the introduction of the American market Honda Civic Si Sedan Concept at the Chicago Motor Show.

Source

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Honda Civic Type R Sedan Concept

The Peugeot 207 RCup Concept was first shown at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show in March, but Peugeot has it on display again at the Paris Motor Show. The Peugeot 207 RCup Concept Car was a teaser for Peugeot’s WRC entry - the Peugeot 207 Super 2000.

The Peugeot 207 RCup has wider front and rear tracks, and larger wheel arches, giving it a much stronger look than the original Peugeot 207. Ground clearance is 10cm, and it’s wheel arches are filled up by big 18″ wheels wrapped with 235/40/R18 tyres. Under the hood of the Peugeot 207 RCup is the same engine that will be powering the Super 2000 rally contender, a 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine tuned to produce 280hp at a sky high 8,500rpm!

More photos with clickable enlarged versions after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Paris Motor Show Gallery: Peugeot 207 RCup

Here are some shots of the Peugeot 908RC at the 2006 Paris Motor Show, again courtesy of Ben Corley. Peugeot calls the Peugeot 908RC a stylish four-door four-seater limousine which combined power, comfort, and green performance. The Peugeot 908RC is powered by a 5.5 liter V12 HDi DPFS turbodiesel engine mounted in the rear behind the passengers.

The 5.5 liter V12 HDi DPFS turbodiesel engine mounted transversely in the rear was designed by Peugeot to take part in the Le Mans Race Series in 2007, with it’s racing 908 car. The engine makes over 700bhp and produces a very nice 1200Nm of torque. Because of the engine’s 100 degrees V angle, it has a pretty low center of gravity. This engine is mated to a 6-speed electronicaly controlled sequential shift gearbox, specially designed to handle the massive 1200Nm being put through it.

More photos after the jump. Click photos for enlarged version.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Paris Motor Show Gallery: Peugeot 908RC

After a few artist’s impressions mostly from Japanese auto magazines, Toyota has revealed to the world the Toyota Auris space concept, which will be the base design for the future Toyota Auris hatchback, the replacement for the Toyota Corolla hatchback in the European market.

“The Auris space concept is tall and spacious. The high waistline, short overhangs and forward balance of the cabin architecture ensure it retains a sense of dynamism and agility, a quality we call perfect imbalance,” says Wahei Hirai, Toyota Global Design Managing Officer, explaining the rationale behind Toyota’s latest interpretation of it’s Vibrant Clarity design philosophy.

The Toyota Auris space concept is equipped with a panoramic glass roof, which helps increase the overall feel of interior space and lighting. The Latin word for gold is Aurum, which is similiar to the Auris name, hence the new Toyota Auris space concept is painted in gold.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Auris Space Concept

This is the Å koda Joyster Concept, Å koda’s vision for a new B-segment compact car that might make it into production as the new Å koda Fabia hatchback in the year 2007. The current Å koda Fabia is based on the Volkswagen Polo platform - watch out for a test drive report soon on the Fabia 1.4 hatch.

Skoda is a company that has pretty much filled up the market segment where Volkswagen used to be - as Volkswagen has moved up a notch in the market, no longer concentrating on making cheap basic cars that everyone can afford.

The Skoda Joyster Concept design study will be presented alongside other innovations from Å koda Auto at the Paris Motor Show on Thursday 28th September, 2006.