Archive for Concepts

Lexus displayed the Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept at the 2008 Australian International Motor Show. Lexus says this new Sports Concept previews an upcoming version of the IS 250 that could provide younger customers with less deep pockets a taste or preview of what the IS-F could potentially give. This is exactly what BMW is doing with the M-Sport versions of their cars, except about 6 alphabets down the alphabet table.

The kit that was displayed included better cross-drilled two-piece brakes with 6-pots at the front and 4 at the rear, Bilstein shocks, sway bars and a chassis brace for better chassis rigidity, a performance air intake, exhaust, carbon fiber engine cover, front and rear lip spoilers and 19 inch 10-spoke alloy wheels done up in graphite grey.

Manual transmission versions also get a performance clutch with 16% better grip as well as a short shifter kit.

“The introduction of the IS 250 Sports Concept is still in preliminary stages but it’s something we definitely want to investigate. In the meantime, Lexus will concentrate on introducing the IS F performance sedan to the local market. Once we get the hero car into the marketplace, the rest will fall into place,” said Lexus Australia CEO John Roca.

Click here to read the rest of Lexus previews “F-Sport” performance kit with Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept

Audi’s A1 Sportback Concept displayed at the 2008 Paris Motor Show picks up where the Audi metroproject quattro concept left off last year at Tokyo 2008. This time the preview to the upcoming A1 is in a 5-door guise instead of the Tokyo concept’s 3-door body.

Inside the engine bay is a 150 PS version of VW’s 1.4 liter TSI petrol engine with a nice 240Nm of torque between 1,600rpm and 4,000rpm. There is also a 27hp electric motor that can provide an additional 150Nm of twisting power whenever needed.

This motor seems to be smaller than the metroproject quattro’s unit which was capable of 40hp and 200Nm of torque. Also, in the previous concept car, the motor was positioned at the rear axle giving the car all-wheel drive but in this concept the motor is integrated into the drivetrain powering the front wheels together with the combustion engine.

When the Audi drive select is set to the default efficiency mode, the electric motor will be run selectively as the sole power source to minimize the use of the combustion engine. The brain that controls this also communicates with the onboard satnav system. For example, when you key in a journey that will take a distance of less than 50km, only the electric motor will be used.

The lithium-ion batteries that the motor draws its power from can provide enough power for up to a maximum of 100km on a full charge. The car is also a plug-in hybrid - the batteries can be recharged via plugging the car into a regular power outlet. Whenever maximum power is needed, both powerplants can function at once delivering maximum propulsion.

This is also one of the few hybrids which do not use a CVT transmission, instead sending power to the wheels via an S-Tronic dual clutch transmission with a new ESP-controlled active front differential lock.

Something else interesting is the Audi mobile device which has evolved from the mobile control unit that was found in the metroproject quattro. This time, such functionality will be available with any mobile phone that supports a special software you can download from the internet - I assume any J2ME phone would work. The phone would also need wifi support as it communicates with the car through an access point in the car.

The software will allow you to pre-plan your onboard satnav route from the phone while you are still in your home or office. But it won’t work if your office is very far away from the car park though as wifi range is not that far. You can also constantly monitor the status of your car such as whether all windows and doors are closed or not.

Look after the jump for more hi-res shots of the Audi A1 Sportback Concept.

Click here to read the rest of Audi A1 Sportback Concept at Paris 2008

The Honda Insight is a “dedicated hybrid vehicle” in Honda terms, which means it is a model that only comes with a hybrid powertrain, unlike the Honda Civic Hybrid which also has non-hybrid variants.

The 5-door, 5-seater car has its battery and control unit located under the cargo space. This is the latest version of Honda’s Integrated Motor Assist system. A production version will be announced later and will go on sale in spring 2009 in Japan, Europe and North America. Annual sales are projected to reach 200,000 units.

We have to note that none of the promises that Honda made when they first talked about this new Insight sometime ago have been fulfilled with this concept. The Insight will apparently be cheap enough for a majority of people to consider, instead of current hybrids which are typically much more expensive than the regular versions.

The Civic Hybrid currently costs RM162,800 here in Malaysia, much more than the Civic 2.0 at RM128,800, and that is a big price difference. We will have to wait for the production Insight to be unveiled to do a price comparison and see if the Insight will really be an affordable hybrid.

BTW Honda, what happened to AVTEC? Toyota’s Valvematic has already been put into production cars in both Europe and Japan.

For now, check out hi-res photos and a few videos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Insight Hybrid Concept at Paris 2008

The above is supposed to be a preview of the upcoming Impreza Spec-C. It’s been christened the Subaru Impreza WRX STi Takumi Concept and gives us a sneak peek at the styling of the upcoming lightweight version of the Subaru Impreza. You can expect the Spec-C to shave at least 70kg off the stock standard STi via lighter body panels and roof, with other modifications as well such as bigger brakes and revised gear ratios.

Renault’s Z.E. Concept is your standard run of the mill concept electric vehicle that’s based on a production model with jazzed up styling so that it looks worthy to be called a concept. Instead of a petrol or diesel engine, the Renault Kangoo be bop that is the base for this concept is instead powered by a 94 horsepower electric motor with a peak torque of 226Nm, backed by lithium ion batteries. The press release does not state how this is charged so we can only assume it is a plug-in EV. All of this is pretty heavy though - the concept clocks in at 1,520kg unladen.

Perhaps more important than the run of the mill motor itself is how Renault plans to stretch the miles with a limited battery source.To help conserve battery power for the electric motor use, Renault has employed a few techniques to reduce power consumption by auxiliaries such as the lighting, heating and climate control.

Firstly, the Z.E. Concept’s bodywork functions like a Thermos flask. The body comprises of two insulating panels with a sandwich of air. This limits variations in temperature between the exterior and the interior. The internal temperature regulation system is powered by a solar panel on the roof.

As for heating, Renault plays on the psychological effect of generally feeling warmth if the face and hands are warm. So the heater system channels warmth to these key zones through means such as a heated steering wheel.

Aerodynamics have been improved by using low-energy cameras to replace wing mirrors and a special alloy wheel design that is low on drag. The headlamps use LEDs to reduce power consumption.

Click here to read the rest of Renault Z.E. Concept based on new Kangoo be-bop

Fully undisguised images of the 4-door Lamborghini Estoque have been leaked out on the internet! The roofline doesn’t look particularly attractive, with the cab looking like a stretched version of a traditional Lamborghini. The rear has hints of a muscle car in it. There are no door handles to be seen so I wonder how the owner gets in! No photos of the interior yet, so expect another post with the full hi-res images and details coming up soon. For the moment, look after the jump for the rest of the images.

Click here to read the rest of Lamborghini Estoque undisguised photos leaked!

BMW has pulled the wraps off the new BMW Concept X1 and has even released an interview video with BMW chief designer Adrian van Hooydonk explaining the car’s target market and its design cues.

The front end of the car immediately reminds you of the F01 BMW 7-Series recently revealed, thanks to its 7-Series-like headlamps and kidney grilles. The side profile has hints of the current facelifted BMW X3 while the engine hood is inspired by the design on the facelifted 3-Series.

Despite the X1 name which indicates a crossover version of the X1, the vehicle is actually built on the platform of the E90 3-Series. Its actually quite large - larger than most people expected it to be. At 4456mm long with a 2760mm wheelbase, these figures are close to the current X3 facelift’s statistics with a 4565mm length and a 2795mm wheelbase. This means the next generation X3 will grow larger (as expected) and will probably have a mid-2800mm-ish wheelbase, as the 2nd gen X5 has a wheelbase of 2933mm.

Since it shares the same platform as the E90, you can expect a similiar engine range with a twin turbo 3.0 liter petrol X1 xDrive35i and a twin turbo 3.0 liter turbodiesel X1 xDrive35d as the top of the range models.

Look after the jump to view more hi-res images and watch a video.

Click here to read the rest of BMW Concept X1 unveiled with video!

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BMW has released another teaser image of the BMW Concept X1 in some pretty bad light but with the help of some brightness and contrast adjustments we are able to see a little more detail of the upcoming small SUV.

The result is something that looks like a downsized BMW X5, but are we really surprised when an increasing amount of car manufacturers just seem to create one design and resize it for different models?

A BMW X1 xDrive23d powered by the 2.0 liter inline-4 twin turbodiesel would be a nice lifestyle vehicle with both fuel economy (relative) and power packed into one vehicle.

An initial batch of photos of the upcoming Chevrolet Orlando concept 7-seater MPV has surfaced on the internet. This is a compact MPV based on a C-segment car chassis (Delta II - Chevrolet Cruze and Volt) much like the Honda Stream and the Toyota Wish.

More details (as well as higher resolution images) will surface when it debuts at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, but for the moment the only details we have is that it’s a 7-seater and has the option for a 2.0 liter turbodiesel engine producing 150 horsepower and 320Nm of torque. A range of Ecotec petrol engines will probably be available for countries where diesels are not as popular.

Look after the jump for a whole set of images.

Click here to read the rest of Chevrolet Orlando Concept MPV Initial Photos

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A sketch of what appears to be the four door Lamborghini set to be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show has found itself onto the big wide internet right into the hands of curious automotive enthusiasts.

The sketch does not 100% match the teasers of the actual concept set to be revealed though - the rear tailpipes are different. This could be an early sketch, with the actual concept getting a revision to appear much more meaner in the metal.

The name Lamborghini Estoque has been confirmed to be correct and the Paris concept will be very close to the production “four-door coupe”. The car’s engine will be mounted at the front behind the front axle for better weight distribution and it will have permanent all-wheel drive.

Read the related post for the teaser images and more details.

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Third teaser image of Lamborghini Estoque released!