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Lexus LF-Gh to debut at NYIAS: will preview next gen GS?

March 23, 2011 at 1:56 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Lexus

Lexus has revealed that it will be exhibiting a new concept called the Lexus LF-Gh Concept at the 2011 New York International Auto Show sometime in mid-April 2011.

A simple ‘decode’ of the Lexus language for its concept cars indicate that this is a preview of the next generation Lexus GS, as the Gh most likely means GS Hybrid, and LF probably stands for Lexus Future.

The current generation Lexus GS first made its debut in late 2003 as a concept car called the LF-S (Lexus Future Sedan), and then made its production debut in 2005. It’s about time for a new GS sometime this year or next.

The new GS will no doubt have regular powertrains as well as hybrid powertrains, but will we finally see a high performance GS-F with this new generation?

The image shown above is the current generation Lexus GS450h.

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Renault R-Space: Putting sexy and romance into an MPV

March 2, 2011 at 5:49 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Renault

First we saw the sexy DeZir coupe, then the Captur crossover, now we’re looking at R-Space, which sees Renault’s fresh design language applied on a compact MPV. Led by former Mazda Nagare man Laurens van den Acker, the design team sought to combine sensuality with a monospace architecture. The result is flowing and organic, unusual for a people carrier.

Measuring 4.25 metres in length, the R-Space is more compact than a Scenic. The front end adapts the new visual identity as seen on the DeZir/Captur that’s centred on the large Renault lozenge. Inspired by the human body, the honey-gold body panels are shaped as sculptured volumes – as a result, eyes are drawn to reflections and the play of the light rather than the lines themselves.

This is an R rated MPV. “With R-Space, it was the pent-up energy in tensed muscles that inspired me. I wanted to make people feel the urge to caress the body, to make it sensuous – despite the fact that this is an MPV aimed at families,” reveals Fabrice Pouille, exterior designer.

The coach doors open wide like the Opel Meriva, except that this concept doesn’t have B pillars. The forms of the dash and seats are similar to the DeZir concept’s. The driver enjoys a cockpit-like environment, while the interlinking shape of the front seat backrests are an idea of a couple in love. The latter leaves one in no doubt that this is a French car!

The rear section revolves around children. It’s a play space formed from a simple and universal shape – the cube. 27 miniature motors power an array of height-adjustable hexahedrons, allowing four settings to be programmed, from an all-flat surface, to a booster seat, a table or a random configuration (only when the vehicle is parked) for children’s games.

You’ve got to admire their creativity. Gallery after the jump.
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Saab PhoeniX Concept shows off ‘aeromotional’ design

March 2, 2011 at 4:19 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Saab

My first visit to a top international motor show was Paris 2006, which will be remembered as the debut venue of the Audi R8 and concepts like the VW Iroc, which has morphed into today’s Scirocco. All very nice, but there was one display at the Paris Expo that stopped this writer in his tracks, and it wasn’t even a world debut!

That car was the Saab Aero-X concept, a super sleek coupe with a jet style cockpit canopy that lifts upwards. It was a cool nod to Saab’s aviation roots, and guess what, they have repeated the same trick for Geneva 2011 in spectacular fashion. The automotive world would be much less interesting if not for individual brands like Saab – thank god they were saved from death at the last hour.

This PhoeniX concept showcases design features and technologies that will appear in the next generation of Saabs. Based on a new architecture which will underpin the next Saab 9-3, the PhoeniX introduces ‘aeromotional’ design, which Saab describes as “a visual evocation of the aerodynamic design principles and passion for innovation that inspired the creators of Saab’s first car, the iconic Ursaab.”

The slippery PhoeniX has a low drag Cd of just 0.25 and explores the potential for airflow management through the use of distinctive, side-mounted ‘winglets’. Butterfly opening doors give easy access to a low slung 2+2 cabin

The front look sports a stretched interpretation of Saab’s signature three-port grille. A body-colored central wing is now dominant and, in keeping with the car’s minimalist design, LED headlamps are almost invisibly located at its tips. The new grille and hood forms are among the styling themes likely to be seen in future Saab production cars.

At the rear, the tapering form hints at the teardrop rear styling of Ursaab, while the sawn off, kamm tail references Saab’s first coupe, the Sonett.

Under the hood is a 1.6-litre turbo engine with innovative, electric RWD technology. The BMW sourced unit packs 200 hp/250 Nm and includes start/stop functionality, minimal parasitic losses and a fuel cut-off function, which are Efficient Dynamics features. A stainless steel tank, which is lighter and less expensive than a conventional plastic design, is used.

The rear drive 34 hp electric motor is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack that’s replenished by regenerative braking. It’s part of Saab’s eXWD system and torque vectoring is available. Now under development for next gen Saabs, this propulsion system enables the benefits of AWD while also reducing fuel consumption. With a six-speed manual, projected combined cycle fuel economy is just 5.0 L/100 km. 0-100 km/h is done in 5.9 seconds.

More pics after the jump.
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New Tata Pixel to be unveiled at Geneva this week?

March 1, 2011 at 5:02 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, India, Tata

The Tata Nano hasn’t exactly been the runaway success that Ratan Tata was hoping for it to be, but that hasn’t stopped Tata from planning a new larger car to complement the Nano in its next generation product family.

The new car is expected to be called the Tata Pixel and it will be unveiled at this week’s Geneva show in concept form, powered by a 3 cylinder turbodiesel engine. It will be bigger than the Tata Nano and the concept version will feature gull-wing doors, something not likely to make it to production.

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Volkswagen Bulli Concept – a new take on the people carrier

March 1, 2011 at 1:32 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has revealed its Bulli concept for Geneva. The vehicle is a development of the Microbus concept which made its debut in 2001 and continues the Volkswagen theme of shaping people carriers, heralding back to 1950 with the production of the first Transporter, the T1, which was based on a design sketched by Dutchman Ben Pon.

More compact than the 2001 concept, the front-engined and front-wheel drive Bulli is powered by an electric motor and fitted with six seats and infotainment control via iPad. The 3.99m long vehicle sits on a 2.62m wheelbase, which is slightly longer than that of a Golf, and weighs in at 1,450 kg.

This includes the weight of the energy source, which is a 40 kWh lithium-ion battery concealed in the sandwiched floor behind the sills and powers the Bulli’s electric motor. The concept can also accommodate as an alternative power source one of VW’s petrol and diesel direct injection engines.

Numbers on the Bulli include a 113 hp power output and 260 Nm of torque, with a theoretical driving range of up to 300 km. The electric motor propels the vehicle from zero to 100 kph in 11.5 seconds and go on to an electronically limited top speed of 140 kph.

Like the original Samba bus, the Bulli presented in Geneva has two-tone paint and a distinctive ‘V’ on the bonnet, and its 18-inch alloy wheels with stylised chrome hubcaps are another tribute to the Samba bus.

The seating arrangment is made up of space for three on a front bench seat (which can be split and folded) and three on the rear bench, which can be folded flat to maximise loadspace or be turned into a bed in the true spirit of the iconic campervan (get those love shack ideas out of your head now). When all six seating locations are occupied, a 370 litre loadspace is available; with seats folded, the cargo capacity of the 1.8 metre long interior increases to 1,600 litres.

A removable iPad in the centre console serves as a multifunctional touchscreen. Along with Internet-based applications and the media centre, it also handles phone and navigation functions.

There’s no tachometer (unnecessary with the electric motor), nor a centre console or gear lever. The latter is replaced by a rotary switch to the right of the driver, which is used to select forward and reverse gears – a push button in the same switch is used to activate and switch off the motor. Another rotary switch to the left of the driver is used to control the lighting functions.

Gallery after the jump.
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Subaru BOXER Sports Car Architecture Concept Teaser

February 24, 2011 at 1:57 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Subaru

Subaru has released a higher resolution version of its Subaru BOXER Sports Car Architecture Concept image that we featured a few days ago. There’s more of the concept car’s outline to be seen. We expect it to be pretty much similar to the Toyota FT-86 except with some Subaru styling changes.

The horizontally-opposed “boxer” engine seems to be done up in a chrome finish. Very bling! This car was previously known as the “Subaru Rear-Wheel Drive Sports Car Technology Concept” just a few days ago – with these new images the name has officially changed to “Subaru BOXER Sports Car Architecture Concept”.

It seems that Toyota will also be showcasing an updated version of their FT-86 concept, tentatively given the name “FT-86 II”. Both the Subaru and Toyota names seem kinda boring for such a promising car, but perhaps they’re saving the best for last!

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Italdesign Giugiaro Volkswagen concept drawings leaked?

February 23, 2011 at 3:07 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Volkswagen

These drawings of what’s supposed to be a range of Volkswagen concept cars by (now Volkswagen-owned) Italdesign Giugiaro have surfaced on the internet. They look like a C-segment and a B-segment hatchback, and the styling is curiously similar to the Proton EMAS and Lotus City Car concepts, also styled by Italdesign Giugiaro. It so happens the Proton and Lotus concepts were unveiled almost exactly a year ago at last year’s Geneva show, and now it’s time for this year’s Geneva show to roll around.

Look after the jump for the full photo gallery.
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Infiniti Etherea – first images of Geneva-bound concept

February 15, 2011 at 2:48 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Infiniti, International News


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Infiniti has released the first official images of its Etherea concept, which will make its debut in Geneva. Designed under the direction of Nissan’s design guru Shiro Nakamura, the Etherea blends elements of coupe, sedan, hatchback and even crossover in one highly sculptural, near-mono volume form.


Click to enlarge

Aimed at younger buyers, the Etherea – which rather funnily is one ‘l’ short of becoming intangible – is not just a smaller version of a typically conservative and traditional luxury car, says the company. The 4.4m offering is compact, but is space efficient and practical thanks to a new mechanical layout and innovative access arrangements.


Click to enlarge

Novel features include fresh interpretations of traditional Japanese materials and finishes, as well as several design cues set to make their mark on future production models, including the highly distinctive crescent-shaped C-pillar first seen on the Essence concept.

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Proton’s KLIMS Pahlawan concepts: more details revealed!

February 12, 2011 at 10:45 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

There’s a new Concept Cars section up on Proton’s website and there are a few more additional details as well as photos regarding the set of concept cars they unveiled at KLIMS other than what we were given in the KLIMS press kit.

If you look at one of the images in the photo gallery below, you can see that the Tuah has the word Espire written on the rear numberplate – it looks like this was the original name for the next generation Persona sized concept car before they were all renamed to the Pahlawan theme for KLIMS.

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Dimensions of the Tuah/Espire was also given as 4,540mm long, 1,775mm wide and 1,505mm tall. It has a 2,650mm wheelbase, about the same as the new 2011 Jetta. This puts its right in the middle of the C-segment range. To compare, the Waja measures 4,470mm by 1,740mm wide by 1,420mm tall with a 2,600mm wheelbase and the Persona measures 4,477mm long, 1,725mm wide and 1,438mm tall. The Espire is taller, wider, longer, and has a longer wheelbase.

Also found in the gallery (look for the blue and red cars) are some new renderings by Theophilus Chin, attempting to ‘productionize’ the Tuah/Espire, which gives us a preview of what the next generation Persona might look like in production form.

But in any case, from what we hear the next generation Persona has already gone through many stages of design refinement, and what we see as the Tuah/Espire concept represents an older version of the design.

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The Lekir page actually states that the Europa-based sports car will be powered by a “1.6CFE” engine, which is probably Proton’s new turbocharged engine. Interestingly power is rated at 164kW at 5,700rpm, which sounds nice, but kinda improbable – 164 horsepower sounds about right.

The 164kW could be a relic from the original Europa’s spec sheet – it made around that power in the Europa SE trim. A pointer to the eventual power output of the 1.6CFE engine could be what was displayed at KLIMS – a Proton 1.6 turbo engine making 103kW (140 PS) and 205Nm of torque from 2,000rpm with a 9.5:1 compression ratio.

The URLs of the different concept cars pages also reveal the ‘alternate’ names of the concept cars – the Evo-like Jebat is the Proton Fury, the Exora-derived SUV Lekiu concept is referred to as the Proton XActive, the Europa-derived Lekir Concept is called the Proton Exivo, and the Kasturi which has now become the Proton Saga FL was called the Proton Pure, probably in reference to its white exterior and interior theme.

Look after the jump for full photo galleries of all the Pahlawan concepts.
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De Tomaso SLC Crossover Concept to debut at Geneva

February 9, 2011 at 11:30 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News

De Tomaso is coming back to town – and it will unveil its first modern concept car at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The concept is referred to simply as the SLC for now, which stands for Sport Luxury Car, but it’s likely that a sexier official concept name will be unveiled nearer to the show days.

The De Tomaso SLC will be have a large crossover body type, which will basically mean it will go head to head against cars like the X6, the Cayenne, the Lexus RX, and the Acura ZDX. It will be designed by Pininfarina.

Two engine options will be available – a 550 horsepower V8 petrol engine as well as a 250 horsepower diesel V6.

The new De Tomaso company intends to build 3,000 units of the De Tomaso SLC annually, and two other models are also in the pipeline – a luxury sedan as well as a sports coupe, which the company intends to sell 3,000 and 2,000 units a year respectively.

De Tomaso was ‘resurrected’ by former Fiat marketing exec Gian Mario Rossignolo. The cars will be built at a Pininfarina factory in Grugliasco near Turin. The factory employs 900 people and includes a body shop, paint shop and a final assembly line.

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