Archive for Concepts

Subaru will be launching the production version of its 2007 Tokyo concept car, the Subaru Exiga. The Subaru Exiga is a 7-seater low-rider MPV that is 4780mm long, 1775mm wide and 1630mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2750mm.

Although many reports the production Exiga to be Impreza-based, the concept version’s wheelbase and dimensions are more similiar to the Camry-based Toyota Mark X Zio (2776mm wheelbase) and the Honda Odyssey (2830mm wheelbase).

In fact, the Exiga may have the next generation Legacy’s platform under its skin; the current fourth generation Legacy has a 2670mm wheelbase, so an increase to about 2750mm sounds logical.

Otherwise, the production Exiga could end up being a smaller car than the concept version if it is based on the Impreza. One thing’s quite likely - parts from the Impreza/Forester parts bin will be used, including the 5-speed Sportshift automatic and the 2.0 liter (or 2.5 liter) turbocharged horizontally opposed engine.

More photos of the Subaru Exiga Concept after the jump.

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Mazda will be unveiling two concept cars this year that will make it to the production lines. First will be the Mazda 1, a small city car that will be the first production Mazda to use design cues that Mazda showcased with its alien-like Nagare line of concept cars last year. The Mazda 1 concept will be displayed at the 2008 Paris Motor Show, with perhaps a 2010 model year production version.

Next is a Mazda small crossover SUV, most likely based on the Ford Kuga. It will likely be built on a jacked up Mazda 3 platform - perhaps called the Mazda CX-5? This concept will be displayed at the 2008 Moscow Motor Show, and will also take styling cues from the Nagare Concepts.

A world premiere at Moscow is interesting, but not surprising since analysts say Russia will soon overtake Germany as the biggest passenger vehicle market in Europe.

The Audi A3 TDI clubsport quattro is currently only a showcar, but it previews what could be possible with the 2.0 liter TDI-engined version of the A3. Under the hood is a 224 PS and 450Nm of torque version of Audi’s 2.0 liter common rail fuel injected TDI engine, which takes the car up to 100km/h in 6.6 seconds, on to a top speed of 240km/h. The car uses a 6-speed manual and sends power to all four wheels via quattro.

The concept gets a flashy exterior with 20 inch wheels, bolt on wheel arches and a tailgate spoiler. The inside the interior gets racing bucket seats and an aluminium open gate gear lever. The 20 inch wheels do not make the brake discs look lost in a void as they have been suitably uprated to large ceramic discs with 6-piston calipers.

The car also gets the Audi drive select system with magnetic ride dampers. The driver is able to select the driving mode he wants, and this will vary the car’s throttle response, exhaust sound, electric power steering assistance, ESP cut-in thresholds, and magnetic damper operating mode.

Four more photos after the jump.

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Skoda has confirmed that it will be putting the Skoda Yeti into production, after the Skoda Yeti Design Study displayed at the Geneva Motor Show was quite well received by the public. After the success of the Yeti concept, Skoda also produced a two-seater pick-up version that used a hard top that could be removed for an open top driving experience.

The name for the new car has not been decided yet, so the production version could use the Yeti name again, or an entirely different name could be used. The production Skoda Yeti will be a unique Skoda in the sense that will use some parts from the Volkswagen family parts bin much like how the Skoda Roomster was developed - it used the Polo chassis front and the Mk4 Golf chassis rear.

You may think why bother when the Volkswagen Tiguan is there for Skoda to use, but the concept Yeti was a little SUV-like thing smaller than the Tiguan. Think of it as something positioned somewhere between a CrossPolo and a Tiguan.

Three more images after the jump.

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Sime Darby’s Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd displayed its Land Rover Defender 6X4 Puma concept at the Defence Services Asia 2008 exhibition this month, and Land Rover Malaysia says the concept attracted a high level of interest from the Malaysian Armed Forces and numerous foreign visitors.

The Land Rover Defender 6X4 Puma Concept was developed in Malaysia by Land Rover Malaysia and Sasbilt Technologies Malaysia. It features a long wheelbase of 3302mm and the 6-wheeler can run on either 4 wheels (6X4) or all 6 wheels (6X6).

The long wheelbase enables the use of a custom body which can accommodate an electric generator in the rear compartment and a spacious cabin for radio and satellite equipment and at least four crew members. The cabin doors are wider to enable easy access and loading of radio equipment. A full-size antenna can be mounted on the roof for the 6X4 Puma Concept to be used as a VSAT satellite vehicle in the battlefield.

It is powered by Land Rover’s Ford Duratorq “Puma” 2.4 liter common rail turbodiesel engine. Depending on tuning, it can produce between 74hp to 135hp and between 185Nm to 285Nm of torque.

One more rear shot after the jump.

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The Proton Satria Neo already fills the “2-door fun car” segment in Proton’s model line-up, but what if Proton created a lightweight coupe from the Proton Saga chassis powered by a 1.6 liter Campro CPS engine?

Apparently something like this or other was what went through Theophilus Chin’s thoughts when he decided to come up with this artist’s impression of a Proton Putra replacement car, which he has decided to call the “Pooterror”.

The front of the artist’s impression Putra replacement concept takes cues from the recently launched Volkswagen Scirocco, the side and wheelbase from a Saga, and its rear end is from the Suzuki Kizashi 3.

BMW has unveiled its latest concept car, the BMW M1 Hommage Concept at the 2008 Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este, in honour of the BMW M1’s 30th anniversary.

The M1 Hommage Concept carries many of the styling cues of the old BMW M1 in the form of a modern interpretation, such as the rear windscreen louvers, the double BMW badges on the rear of the car, and even a wheel design that is a variation of the one used on the original BMW M1. The very slim headlamps still manage to feature some form of the BMW angel eyes.

This design study could hint at a possible revival of BMW’s only mid-engined car, perhaps powered by a variation of their venerable V10 engine, light pressure turbocharged to boost power output over the 600 horsepower regions.

Continue reading for more photos and a video of the BMW M1 Hommage concept.

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Honda’s joint venture company in China Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. has announced a new car brand called Li Nian, which is positioned much alike to what Toyota is doing with its Scion brand in the United States. A rough translation or meaning to Li Nian is “idea”, according to Guangzhou Honda.

The company displayed the Li Nian Concept at the 2008 Beijing International Automobile Exhibition, which is set to be one of the Li Nian brand’s first cars. The Li Nian Concept is a compact SUV-like vehicle based on the Honda Jazz / Honda Fit platform.

Unlike the Jazz/Fit’s L-series engines, the Li Nian Concept is powered by a 1.8 liter engine, most likely the R18A1 SOHC i-VTEC engine. It’s styling is decidedly European, with obvious cues taken from the Volkswagen iroc Concept and Ford’s new Kinetic design Fiesta and Kuga SUV.

Li Nian’s first production car will be based on this concept design, and will make its debut in 2010. The Li Nian Concept was designed entirely by Guangzhou Honda Automobile R&D, and while Honda Japan will support the company, most R&D, marketing and sales efforts will be initiated by the Chinese company.

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The Tata Indica Silhouette concept car is unlike what you’d expect an Indica to be. This is not a budget city car with a tiny engine, but rather a track monster powered by a 3.5 liter V6 mounted at the rear of the car, powering the rear wheels as well. This setup instantly reminds us of the Renault Clio V6, but this isn’t exactly a production road car, so think of it more of similiar to the Golf GTI W12-650.

The 3.5 liter V6 engine (a race-ready version of the Renault-Nissan VQ engine) produces 330 PS at 7.000rpm and sends the 850kg Tata Indica Silhouette barrelling down the roads up to the 100km/h mark in just 4.5 seconds, up to a top speed of 270km/h. The engine is mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox.

The 2-seater car is built on a space frame steel chassis made with aeronautical steel and uses the engine as a stress member. The car uses an adjustable progressive rate pneumatic suspension system. For track duties, it has a data logging system and a high-accuracy GPS unit.

So in reality this isn’t exactly an Indica adapted to fit a V6 in the rear, but a space frame and an engine with a shell made to look like an Indica put on top of it, much like R3’s rear wheel drive Waja.

Click to enlarge

Mercedes-Benz has long been rumoured to be coming up with the CLE-Class, a coupe based on the C-Class, but what we’ve got so far is only the CLC-Class, a restyled hatchback version of the previous generation C-Class chassis.

Theophilus Chin has whipped up what he thinks the CLE-Class 4-door coupe could look like, with headlamps inspired by the SL-Class. It’s essentially a smaller version of the Mercedes Benz CLS-Class, and the CLS is a 4-door coupe version of the E-Class.

No news anywhere lately about the CLE-Class, so it may not be something that could ever come into existence after all. It was rumoured that the CLE would come with suicide-doors instead of being a proper 4-door car because the car would be much smaller than the E-Class-based CLS and the 4 doors would not look good on it.