Archive for Concepts

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Our resident photo-manipulation wizard Theophilus Chin has whipped up this lightly kitted sporty Proton Exora for the benefit of our imagination. Kudos to Theo for managing to churn this out in such a short time. This should provide some inspiration to early adopters of the Proton Exora who want to make their new MPV look a little more different. Of course certain things like the different headlamps are not very feasible to do. Then of course there are the show cars that Proton themselves prepared for the launch, that’s coming up next. For now, what do you think of this design?

Look after the jump for a rear view.

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Proton Exora Prototype Test Drive Experience!
Proton Exora: Body Control Module and a few more juicy details!

Click here to read the rest of Proton Exora SE Concept by Theophilus Chin

The Toyota iQ will be making it onto American shores in the form of a Scion. A concept version of the Scion-badged car was shown at the New York International Auto Show 2009 this week. But it was no regular iQ – it was slapped on a bodykit penned by a Californian company called Five Axis, giving it an aggressive wide-body look. But looks are all the aggression the 3+1 seater is going to get as under the hood is only a 93 horsepower 1.3 liter VVT-i engine driving the front wheels. But it does get TEIN Super Street coilovers and 18 inch wheels wrapped with Yokohama S.drive tyres.

Click here to read the rest of Scion iQ Concept with widebody kit at NYIAS 09

Now which car do you think Mitsubishi is going to splice the Lancer GT’s nose on next. The Triton? The Colt has not been spared, despite it being a nice-looking tall-ish B-segment hatch originally. Now it’s a weird mini-me of the Lancer. The latest model to get the GT treatment is the Outlander.

Other than the new front end, the Outlander GT also gets new side mirrors. It has an aluminium polished roof panel that hepls lower the car’s center of gravity. it has been lowered slightly via a shorter and stiffer suspension system, and fitted with 19 inch OZ RAcing wheels hiding large Brembo discs and calipers behind them.

The little instrument panel between the two meter pods has been upgraded to a 3.5″ QVGA colour display. Mitsubishi is also using the vehicle to showcase its FUSE Handsfree Media Gateway, which features a Bluetooth handsfree with phonebook management and A2DP audio system, voice recognition, and a 40GB hard drive for Navteq GPS navigation data.

The SUV’s 3.0 liter SOHC MIVEC V6 engine has been upgraded from 220hp to 230hp, with the peak torque remaining the same but coming in earlier in the rev range. This is thanks to different camshaft timing and compression ratio. It is mated to a 6-speed auto with Idle Neutral Logic, which means it shifts to neutral automatically when you stop.

The all-wheel drive system has been upgrade to S-AWC, which features 3 selectable modes: “Normal”, “Snow” and “Traction”. This adjusts the power delivery according to various input data including throttle input, wheel speed, engine output, steering angle, gear selection, acceleration and yaw rate, and the data coming from the stability control sensors. Look after the jump for full gallery of the new shark-nosed Outlander.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Outlander GT Prototype has a new face and adds a mind-blowing… 10 horsepower?!

This is the new Hyundai Nuvis, likely a preview of what’s coming up in the compact MPV segment for Hyundai. Perhaps we are looking at an early preview of the next generation Hyundai Matrix, or whatever they decide to call it.

Hyundai says its styling mimics the interplay of natural, fluid elements with more rigid surfaces and structures to create the illusion of constant motion. Hyundai’s designers studied the way water splits across and flows around the hull and sides of a boat, creating a wake, or the way wind shapes a snowdrift or flurries through trees.

And of course with it being a concept car you just have to top it off with outrageously large wheels – 22 inches in this case. To me somehow it reminded me of a scaled down Toyota Venza.

Under the hood is Hyundai’s Hybrid Blue Drive system, which combines its 2.4 liter Theta II engine with a 30kW and 205Nm electric motor, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. There is also a start-stop ignition system, and regenerative braking, features that are pretty much standard on any hybrid these days. The 270V batteries for the hybrid motor are of the compact lithium polymer type.

Interestingly Hyundai aims to be the number 1 brand in the US in terms of fuel economy by the year 2015, which is only 6 years from now. This means some fantastically efficient engines combined with lightweight construction.

Will Hyundai be able to pull it off?

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Nuvis Concept unveiled at NYIAS 2009

Honda has its own “Z car” now, as Acura have unveiled its X6 competitor at the New York International Auto Show and have decided to call it the Acura ZDX. This is a “prototype” of the production version which will go on sale beginning fall this year.

The ZDX is similiar in size to the X6, measuring 4887mm by 1994mm by 1570mm (LxWxH) compared to the X6’s 4877mm by 1983mm by 1690mm, however the X6 has a much longer wheelbase at 2933mm versus the ZDX’s 2748mm.

“From the very first sketch of the ZDX, I wanted to create an emotional vehicle that challenged conventional thinking of what a sports coupe should be. My goal was to create a strikingly beautiful exterior, and use that attraction to help draw you into the rich interior,” said ZDX exterior designer Michelle Christensen, which I feel in reality could have been something more like “My bosses told us to rip off the BMW X6.” It’s a four door but the rear door handles are hidden near the window to help create a more coupe-like profile, since coupes are supposed to be 2-doors after all!

The Acura ZDX will be powered by an unnamed V6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, sending power to all four wheels via Honda’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). The V6 will likely be a variation of the large 3.7 liter, not sure what has happened to the development of the inline-4 2.3L i-VTEC Turbo!

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the ZDX.

Click here to read the rest of Acura ZDX: a Japanese take on the BMW X6

The theme for news on this blog today is obviously SUVs. This is the new Ssangyong C200 Aero and Eco concepts, I think you can guess which is Aero and which is Eco, just look at the more “Eco” colour for the Eco. Ssangyong calls this Audi-like machine tyled by Giugiaro ItalDesign a “CUV” or Compact Urban Vehicle when in reality it’s a compact SUV, but if BMW can call their X6 a coupe I suppose anything goes.

The new CUV has a 2,650mm wheelbase and a length of 4,400mm, which is actually smaller than the BMW X3. It’s more of the length of the short wheelbase latest generation RAV4 with the wheelbase of the long wheelbase RAV4.

The Ssangyong C200 Aero uses a turbocharged 1.8 liter engine while the C200 Eco uses a 2.0 liter turbodiesel. Both are mated to a 6-speed automatic by default but Ssangyong says they will also make available a manual for those who prefer to do their own cog-shifting.

More shots after the jump including one of the interior.

Click here to read the rest of Ssangyong C200 Aero and C200 Eco Concepts

Mitsubishi will debut the vehicle above at the NYIAS 2009. It will be called the Mitsubishi Outlander GT Prototype, essentially what looks like an Outlander with a Lancer face up front, which makes it look more aggressive.

Of course for an American show debut you mustn’t talk about anything being a performance model without at least a V configuration engine so it uses a 3.0 liter SOHC MIVEC V6 engine, never mind the fact that the 4-pot in the Evo or even the Lancer Ralliart is more powerful.

The Outlander will also reportedly gain a new feature called Idle Neutral Logic, which basically shifts your auto transmission into neutral automatically when you stop. This really isn’t something new I think, heard of it years back but I forgot which car… but new for the Outlander I guess.

Stay tuned for more details when the MYIAS rolls along in a few days time.

This is the Kia KND-5, also called the Kia VG which is its codename, like how the new Sorento is the Kia XM. The VG will be slotted between the Kia Optima and the Kia Amanti, and Kia defines this as a “near-luxury” sedan, while the Optima is considered “mid-size” and the Amanti a luxury sedan.

Its dimensions are 4,945mm long, 1,850mm wide and 1,475mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,845mm. That’s actually longer, wider and taller than the E60 BMW 5-Series, even in terms of wheelbase. It’s powered by Kia’s 3.5 liter V6 from the Lambda family.

This is a concept car for now, but probably close to reality with just some design elements toned down for production use, especially on the interior. The exterior looks quite ready to build. Look after the jump for interior shots.

Click here to read the rest of New Kia VG debuts as Kia KND-5 Concept

Acura has given a name to its new 4-door “coupe” SUV which will rival the BMW X6 Sport Activity Coupe. A prototype version of the new Acura ZDX will be unveiled at the 2009 NYIAS on the 8th of April 2009, just over a week from now. Under the hood will be a 300 horsepower 3.7 liter V6 engine with 373Nm of torque which should be pit against the X6 xDrive35i, but no rival for the xDrive50i version in sight for now. Power for the ZDX will go to all four wheels via Honda’s SH-AWD system. So there’s no new Acura/Honda NSX, but instead they give us something like this.

Look after the jump for 4 more teaser images of the ZDX.

Click here to read the rest of X6-like Acura ZDX “coupe” set for NYIAS debut

Hyundai’s BLUE-WILL concept is scheduled to be displayed at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show this year, which will start on the 2nd of April 2009. Looks like Hyundai decided to create some kinda 4-door CRX of sorts.

Under the hood is a hybrid powertrain much like the Kia Forte LPI Hybrid, but much more beefed up, since its a concept. The electric motor alone puts out 100kW, or 134 horsepower, and this is addition to a 1.6 liter engine that has gasoline direct injection, which should be good for another 120 horses or so.

Like the Forte LPI Hybrid, power for the electric motor is stored in a Lithium Ion Polymer battery pack neatly bundled with the fuel tank under the rear seat in order to maximise luggage space. The upcoming Elantra LPI Hybrid will also feature a Li-Po battery.

Hyundai has also incorporated dye-sensitized solar cells in the panoramic glass roof to generate power for the batteries.

More details at the Seoul 2009 show, look after the jump for two more photos of the BLUE-WILL (Blue Whale?!).

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai BLUE-WILL Concept set for Seoul debut