5 of the Coolest Concept Cars Ever
No buts about it, concept cars are cool. There is nothing more exhilarating for a gearhead of any age than to visit a concept car show and dream about what driving will be like in 20 years. Sure, not every concept is going to make it into your local showroom, but it’s still fun to dream. Here is a list of the top five coolest, most epic concept cars you may or may not ever get to drive.
Alfa Romeo 4C GTA Concept
Unveiled at the 2011 Geneva auto show, Alfa Romeo’s long-awaited 4C GTA is described by the company as “a compact supercar” that has everything you want from an Alfa Romeo – it’s lightweight with awesome Italian lines and a dramatic interior. The company is trying to show all you sports car purists that there’s more to life than horsepower. This four cylinder, 1,874-pound Italian stunner takes you back to the glory days when Alfa was truly a thing of beauty to both drive and gaze upon. Combine that with the car’s amazing interior, top speed of 155 mph and the ability to hit 60 mph in less than five seconds, and this is definitely the vehicle to put on your mental wish list. Look for the Alfa Romeo 4C to go on sale for a “modest” price sometime in 2012. Read more…
Categories: Concept Cars Tags: Cars, Concept, Coolest, Ever
Detroit 2011: Kia KV7 Concept is a van with a plan
Kia certainly knows a thing or two about embracing the box design. After all, the styling of the Soul is certainly a perfect interpretation of the good things boxy shapes can create. With that in mind, Kia has set to reinvent the van with its new KV7 Concept here at the Detroit Auto Show. But we aren’t talking minivan – this is pure, boxy conversion van hotness.
Inside, there are clever features like swivel chairs for all occupants (including the driver), and the rear quarters are set up in a sort of lounge fashion. There are nifty gadgets like a floating table-top computer and full wireless internet capability. Wrap that in a sleek, boxy package that boasts a 285-turbocharged four-cylinder engine and the end result is a van that means serious business. As much as we’d love to see this concept come to fruition, we’ll chalk this one up as just another example of what happens when you let automotive designers run wild.
Categories: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Kia Tags: Detroit Auto Show
Detroit 2011: 2012 Chevrolet Sonic is not an Aveo
General Motors seems intent on banishing all memories of the unloved Aveo – so much so that it’s gone and renamed its entry-level fighter in the States. While we’re still not 100-percent in love with the name (we can’t get visions of spiky-haired hedgehogs out of our heads…), all three flavors of the Sonic do appear to be vastly improved over the machine they replace, though one of them, the Z Spec, is still in the concept stage.
More than anything else, they look vastly better both inside and out, but until we get a stint behind the wheel we’ll hold off final judgment. According to Chris Perry, vice president of Chevrolet marketing, “The all-new Chevrolet Sonic blends the practicality of a small car with the passion for driving that Chevrolet vehicles like the Corvette are known for.” That won’t be the only time you’ll ever hear someone mention the Sonic in the same sentence as the Corvette. In fact, Chevy tells us that Corvette engineers are responsible for the ride and handling of the sub-compact.
Categories: Auto Show, Chevrolet, Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Hatchback, Sedans/Saloons Tags: Detroit Auto Show
New York Auto Show 2009: Hyundai Nuvis concept hints at next-gen CUVs
The first hint of what we can expect from the next generation Tucson and Santa Fe crossovers was revealed today at the New York Auto Show as the Hyundai Nuvis concept. The sweeping creases echo and expand upon Hyunadi’s design direction that could be seen on the Genesis coupe and sedan and the Korean market Equus that stood on display nearby. Like so many other concepts at the show this year, this one featured doors that will almost certainly not be duplicated in production, extra-long gull-wings in this case.
The interior is designed for exactly four occupants instead of going for the maximum possible seating with three rows. Nuvis designers have dispensed with all the usual switch gear in favor of a river of information flowing throughout the concept’s interior, all of which is accessible through touch-sensitive surfaces. All of the interior fabrics are also made from 100% recycled materials.
Categories: Concept Cars, Crossovers/CUVs, Hyundai, New York Auto Show, New York Motor Show Tags:
2009 New York Auto Show Preview: Hyundai ready to talk about Nuvis Concept
The folks at Hyundai didn’t have much a comment for us when we showed them spy shots of a new concept that were taken by an Autoblog reader on the street. Patience, they told us. One day later and we’ve got some official details about the concept, not the least of which is its name: the Hyundai Nuvis Concept. This is the eleventh Hyundai concept penned at the automaker’s California Design Center in Irvine, and thus also gets an HD-11 added to its name. While the press release after the jump doesn’t reveal many details, it does tell us that the Nuvis hints at a new crossover from the South Korean brand. The only other thing we know is that the concept features one long door on each side of the vehicle that opens up gullwing-style. The Hyundai Nuvis Concept will debut at the New York Auto Show next week, so stay tuned for our live coverage from the show floor.
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Beijing Motor show 2010: Ford Start concept
As we were checking out the new Ford Start concept at the Beijing Motor Show, we ran into the head of Ford’s advanced studio in California, Freeman Thomas, and the mini car’s lead exterior designer, Jeff Nield.
According to Nield, he wanted to create a vehicle that retained elements of Ford’s “Kinetic Design” language while at the same time create something more subdued, able to stand apart from the noise surrounding the show. Thus the Start has a cleaner simpler shape that’s slightly more serious than past concepts. Nield mentioned the Mini and how it’s always had a cute, happy demeanor about it. He wanted to create something different – a thing of beauty injected with very natural, organic elements.
Thomas explained that the designers wanted to experiment with a hybrid construction consisting of a mix of aluminum, high strenght steel and composites. This allowed the creation of a very open, airy cockpit, with thin pillars for good visibility, while also providing occupants a feeling of safety with the high belt line.
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Beijing 2010: BMW surprises with Concept Gran Coupé
Four-door coupes are nothing new these days, what with vehicles like the Mercedes-Benz CLS and Volkswagen CC proving that these stylish sedans do, in fact, have a place in the automotive world. What’s more, Audi’s swoopy A7 is nearing its final stages of development, and higher-end coupe-sedans like the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera have indeed caught our attention in recent months. BMW is now jumping on that train, and the automaker has officially debuted its Concept Gran Coupé at this year’s Beijing Motor Show.
Strip away the rear doors, and the design of the Gran Coupé is awfully close to what we’ll see on the next-generation 6 Series. The sporty, flat design of the concept is really stunning, and BMW points out that the Gran Coupé is actually 100 millimeters (four inches) flatter than both the 5 and 7 Series sedans. Combine that with frameless doors and LED lighting all around and what we have here is a rather stunning design.
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Beijing Motor Show 2010: Geely Emgrand GE plug-in hybrid limo
Another entry that Geely has planned for its new Emgrand premium sub-brand is the GE limousine. Like many of Geely’s new models, the GE has a very prominent grille but the rest of the design looks otherwise well-proportioned and attractive. With a 214-inch body sitting on a 124-inch wheelbase, the GE is a big car targeted at executives who prefer to be driven rather than get behind the wheel. The Geely Emgrand GE can be equipped with either a rear bench contoured for two passengers or a single large seat flanked by extra storage compartments.
Underneath, the GE has the same plug-in hybrid powertrain featured in the GT coupe. That means it gets a 2.4-liter inline-four that producing 160 horsepower and 165 pound-feet of torque. The electric drive consists of a pair of 27.5 kilowatt, 132 pound-foot hub-motors for all-wheel-drive capability. The GE is targeted for 2015 introduction.
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Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Break Concept revealed ahead of 2010 Beijing Motor Show
Mercedes-Benz may not have invented the idea of a “four-door coupe” with the original CLS back in 2005, but the German automaker can surely be credited with the recent influx of such designs from automakers as varied and far-ranging as BMW, Jaguar and Hyundai. As such, you can be sure that Mercedes is keenly interested in reinventing the look it made so popular in the first place so as to differentiate itself from its competitors.
As we reported late last month, it seems likely that Mercedes-Benz will use the upcoming Beijing Motor Show to preview its next-gen CLS, along with the introduction of what appears to be a production-ready shooting break design. While the moniker is more often spelled ‘shooting brake,’ MB is keen to point out that the correct spelling is ‘break,’ as in breaking a horse that draws a carriage. Whatever the name, we’re liking what we see from this concept.
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2010 Beijing Motor Show Preview: Geely reinvisions London’s iconic taxi with its Englon TXN
Geely may be content to let Volvo do its thing without any apparent outside intervention (at least for now), but the Swedish brand’s new parent company apparently has its heart set on unleashing a wave of taxis on England. A set of renderings just hit the web featuring a freshly designed taxi rolling through London. Called the Englon TXN, the car is slated for an official unveil at the Bejing Motor Show at the end of this month.
Details are scarce at the moment, but the car’s design takes a modern spin on the classic look of the old British taxis. While the exterior shots almost look to be Photoshop creations, the interior pictures appear to be the real deal, and it features a rather nifty driver-centric cockpit.
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