Concept Cars - Sunday, April 6, 2008 7:08 - 0 Comments

Fireblade concept makes for a hotter ZR1

We weren’t really under the impression that the Corvette ZR1 was lacking anything. It’s got the whole package - the power, looks, and even a (relatively) decent price tag. Apparently South African designer Idries Noah saw something much more and came up with his incredible design using the ZR1 as a platform. If you recognize the name, it’s because Idries also came up with the unofficial Ferrari F250 Concept that we drooled over back in December. His latest design, dubbed the Fireblade, takes inspiration from the Stingray Corvette, Gillet Vertigo, and Shelby Daytona.
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Concept Cars - Saturday, March 29, 2008 3:13 - 0 Comments

Voisin Concept, A Supercar With Portuguese Design

Voisin was a French automaker founded by a aviation pioneer, Gabriel Voisin, who produced cars with airplane technology, such as Knight-type sleeve valve engines, from 1919 to 1939. Sadly it never came to life again, as Bugatti managed to do, but maybe the owners of the brand decide to change this when they see the beautiful Voisin Concept, created by a Portuguese design center, LusoMotors. The main designer and founder of LusoMotors, Ernesto Freitas, told CarBodyDesign.com that, since he always loved French classic cars, he decided to recreate one of the most important ones. Voisin cars were the only ones that could rival a Bugatti at those times, hence the idea to create a supercar to face the Veyron.
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Concept Cars - Friday, March 14, 2008 5:13 - 0 Comments

Audi R8 V12 TDI has a “50/50″ shot at production, gets driven

Autoweek and Fourtitude were able to enjoy some seat time in the Audi R8 V12 TDI LeMans concept before its official unveiling in Geneva last week. Their drive was short (about an hour with a 50 mph speed limit imposed by Audi’s boffins), but their time at the airport adjacent to Sebring International Raceway has made an impression. The crimson beast we saw in Geneva was the same concept that was displayed in Detroit, simply sporting a new paint job, but spending quality time with the R8 V12 TDI revealed a few interesting tidbits about the concept.

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Concept Cars - Tuesday, March 4, 2008 2:38 - 0 Comments

Audi presents second V12 TDI R8 Concept

Audi has taken the wraps off its second R8 concept vehicle powered by its mighty V12 TDI engine at an event in Geneva today. The new concept sports the now familiar 6.0L V12 turbodiesel engine, developing a healthy 500hp and 1,000Nm (737lb-ft) of torque. Like the previous V12 diesel R8 shown in Detroit last month, the new model packs the latest in racing technology developed in Audi’s Le Mans efforts, and is differed thanks to its bright red paint scheme.

The V12 TDI is closely related to the engine in the Audi R10, the two-time Le Mans winner, and in the R8 it sees the supercar launch from 0-100km/h in just 4.2 seconds and enables a top speed of well over 300km/h.
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Concept Cars - Sunday, March 2, 2008 5:08 - 0 Comments

Italdesign Giugiaro Quaranta finally revealed in full

Italdesign Giugiaro has been releasing teaser images of its Quaranta concept at an agonizingly slow pace for weeks now, but has finally dropped all its got on the car just days before it will be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The Quaranta is actually inspired by the 1968 Bizzarrini Manta concept, and the two take the wedge shape to an extreme. The Quaranta’s claim to fame is that it houses a mid-mounted hybrid powertrain supplied by a Toyota. The 3.3L V6 combined with Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive produces a combined 268 horsepower and 212 pound feet of torque, which Italdesign claims is good for a 4.05 second run to 62 mph in the lightweight and perfectly balanced Quaranta. At the same time, its pair of fuel tanks integrated into the frame can hold nearly 16 gallons of fuel, good for a 621-mile range.
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Concept Cars - Sunday, March 2, 2008 4:40 - 0 Comments

Geneva ‘08 Preview: Land Rover LRX puts on a tux, looks sharp

And here we thought it looked good in white. Land Rover is quick to remind that the LRX is just a concept, but it’s sending a pretty strong message in Geneva, where a second, black-and-silver LRX will join the original white truck that premiered in Detroit. And the new one is even hotter than the original, itself one of the best concepts of the last year. It’s supposed to demonstrate how a (potential) production LRX could be personalized, and we would like to have one delivered to our personal garage approximately yesterday.

The rakish shape now features a silver roof fitted with side rails and a removable carbon-composite panel. This beautifully contrasts the black primary finish, and aluminum-accented details do their part to further dress up the exterior.
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Concept Cars - Friday, February 29, 2008 7:24 - 0 Comments

Leaked: Kia Soul Burner Concept

We reported about Kia’s forthcoming SOUL concept back on the 19th of February where we showed a rear view of the SOUL Burner vehicle. The Netherlands’s Autoweek magazine has leaked a full view image of the SOUL Burner concept ahead of next week’s Geneva Motorshow. In reality, if you possessed a good imagination you could have worked out what the rest of the car looked like from the initial published image and a couple of spy shots on the WorldCarFans web site.

What this image does show is the detail of the front end. The SOUL Burner concept gives us a clear direction of what Kia’s forthcoming mini crossover vehicle will look like. In summary, think jacked up Suzuki Swift, which is no bad thing as the Swift is a very contemporary design. The SOUL idea is to promote Kia’s new, funky image. Kia also appear to be introducing a new system in which the customer will be able to customise their new Kias to create a unique personalised vehicle from the showroom floor.

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Concept Cars - Tuesday, February 26, 2008 10:25 - 0 Comments

Mitsubishi Prototype S

Autobild spilled the beans over the weekend, and today, Mitsubishi lifted the embargo on its Geneva-bound Prototype S, which is basically the forthcoming Lancer Sportback in light concept trim. Beneath the hatchback’s skin lies the powertrain used in in the new US-market Lancer Ralliart — 240 horses, dual-clutch, full-time AWD, and active center differential. It’s anyone’s guess whether Mitsubishi will elect to offer it outside Europe, where the body style is sure to be a bread-and-butter seller. We certainly wouldn’t turn it away, though; there’s always room for more hatchbacks with “go.” Check out the new high-res shots in the attached gallery, and Mitsu’s official release after the jump.
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Concept Cars - Wednesday, February 20, 2008 3:10 - 0 Comments

Ugur Sahin Design dreams up Corvette Z03 Concept

The last time Ugur Sahin Design came up on our radar, it was for a beautiful modern Ferrari Dino rendering that had us hoping for a production version. Sahin has a come up with a new concept, this time based on a Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Unlike the Dino, Sahin is hoping to actually build this car with a production run of 100, Dubbed the Z03, this concept features full carbon fiber bodywork and design cues from the C3 Corvette and a Ferrari 599 GTB. Performance will be a focus as well, with 100 pounds shaved off the car’s overall weight, and three engine packages available from 500 to 750 horsepower. Further details will be available in March, and the delivery of a production car is optimistically set for the end of 2008.

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Concept Cars - Tuesday, February 19, 2008 8:15 - 0 Comments

Geneva ‘08 Preview: Kia SOUL burner concept, the Koreans go after Scion

Part of the selling point of Toyota’s Scion brand has been offering a very limited number of factory configurations and an almost endless list of customization options. Likewise, Scion ads often highlight the many ways that owners have made their cars unique. Kia now looks like it wants to follow a similar strategy for the production version of the new SOUL compact CUV. At the Geneva show in a couple of weeks, it’ll be showing a trio of SOUL concepts that highlight the personalization options for the new car. The first teaser shot of the one Kia calls the SOUL Burner has just been released showing off its matte paint finish, tattoos and fancy wheels.