Koenigsegg Quant

It’s been a while since we’ve heard any news or rumors from Koenigsegg, but now the Swiss supercar maker is using its home turf to show off something new. The Geneva Motor Show will be the place that Koenigsegg will show off a concept for a new vehicle called the Quant (teased above). If this is the long-rumored four-door sedan, then it may be upstaging cars like the Lamborghini Estoque with this muscular sedan.

Koenigsegg will have another, less exciting, premiere in Geneva. It will debut a new infotainment system for the CCX. This will incorporate all of the supercar’s systems into one touchscreen, and bring some definition

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2011 BMW Z-2 CONCEPT

BMW left a hole in its line up with the new Z4. The car is not too big, but it does put a wide enough gap between it and its predecessor, the Z3, to take it out of direct competition with like the small, lightweight Mazda MX-5. Not likely to leave a market wide open for other companies, BMW is rumored to be working on a Z2 model for featherweight fun.

The Z2 will be built on a modified Z4 platform, and unlike its bigger brother will only be offered with a choice of four cylinders engines with a maximum capacity of two liters. The base version will be a 1.8-liter with 150 hp, while a “M” version could be a turbocharged car with an output of around 300 hp. Like previously reported, a hybrid version is also in the works and a M version might also be a possibility.

The Z2 will be offered with BMW’s latest technologies, including active steering, dual clutch gearbox and active suspension. The price will be somewhere around the $30k area and the official debut will be made at the end of 2010, with sales to begin in 2011.

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Chevrolet stingray concept

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EDAG light car coming to geneva motor show

Concept cars are not just for the automakers. Engineering firms sometimes like to wrap their latest creation around a futuristic body. EDAG taking this idea with practically named "Light Car - Open Source" that will premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The mechanical workings of the car take a backseat to its light an instrument arrangement. EDAG is using the car to show off its (O)LED technology that it calls "an individually adaptable design and communication element." In practical terms this seems to be sort of a blank slate for drivers to individualize. The car looks like its made of glass. The driver can choose shapes, colors and possibly positions for the exterior lighting. Inside the diver can choose where he or she wants the exact position for all of the virtual dials and controls. "We have transferred today’s multimedia and lighting technology standards to the car, and in future want to offer the customer scope for free configuration, as the entire surface of the vehicle functions like the display of a multimedia installation, and can be used intelligently and individually, " explains Johannes Barckmann, Head of the EDAG Design Studio.

The car is designed to go 150 kilometers (93 miles) on electric power from lithium-ion batteries, with motors in each wheel housing. EDAG did not give any power rating for the car. We’re guessing there is only about a 50/50 shot this car will actually have an engine when it arrives in Geneva. This is not a half-baked vehicle; but it’s likely EDAG is more interested in showing off the technology of (O)LED than making the car roll on its own.

EDAG does not want to be the one to design the all the software programs the car can run, that’s why "open source" is in the car’s name. The Light Car - Open Source is a showcase for EDAG, so while this car may or may not make it to the road, the technology will likely in our automotive future.

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Cadillac thorium concept WTF

This is the Cadillac Word Thorium Fuel Concept, a nuclear-powered futuremobile from designer Loren Kulesus. As you might have noticed, that name can be handily abbreviated to ‘WTF concept’ an acronym that – in the world of the internet at least – stands for What The, er, Heck. We assume Mr Kulesus was well aware of this.

So what is it? The Cadillac WTF is powered by thorium, a slightly radioactive metal that can be used as a nuclear fuel. WTF?

There’s more weirdness: those deep-dish wheel-things aren’t standard tyres, but instead each consist of six individual mini-wheels powered by their own induction motor. WTF?

This, says Kulesus, would mean that the WTF would never need a fresh set of tyres, which is obviously good news for the environment. Unlike 24 separate induction motors, which probably aren’t.

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BMW 5-series PAS 2010

BMW will stir up a hornet's nest of controversy in 2009 when it launches the strange, niche-bending 5-series PAS. We don't yet know the full name of Munich's latest model, but we understand it will keep the 5-series badge and add a new moniker – like the Touring tag for BMW's estates.

What does PAS stand for? It's the working title of the new BMW 5-series spin-off and signifies this is the Progressive Activity Sedan. Read into that title what you will: CAR's view is that it mixes the best bits of saloons, estates and MPVs.

BMW PAS: Jack of all trades, master of none?

We're still struggling to see where the PAS fits in to BM's range, but we'll give Munich the benefit of the doubt until we see it. And this car will excel in many areas: those unusual proportions will afford a colossal amount of passenger space, the rear legroom said to exceed that available in the 7-series. Perfect for lanky basketball players, then.

And the PAS will mix in a high degree of practicality in other ways. It will be the first BMW to use a double-hinged boot like the Skoda Superb's, operating in saloon boot or hatchback modes.

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Honda first hydrogen production car FCX clarity

Highways filled with hydrogen cars are still decades away, but that doesn’t diminish the achievement of rolling the first fuel-cell car off a mass-production line. To open up interior space, Honda developed its own fuel cell, a 100-kilowatt stack that packs substantially more energy into a 65 percent smaller space than other designs and squeezes neatly into the tunnel between the front seats. And by working through several generations of concept cars, Honda has gotten the once-experimental FCX to look and drive just like a gas-powered car. It even has a 280-mile range. The big difference: Nothing comes out of the tailpipe but water vapor. Three-year lease for $600 a month; honda.com

How It Works
Inside the fuel cell:
[1] Hydrogen and air flow from top to bottom in Honda’s fuel cell through wave-shaped channels [2]. Along the way, an electrolyte surface transforms the hydrogen into water and electrons. The cooling system [3] runs horizontally through the channels to keep the cell from overheating.

Beyond gasoline
The 45.7-gallon tank in the rear of the car stores compressed hydrogen, which the fuel cell between the front seats converts into electricity and water.

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Castagna Aznom concept

This aznow concept is based on chevrolet Zo6 concept

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Saleen s5s raptor concept

What does a supercharger bolted on to a 5.0-litre V8, running on E85 sound like? For the purposes of this piece of information, it sounds like the Saleen S5S Raptor, a concept car from the house of Saleen that's destined to show its fangs at the New York Auto Show.

Raptor is only a sketch for now, but later this drawing will come to a top velocity just north of 200 mph/ 322km/h on a flat tarmac. Bodywork is courtesy of composite panels, while the chassis runs on aluminium. Both these are in the name of weight-saving, that all-important criterion when it comes to supplying as much speed as possible between tire and tarmac.

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The ferrari 250 concept

This year’s edition of the Paris Motors Show already has its main attraction: a new entry level Ferrari model that, meanwhile, is being called Dino, not only because it will be the cheapest option the Italian automaker will offer, but also because it could have a V6 engine. If this information was confirmed, this is what the car could look like, according to the New Zealand’s designer Idries Noah. And he has named it the F250 Concept.

The 250 of the name is no homage to Ford’s F-Series, but a reference to the engine Noah has imagined for the car, a 2,5-litre V6 that also runs on ethanol (a real possibility, considering Ferrari’s F430 Spider Bio Fuel Concept), and a reference to the 250 GTO. Our sources inform that the car will use another engine, though: a V8 pumping out 400 hp.

If the engine happens to be different from what Noah has imagined, most of the other ideas will surely be the same, such as the mid-rear engine position and the rear wheel drive propulsion system.

Since the F250 Concept is a product of Noah’s imagination, the real vehicle will possibly look very different from this one, but it is nice for us to have a glimpse of the many appearances it may have. This one would surely honor Ferrari’s fame for beautiful cars. Let’s hope the real thing does even better.

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Toyota IQ concept 2009

has developed an all-new, innovative compact-vehicle architecture. First seen on the new iQ, the tiny front-engine four-seat car that's barely a foot longer than a smart fortwo and goes on sale in Europe and Japan this winter, this architecture will form the basis for the next-generation Yaris, a seven-seat microvan, and a hybrid to challenge the CY 2009 Honda Insight.

The iQ's chief engineer, Hiroki Nakajima, says there are six major packaging innovations in the new range of cars:

• The differential has been moved to the front side of the engine, which is itself canted forward. This has the effect of moving the wheels forward and with them the driver's feet by nearly 5 in.


• A new steering rack is mounted high on the firewall. To accommodate this, an all-new wiper motor and mechanism had to be built.
• The fuel tank is a flat, book-thin reservoir under the rear passengers' feet.
• The climate-control unit has been made more compact (though not de-powered) and its blower moved from ahead of the passenger to above the unit. This allowed an asymmetric dash to be created, which lets the front passenger slide forward and donate more space to the one behind.
• The seatbacks have a strong perimeter frame but ultrathin centers, creating more rear-seat knee room.
• Repositioning the engine ancillaries around the suspension allows a turning radius of just 154 in.

All this was expensive, requiring numerous new components in place of the usual generics: differential, fuel pump and sender, wiper system, HVAC, seats, and door and window systems. It perhaps explains why it hasn't been done before and why Toyota will need to defray the commodity costs across several high-volume lines of cars.

That need for volume production is why the iQ is all-steel. It's heavy for its size at 1900 lb, because the crash structures are sized for a seven-seater and a weightier hybrid. There are 12 airbags in the iQ, including rear windshield bags because the rear passengers are so close to the back of the car.

In the 2011 Yaris, the packaging improvements will make for a spacious subcompact to take the fight to the Honda Fit. Toyota will have the iQ-derived small hybrid on sale about a year after the next-generation Prius makes its debut. The company intends to build a million hybrids a year from 2010.

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Gm unveils its Chrysler Peaops electric car

Along with an electric sports car, minivan and Jeep, today Chrysler also unveiled a new all-electric car from their GEM subsidiary called the Peapod. The Peapod is first of a new generation of GEM electric vehicles that will be more user-friendly and more efficient.

"We have evolved the GEM design language to better reflect its eco-friendly performance and its upbeat, positive image," said Peter Arnell, Chrysler's Chief Innovation Officer who led the design process. "These vehicles use no gasoline and emit no pollutants. So whether it's a trip around the neighborhood or the drive to school or work, the GEM Peapod is the ideal way to contribute to a greener planet, and a healthy lifestyle."

Unlike some past GEM vehicles, the Peapod is fully enclosed and designed to be more aerodynamic. Chrysler hasn't released any details about the Peapod's range or any new battery technology it may incorporate, but it's likely it will be an improvement over previous models. Chrysler has released some information about the driver comforts, though. The Peapod will have a built-in interface in the dash for your iPod or iPhone and will interface with the iPhone for hands-free calling. The seats will be made from a mesh material to allow better air circulation and will be made from eco-friendly and recycled materials.

GEM hopes to have the Peapod into production in 2009, and will follow it with more new models. For now, future plans include an electric light-duty commercial truck and a large city electric car with more range and performance, both of which GEM hopes to get into production next year along with the Peapod.

Chrysler also announced today that the GEM name will be changed from Global Electric Motors to GreenEcoMobility, in what appears to be an obvious marketing stunt to cash in on environmentally-friendly buzzwords.

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Mercedes benz Concept Fascination

Mercedes-Benz builds the world’s most desirable coupés – a claim which the Stuttgart-based car maker is underlining at the 2008 Paris Motor Show with its ConceptFASCINATION design study. This unique vehicle, whose innovative and unconventional proportions interpret the emotional appeal of a coupé in a new way, represents an exciting and intelligent combination of sporty and elegant design with stylish practicality. Wood, aluminium and smoked glass give a particularly exclusive look and feel to the luggage compartment which incorporates a refrigerated compartment and a humidor as well as offering a large load space. These attributes embody the two objectives of ConceptFASCINATION – to provide a high level of practical usability and to create a coupé which appeals to the heart with fast, thrilling lines. In developing this design study, Mercedes-Benz has given fresh impetus to the long-established (although now rarely seen) ''shooting brake'', a vehicle category with its own distinctive charisma. Freed from the constraints of a specifications book, the designers have created an automotive sculpture with great aesthetic appeal which once again demonstrates Mercedes-Benz’s high level of design expertise. ConceptFASCINATION is a unique jewel of compelling automotive design which is distinguished by its irresistibly dynamic lines yet still offers the benefits of a large luggage compartment. A particularly notable feature of the design is that the practical load space develops organically from the exciting and elegant lines of this lifestyle coupé, giving it its special charisma. Inside, the tone is set by fine, exceptional materials hand-crafted to the highest standard. Absolute perfection and attention to detail make this design study an incomparable gem which conveys at one and the same time a sense of sporty forward movement and elegance, savoir-vivre and exclusivity of the highest level.

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Lamborghini Urus Four door coupe concept set for paris motor show

Last week Lamborghini teased the world with a couple of small detail images of a mystery concept set to be unveiled. It is true most of us were left scratching our heads analysing what little evidence we were presented with, but the usually reliable folks over at autonews have confirmed with its inside sources that it will be a four door coupe. To top that off we can also reveal it will be called Urus (meaning large cattle) after Carspyshots user erzhik uncovered Lamborghini had registered the name with the trademark office.

The model will not only be a concept, but a preview of a production model that is in the pipeline, it represents a huge gamble for the supercar maker, diversifying their business model to compete in a formidable battle with the Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera.

The Gallardo and Murcielago model lines sport a rear engine setup, but this new four-door will place its engine at the front of the vehicle, just behind the front axle. It is believed the Gallardo's 5.0-liter V10 power unit may struggle to fit into the smaller engine bay meaning we may see a new engine unit with a smaller displacement introduced.

Lamborghini apparently plans to sell 3,000 units of the four-door coupe each year, a figure which would send their annual sales figures through the roof. In the first half of 2008, Lamborghini sold just 1,309 vehicles.

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NEW MINI CONCEPT

NEW MINI CONCEPT FROM BMW AG

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NEW CONCEPT CAR FROM MAZDA

THIS MODEL OF MAZDA IS EXPECTED TO DEBUT IN AUTO MOTOR SHOW

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Next-Wave Astrovan: Canadians Pen All-Electric Concept With Aeronautic Touches

It has the profile of a Toyota Prius interpreted by the late Maxime Faget, designer of the Space Shuttle. It's the Hinterland 1, a conceptual all-electric minivan with a drag coefficient of less than 0.25 (the Prius's is 0.26). And if its designers get their way, it'll become a Canadian icon on par with the CN Tower, Geddy Lee and Poutine.
Chief designer of the Hinterland 1 is a veteran of Québec-based Bombardier Recreational Products, maker of the Sea-Doo watercraft, who says the project "combines sources of artistic, technical and scientific expertise" from recreational vehicles, electric motors and batteries, aeronautics, aluminium, plastics processing and video games. In theory, the sculpted body would comprise an aeronautical-style aluminum monocoque, fashioned by the same hydroforming process GM uses to create body panels for its curvy Pontiac Solstice roadster. A drive system proposed by electric-car startup Higgins-Aubé would involve a 43 kW-max motor (14kW continuous) powered by Li-ion or Zebra (Sodium Nickel Chloride) batteries with a maximum power of 37,000 kilowatts. Designers envision two models built on the same platform, a two-seater "Mini" and the six-person "Van."

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MERCEDES-BENZ BIONIC CAR

DaimlerChrysler is using a new concept vehicle to examine the great potential of bionics for automobile development, and has achieved outstanding results for fuel consumption and emissions with a combination of pioneering diesel engine technology and innovative emission control methods.

The Mercedes-Benz bionic car study will have its world premiere at this year’s DaimlerChrysler Innovation Symposium in Washington. To realize the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, the engineers at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Centre and the DaimlerChrysler Research department have for the first time looked for a specific example in nature which not only approximates to the idea of an aerodynamic, safe, comfortable and environmentally compatible car in terms of details, but as a formal and structural whole. The example arrived at was the boxfish.

Despite its boxy, cube-shaped body, this tropical fish is in fact outstandingly streamlined and therefore represents an aerodynamic ideal. With an accurately constructed model of the boxfish the engineers in Stuttgart were able to achieve a wind drag coefficient of just 0.06 in the wind tunnel. In order to use this great potential for automobile development purposes, specialists at DaimlerChrysler first created a 1:4 car model whose shape was substantially based on the boxfish.

During tests in the wind tunnel, a drag coefficient of 0.095 – a previously unprecedented value in automotive engineering – was measured for this clay model. It corresponds to the values achieved with highly streamlined shapes (Cd 0.09) and other aerodynamically ideal forms. DaimlerChrysler utilized the findings from this research during the development of the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, a fully functioning and roadworthy compact car with a length of 4.24 meters and space for four occupants plus luggage.

With a Cd value of just 0.19, this concept vehicle is among the most aerodynamically efficient in this size category. 20 percent lower fuel consumption and up to 80 percent lower nitrogen oxides emissions In addition to superb aerodynamics and a lightweight construction concept derived from nature, the 140-hp diesel engine and innovative SCR technology (Selective Catalytic Reduction) greatly contribute to fuel economy and a further reduction in exhaust emissions.

In the EU driving cycle the concept car has a fuel consumption of 65.7 mpg – 20 less than a comparable series-production car. In accordance with the US measuring method (FTP 75) the range is around 70 miles per US gallon (combined), which is about 30 percent more than for a standard-production car. At a constant speed of 56 mph the direct-injection diesel unit consumes only 100.9 mpg – corresponding to a range of 84 miles per gallon in the US test cycle. DaimlerChrysler is currently testing its SCR technology worldwide.

By this means, and with the additional operating fluid “AdBlue”, the nitrogen oxides emissions of the direct-injection diesel engine can be reduced by up to 80 percent. The aim of these trials is to avoid the fuel consumption disadvantages by optimizing the in-engine combustion processes. This is where Mercedes-Benz car engineers are benefiting from the experience gained by their colleagues in the commercial vehicle sector, where SCR technology is already in successful use.

DaimlerChrysler also intends to use the great potential of this process for diesel passenger cars in future, and will initially be offering SCR technology in the USA when the trials have been completed. “AdBlue” is an aqueous urea solution which is sprayed into the exhaust system in precisely metered quantities, depending on the engine operating status.

This converts the nitrogen oxides into harmless nitrogen and water. The reservoir for this service fluid is located in the spare wheel recess of the concept car, and its capacity is sufficient for a mileage corresponding to the service interval for a current Mercedes diesel model. The Mercedes-Benz bionic car study is also equipped with a maintenance-free diesel particulate filter.

Great rigidity and low weight – a growth principle designed by nature The boxfish, the aerodynamic model for the concept car, is also a prime example of rigidity and light weight. Its skin consists of numerous hexagonal, bony plates which provide maximum strength with minimal weight and effectively protect the animal from injury. DaimlerChrysler researchers examined this bionic structure and transferred this principle to the Mercedes-Benz bionic car study with the help of a special calculation process.

The process is based on the principles of bone formation and for instance allows up to 40 percent more rigidity to be achieved in the external door paneling than would be possible with conventional designs. If the entire body shell is calculated according to this bionic principle, the total weight is reduced by around one third with undiminished strength and crash safety.

The Mercedes-Benz bionic car Streamlined and light, like a fish in water – economical and environmentally friendly thanks to the latest diesel technology Thinking the unthinkable. Looking beyond the horizon. Leaving familiar paths and giving new ideas a chance: that is the philosophy of DaimlerChrysler, the technological leader among automobile manufacturers.

For more than 100 years the technological lead of the Stuttgart company has been based on the creativity of its engineers – and on their enthusiasm for visions. None of this has changed to the present day, and DaimlerChrysler specialists take up the challenge to shape the future of the automobile on a daily basis.

There are no limits here: in order to create trailblazing innovations for even more safety, environmental compatibility and comfort, they research all the possibilities offered by technology and science.

For experience has shown that only free, interdisciplinary thinking leads to really outstanding results. One such project was the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, a concept vehicle based on examples in nature, in which DaimlerChrysler has also transferred the diesel engine technology of the future to a fully functioning and practical car for everyday use. Bionics – a combination of biology and technology – is a quite recent field of research which has nonetheless already made remarkable progress possible in different areas.

Nature has provided ideas for high-strength materials, low-friction surfaces, dirt-repellent coatings and practical Velcro fastenings, for example. Many of these inventions are based on more or less accidental discoveries from the animal and plant world.

For the first time in the case of the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, the engineers at the Mercedes-Benz Technology Center (MTC) and DaimlerChrysler Research looked for a specific example in nature whose shape and structure approximated to their ideas for an aerodynamic, safe, spacious and environmentally compatible car.

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TOYOTA IREAL CONCEPT PICS

HOW THE ERA OF CONCEPT CAR WIL CHANGE IT IS HOW IT LOOKKS LIKE FROM HERE

THIS TOYOTA 1 PASSENGER CAR HAS AN ENORMOUS INGENIOUS CONCEPT

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TOM CRUISE MINORITY REPORT CAR FOR SALE

The car driven by Tom Cruise in action film Minority Report is expected to fetch £64,000 (about $125,654 US dollars) when it goes under the hammer next month. The sleek red Lexus 2054 is just one of three models created for the movie and only has 38 miles on the odometer.

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