Concept Cars

Hyundai To Launch New Tiburon

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Whilst the majority of concept cars never mange to reach it to production, or even to a point where they “might” go to production, that does not mean they are lost for ever. Hyundai and many other manufacturers use a lot of the design and mechanical features from their concepts in their newer vehicles.

Hyundai has been promising that they will replace the Tiburon with a new, updated vehicle. It was considered as an extremely sporty coupe model, so it is expected that the new model will be the same. According to the car manufacturing giant, they will be launching the new vehicle at the North American International Auto Show. The show takes place in January in Detroit.

By the looks of things so far, it looks like a lot of the design and mechanical aspects of the vehicle have been taken from the concept range at Hyundai. The likes of the Veloster concept car looks to have been a great inspiration for this vehicle, so expect the specs to be something similar.

The Tiburon has been labelled as a slightly budget vehicle. The only thing that suggests that this vehicle is a budget one is the price. Apart from that it offers users something that is extremely appealing to the naked eye, alongside a vehicle that has some extremely high specs. Of course, many of these features have come directly from the concept.

So what can people expect when the Tiburon by Hyundai eventually comes out? Well, to start with, we think that they have done the right thing by incorporating a front wheel drive system. The car is not really suited to a rear wheel drive system and certainly not to a four wheel drive system.

The structure of the drive along side the impressive engine specifications means that Hyundai has produced a vehicle designed for the city runs. It is comfortable, yet also eco friendly, which makes it the perfect car for every day use!

Full specifications for the vehicle have not yet been confirmed. Like many new releases, it is likely that closer to its debut, more facts and figures will be released.

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Mazda Shinari Concept Car

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

Mazda is constantly improved their range of vehicles, most of which started out as concepts in a previous life. The new Shinari concept from the manufacturing giant is proof of this and is an exciting concept for people looking to purchase a new car in the future.

Mazda has already suggested that the first sighting for the public will be available at the Paris Motor Show, which will take place at the end of September. Mazda has promised that the four door coupe will be on display for all to see and it is likely that the majority of the technical specifications will be released here too.

Essentially, the Shinari concept will show the route that the company will be taking in the future. While the focus is to produce an eco-friendly range of cars, Mazda will be mixing this up with their next generation design and style.

There are a lot of features in the Shinari that can be seen in the rest of the Mazda range. The likes of aggressive styling help to keep the brand different from the rest of the manufacturers that are fighting for their market share.

Mazda has managed to create a new look by including the likes of wide wheel arches and a uniquely designed front grille, giving it that extra bit of style. This is coupled by the fact that the styling of the bumper and headlights has a tint of both Audi and Aston Martin inside them.

Although the Shinari looks like a completely new vehicle from the exterior, it is likely that the interior and the mechanics behind it have been taken from elsewhere. They have taken inspiration from the likes of BMW and Jaguar, but in reality, it will probably end up taking the place of the current Mazda6, or at least running in a similar category.

It seems Mazda has certainly taken the right route here. They either needed to go for an eco-friendly vehicle, or a luxury one. They have obviously chosen the later, with the new concept featuring the likes of leather and aluminium throughout, simply adding to the class that it already possesses.

At the present time, the Mazda Shinari is a concept and nothing else. Mazda has not suggested that it will be released as a production model any time soon – or in fact, at all!

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2011 HumanCar Imagine PS PHEV – The New Muscle Car!

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Now when people hear muscle car, they think of an aggressive looking vehicle, fitted with a more than adequate engine. They expect to hear the roar of a booming V8 and chunky tires, but this is certainly not the case with the concept we are talking about today. Instead, the muscle in this car, relates to the people that power it!

The new vehicle in question is the HumanCar Imagine PS. On first glance, it comes across as extremely bizarre, a theme which will stay with the person interested as they find out more.

It seems a lot of manufacturers are looking to do something different these days, which has certainly been achieved here. HumanCar has certainly pulled out all the stops when developing the Imagine PS, although the uptake if it was ever released is not likely to be huge.

So where did the idea begin? Charles Greenwood, an engineer based in the US was the person who had the original idea for the vehicle. His idea worked on the basis of both the driver and passengers working together to power the vehicle. They would use a range of push and pull levers to get up to speed. Now I’m not sure about others, but this certainly does not appeal to me and takes being eco-friendly to another level!

Although the details of the HumanCar Imagine PS have not been confirmed as of yet, there are many rumours. One of the most recent rumours has suggested that passengers and the driver can push the car along thanks to wholes in the floor – much like what we used to see in the Fred Flintstone cartoons!

The unique design of the HumanCar Imagine PS means that it only takes one person to power it. That being said, we can go as far as to assume this is not the ideal candidate for long journeys, or maybe even for journeys that have many hills included. The likelihood is that the people powering the vehicle are likely to get extremely tired – very quickly, but then who said saving the planet, and $$$, was ever going to be easy!

So let’s hear something positive about the HumanCar Imagine PS! Luckily for the people on board, there is a small electric motor that can be used when they finally run out of steam!

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Kia Concept Car Debut

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

Kia is the next manufacturer in a long list to start to produce some eco-friendly concept cars. They have already released some pictures of their recent concept and have explained that the debut launch is not too far away. They have chosen to use the Paris Motor Show that is in October as the main debut for the vehicle.

According to Kia, the new Pop concept is likely to change the way that people think about eco-friendly vehicles and in particular, the Kia brand itself. The press day on the 30th of September is likely to be where people can get a much more in depth peak at the new concept. Kia has already suggested that the concept will utilize a three seat structure. Along side this it will be using electric motor setup, setting it up to be extremely eco friendly.

 Like many of the concept cars these days, this has been designed as an extremely small city vehicle. At only 3 meters in length, it is one of the smallest vehicles that they develop. They have already suggested that it will be a zero emissions car, which is obviously a good thing. The creative design that Kia has brought to the new “Pop” concept is extremely unique.

They have managed to incorporate the likes of a panoramic roof along side LED tail lights which is going to give it that extra bit of presence on the road. The Kia brand is drastically changing the way their range is perceived by the end user. Effectively, they are going towards what all manufacturers should be doing, which is to produce vehicles that have a minimal impact on the environment.

They are certainly trying hard to achieve this, with the Pop concept being the third eco-friendly development that they have revealed in 2010 alone! In fact, Kia has already suggested the way their company is going. A spokesman for the company has already suggested that they are looking towards producing cars that are small and eco-friendly.

They are certainly sticking to their word, going on to say that they hope to release a hybrid by the end of the year in the USA. The new Pop concept does look like it has a lot of functionality behind it, but Kia may have problems. It seems like they are one step behind manufacturers such as Toyota, a company that has already released similar models.

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i-flow Concept from Hyundai

Wednesday, August 25th, 2010

Hyundai unveiled one of their latest developments at the Geneva Motor Show this year. The concept car takes on the aerodynamic structures that can be seen with most of their other vehicles, showing their levels of innovative behavior lately and how it is increasing.

The new concept car from Hyundai has been labeled the i-flow. Whilst the exact specs of the new vehicle are not released, it is obvious that the main function for this vehicle will be for it to be economically friendly. It features an extremely unique, yet sleek design, yet all of the design features contribute to its small impact on the environment.

From the very beginning, the idea behind this concept was to produce a vehicle with as little emissions as possible. It seems that Hyundai has managed to achieve many of their goals, with figures such as 85 g/km CO2 emissions surfacing recently. The i-flow is far from ready, but it seems that Hyundai are serious about taking the development of this vehicle a lot further.

One thing to take note of is this; this is the first Hybrid that features a diesel engine. Previously, hybrids have featured petrol engines, which tend to offer much less in the way of MPG and generally consume more emissions. The roof is the place where the majority of the energy is gathered, using technologically advanced solar cells.

Everything about this vehicle is innovative, with Hyundai covering every single aspect of an eco-friendly design. Everything from the solar panel roof, right through to the incorporation of a thermo electric generator helps to make this the car it is. In fact, the likes of these additions, means that the vehicle can see reductions in fuel economy of up to 5% in some cases.

The great thing is that a lot of the energy that has been used can be recovered fairly easily. The vehicle uses around 125 watts at 40mph, which is a minimal amount anyway. The fact is, we find it amazing how the i-flow concept car can re-coup up to half of this energy back using the on board thermo generator!

Whilst the development of the vehicle is Hyundai’s doing, there are a lot of companies that have taken part in the development. In fact, the likes of BASF Coatings have played as significant part in helping to create the next generation vehicle for daily commutes; the Hyundai i-flow.

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2011 Corvette Stingray Concept – Convertible

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

With another Transformers movie also comes another great looking muscle car, this time around we get the Corvette Stingray Concept from the 2nd movie… only this time it’s a convertible!

Set to appear in the 3rd edition of the hit Transformers movie series (due for release in July 2011) in this convertible guise, this example yet again shows just how great car designers can make a car look when they have no restrictions set up on them by the bosses.

This Corvette Stingray convertible looks superb, and is sure to be a hit with all fans of the Corvette, and of course Transformers, we can only hope, along with all the other fans, that somehow some of this Corvette Stingray’s design cues make it through to a production model sometime in the future, it sure would make an awesome sight cruising down the highway and we are already salivating at the thought of something that looks like this actually being available in the showrooms.

Of course GM have given us no clues on when, or indeed if, this car or anything like it will ever be put into production, and our guess is most likely some styling elements from this Corvette Stingray Concept may may make it through to a production model someday, but the entire package is sadly never likely to be put together for the masses, but then who knows… they may one day surprise us.

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