Citroen Survolt Electric Concept

This concept car from Citroen, called the Survolt, was first seen at the Geneva Motor Show back in March. Despite the fact the car is never likely to go into production we absolutely love the look of this concept and couldn’t resist posting up a shot for you guys.

The pink trim isn’t really to our taste, but replace those pink areas with cool carbon fibre and you have one hell of a great looking car, and if only the top bods at Citroen had the balls to go and put it into production it would make a real statement about the Citroen brand, there are of course a million hurdles that would stand in the way of this ever hitting the streets though.

Citroen are not big on on producing great looking high performance supercars, in fact they have yet to put one into production, and the chances of them actually putting one in showrooms anytime soon is practically zero.

Still, this Survolt concept sure looks great, and if those plucky French chaps ever slightly lose their minds a little and give something like this the go ahead, then they might just carve themselves a nice little piece of the electric supercar niche. We’re waiting.

Toyota FT-HS Concept Vehicle

The car market is already flooded as it is, but there is a problem. A lot of manufacturers are realizing that they need to change their ways in order to keep up with the competition. The world is becoming more and more eco-friendly on a daily basis and it is only a matter of time before people purposely look for an extremely eco-friendly car.

When it comes to eco-friendly vehicles and the development of them, there is no stronger manufacturer than Toyota. Whilst some manufacturers are still struggling to produce hybrid vehicles that run on an alternative power source, Toyota has been doing this successfully sine 1997.

Many car enthusiasts might think that they have done enough and they are likely to slow their development – they could not be any more wrong. Toyota has recently announced that they have plans to develop and launch 6 more models of their hybrid vehicles by 2012. Of these six 2 of them will be sold under the Lexus name. The other 4 in the range will be sold under the Toyota brand and are likely to be extremely popular.

Whilst the Toyota Prius built its own fame, it’s likely that Toyota is likely to put more effort into the marketing of the new models. Since the Prius, many other manufacturers have managed to bring out similar vehicles, so they need to prove that they have something special, something different.

There are a lot of talks surrounding this latest press release and many rumours surrounding the vehicles development. Toyota has suggested that the likes of a Toyota-Tesla RAV4 concept would be released at the Auto Show in LA this year, although this has not been confirmed.

There is no doubt that Toyota certainly has their work cut out. The likes of Nissan with their Leaf, Chevy with their Volt and the Honda CR-Z will all be hitting car showrooms at a similar time. What this means is that Toyota really need to find a unique selling point for their vehicles to differ from the rest!

So what can consumers really expect? Well, we believe from the hints that Toyota is giving us that the Toyota FT-HS concept is likely to be something that are bringing into the front line. Of course, it will not be the same, but it is likely that it has been built on similar foundations.

For technology to really move forward, we feel like a lot of motoring organizations and in fact the Government, need to get involved more actively. Luckily for BASF, they have had plenty of interest in their recent developments. They have been working on concepts that could change the future of motoring, but of course, this all comes at an extremely high cost.

Most recently, BASF has actually been awarded with an international environmental award. This award has been presented to them for their efforts with their recent I-Flow concept car. The award is a lot prestigious than many people think and will allow them to take their developments to the next level!

The award, which has been sponsored in conjunction with the University of Duisburg-Essen is only given to concepts with a difference. Generally they are concepts that are going to change the future of motoring technology for the better. This could be as regards to manufacturing, innovation or just general, the product they are offering.

BASF did extremely well in the awards ceremony, taking the third place for innovations category. All of the awards and reputation it gathered at the event were all down to its part in developing the I-Flow concept.

So what is the I-Flow concept? Essentially, the I-Flow concept is a vehicle that has been developed with Hyundai. To get such a big manufacturer on board was certainly not going to be easy, but it seems that the deal has worked well for both parties.

Hyundai I-Flow Concept

The success of the I-Flow has meant that it will be shown across the globe. In fact, the Korean car manufacturer displayed the vehicle at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. The display attracted a lot of interest, with car enthusiasts from around the globe trying to grasp the concept of the I-Flow.

The Hyundai I-Flow is one of the best vehicles in terms of energy savings. It offers consumers the chance to enjoy 85g/km, something that not many other brands can say that they are even coming close to achieving. BASF has already suggested that its development related to the vehicle has allowed it to get to where it is today.

The core of the development comes from the modifications they have managed to make to the diesel engine. Whilst it might look conventional, it is far from it, as it includes emission cutting technology. The reduction in the emissions also helps the MPG to increase as well!

Lamborghini Indomable Concept - Front

The Paris Motor Show is nearly with us, and thus so will be the new Lamborghini concept that many (including us) have been itching to see. Until we get to see that undoubtedly beautiful piece of art in a few weeks time, others have been getting busy developing concept Lamborghini’s of their own, and the knockout pictured above is from Daniel Chinchilla Ochoa and Alberto Fernandez Albilares in collaboration with Lamborghini.

This concept was inspired by the lines of modern stealth military hardware, such as the F22 Raptor jet fighter, this inspiration is clear to see from the styling, and in the flesh it looks pretty striking, really eye catching and certainly its angular design could not slip by unnoticed as its combat counterparts are designed to do.

Obviously enthused by his creation, Daniel states that “Soft transitions between the surfaces with hard cuts are the main design cues. These create the functional elements of the car.”

Were not sure the surface transitions are quite so soft, but for whatever this Lamborghini Indomable Concept is, it is certainly a dribble inducing sight, and we can only implore the decision makers at Lamborghini to look favorably upon this concept and get to work setting this thing into production… as soon as possible… before Ferrari do it.

Lamborghini Indomable Concept - Rear

Alfa Romeo Pandion by Bertone

Alfa Romeo has rarely shied away from giving us stunning concept cars, over the years many incredible designs have come from both their own stylists and those of Bertone, the internationally renowned car design studio in Italy.

This Alfa Romeo Pandion by Bertone shows just how great the cars of the future could really look, where as often concept cars are produced which could never make the road in their concept form, there is little in this car that really could not become reality in a production model. Everything about it has a very real feel to it and it takes very little stretch of the imagination to see this in the showrooms and out on the streets.

The body shape looks simply beautiful, this Alfa Romeo Pandion is certainly one of the best looking cars we have seen for a while, the sleek lines and flowing curves give the car a real sense of motion, and to ensure you really stand out when you pull up outside the local Starbucks the doors are gull-wing affairs that effortlessly rotate from the rear wheels 90 degrees straight upwards, a real nice way to make an entrance.

Adding to the mouthwatering potential for production is the fact this car is constructed around a Maserati GT, meaning many of its major components do actually work, and can actually be produced. The most obviously striking feature of this concept is the rear of the vehicle, which uses a crystal type styling to invoke a feeling of speed even when the car is stationary, and it looks really good.

Sadly Alfa Romeo, like most manufacturers don’t, as far as we know, have any intention to put this car into production, of course they like some of the styling elements and its likely some features of this concept will reach production models sometime in the future, but the gull-wings and crystal styling are likely to remain only in the minds of the creative designers at Bertone rather then actually seeing the light of day on a production car, none the less, its not hard to imagine cars like this roaming our streets in 20 or 30 years time.

Alfa Romeo Pandion by Bertone - Rear View

Opel Astra GTC

Opel has already announced that it will be revealing its new Astra GTC concept at the Paris Motor Show in 2010. The company will be displaying their new vehicle in the form of a concept car, hoping to gain enough interest in it to put it into production in the very near future.

The design and general feel around the Astra GTC is likely to be something that attracts a lot of customers. It has the happy medium of plenty of style, but also a mixture of sportiness and also aggressive. It looks like the perfect hatchback, but not one that looks like it should be on a track rather than doing a city run.

Of course, like many concept cars, it will differ a lot from the original production model, so it may increase or decrease in popularity, depending on what Opel manage to do with it. A lot of this vehicle is focused around the design aspects, so lets just hope that they have not compromised on features elsewhere.

This new, concept based Astra seems to have a much wider stance in comparison to the older ones. This is not only to give it more presence on the road, but also to help it to handle a lot better as well. Many believe this will be the ultimate Astra, which a breath taking design and excellent engineering combined together to make the perfect hatchback.

Opel has suggested that they wanted to give the vehicle some kind of dynamic character. With that in mind, they also decided that keeping it sporty was something that was also important, as after all, that is what most of their Astra customers will be wanting.

As far as specification goes, there is nothing that special about the GTC. It is just under 4.5 meters long and comes as a three door, which has adequate space to fit 5 people in it comfortably.

Handling is helped along by the fact that Opel has incorporated FlexRide suspension and a electronic slip differential on the front. All of this should help drivers put the power to the ground, but have great ride comfort as well.

Power will come from a 2.0 liter Turbo engine, similar to that of the Astra VXR that has been becoming increasingly popular. Lets hope that the concept and production cars are not too far apart in terms of specification!