Archive for the ‘Concept Cars’ Category
Hybrid cars are going to become more prevalent in the coming years, and thats why this Porsche 918 Spyder Concept is just amazing.
Specs:
- 500 horsepower
- mid-mounted hybrid V8
- Carrera GT fused with a 914 and Jaguar XJ 220
Performance does not suffer at all from that ridiculous gas mileage: 0-60 in 3.2 secs. with a top speed of 198 mph and maybe the most important of all, a Ring lap time of under 7:30. Of course you have to take all this with a grain of salt considering this is all just estimated.
Like GM’s Puma and a slew of other personal mobility concepts before it, Honda’s three-wheeled 3R-C is all about getting one person around in style. As a “pod car,” it’s nice and small and would run entirely off lithium batteries. It also has space for storage in the front, and its clear canopy mysteriously shifts into a windshield to offer the driver more forward visibility.
The 3R-C is just a concept for the time being, though it’s set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Maybe we’ll be seeing more of this pint-sized beaut soon?
Autoblog Green, via Engadget
Italian design firm Dallara has put together some amazing concepts for the 2012 Indycar season. All specs on the concept is based upon the official Indycar specifications.
According to the new rules, the cars will become lighter, more efficient with less drag and more downforce. Basically, less horsepower and greater fuel efficiency.
John Sibal has posted some photoshop images of some amazing McLaren Mp4-12C liveries.
Check ‘em all out and then wander over to his blog for more digital deviance.
Kia is planning on launching their Ray concept car at the Chicage Auto Show, but instead of just showing everyone what the car will look like Kia has been sending out teasers. Here is the latest teaser which show off what appears to be the concept’s front fascia and headlights.
So, what do we know so far about the Kia Ray? Pretty much nothing other than the fact that it will be a plug-in hybrid of sorts, and that it looks pretty small.
Honda has begun moving in the 21st century without even letting anyone know. Home has started to operate its next generation solar hydrogen station prototype in the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D America.
The idea of course is to add these single integrated units into any garage very cheaply.
This Honda Solar Hydrogen Station is smaller than its predecessor and can produce enough hydrogen through an 8-hour overnight fill for the average daily commute (which is about 10,000 miles annually) for each fuel cell electric vehicle. Pretty handy being able to refill your vehicle overnight and you can sleep well while its filling, knowing that you are lowering CO2 emissions, since you take advantage of off-peak power rates. Daytime charging is solar power.
Not many people are really too familiar with XTR Carchip, but the Berlin tuning company has been making a lot of waves with their “X-Wide” Porsche Cayman project. Designed as a daily-driver-turned-track-tool, the 987 S underwent a major exterior overhaul, with a detachable CFRP front splitter, fenders, side skirts, carbon fiber exterior mirrors and an adjustable rear spoiler, along with a set of three-piece, central locking 18-inch BBS RS wheels wrapped in Pirelli rubber.
Inside, the stock stereo and air conditioning remain, but a set of Recaro GT3 seats with six-point Schroth harnesses and a roll cage make it ready for a late night assault on Hockenheim.
Somewhat disappointingly, the only modifications to the engine are a Super Sprint Magnum cat-back exhaust and an ECU tune which boosts output to 310 horsepower and brings a top speed of 177 mph. However, XTR isn’t stopping there — they’re working on a twin-turbocharged version that will reportedly put out around 850 hp when it arrives next spring.
Crazy futuristic car concepts, which is your favourite?
For those unfamiliar with the format of the show, most episodes involve the producers giving a challenge of some sort to hosts Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. The most recent episode, aired this week on the BBC in the UK, included just such a challenge. The boys were tasked to build their own answer to the extended-range EV Chevrolet Volt.
In a mere 18 hours they transformed a TVR Chimaera (interesting choice since a chimaera is a mythological creature composed of parts of a number of animals) into the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust pictured above. Once the i-Thrust was completed, it was turned over to Autocar magazine for an independent road test. As you might guess based on the photo, the results were not surprising and are a testament to perhaps taking all the time you need when developing a car. You can grab a copy of AutoCar’s full road test as a PDF or just watch the entire Top Gear segment and video of the Autocar road test after the jump.
[Source: Autocar]
