Concept Cars

It's very easy to be cynical when presented with the phrase, "Chinese car". For most of us, experience of Chinese vehicles is limited to horrific-looking crash test videos on the internet, or the occasional dubiously-constructed neigborhood electric vehicle. Qoros is seeking to change that as it...

Mitsubishi doesn't sell a pickup truck in the U.S, but elsewhere around the world its L200 model is a highly popular utility vehicle. Typically powered by a 2.5-liter turbodiesel engine, the L200 mixes a one-ton payload with almost 6,000 lbs of braked towing capacity. It's smaller than many U.S...

As Mitsubishi rolls out its "global small" platform across the globe, it showed what could be the next generation of small car at the Geneva Motor Show. The Concept CA-MiEV is a full electric car with class-leading aerodynamics and high-density lithium-ion batteries, giving a driving range of up to...

Subaru's last crossover was the slightly underwhelming XV Crosstrek, but its latest concept looks a lot more exciting. Unveiled today at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, the Viziv Concept is a diesel hybrid crossover, hinting at the looks and powertrain of some future Subaru models. Traditionally...

Rinspeed isn't the only unusual carmaker to originate from Switzerland. Fellow Swiss automaker Sbarro is another which periodically releases something weird and wonderful into auto show halls, and this year it's the turn of the Réact E.V. E.V. doesn't, as you might expect, stand for electric...

There's a train of thought that goes thus: If you're going to launch an electric concept car, you may as well give it outrageous performance and range statistics as it'll never see the light of day anyway, and nobody can prove you wrong. Someone at Silex Power clearly thinks along similar lines, as...

Like celebrity reality TV shows, concept cars are a tantalizing glimpse into a life we can approximate, but never fully enjoy ourselves. Take this Fiat Lussino concept, for example. "Lussino" is derived from the Italian word lusso, or "luxury". "Ino" makes it "small luxury". It's the work of...

Launched today at the 2013 Chicago Auto Show, the Kia Cross GT does nothing to make us doubt Kia's future design direction. The dramatic luxury crossover concept really stands out, reaching far beyond the company's budget roots. It's the tech under the skin that interests us though, as the Cross GT...

Luxury brands have been expanding into smaller vehicles for a while now, and the Lincoln MKC Concept unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show continues that trend. The smallest member so far of Ford's struggling lxuury brand has been the MKZ mid-size sedan, but the compact crossover concept shows the...

In order to improve the aerodynamics of new vehicles—and boost their highway gas mileage—automotive engineers have looked to a new series of seemingly minor features that add up to meaningful gains in EPA ratings. One of them is the active grille shutters that have become increasingly...

At the Detroit Auto Show, Volkswagen showed not just one but two concepts with diesel plug-in hybrid powertrains. VW not only unveiled its CrossBlue Concept for a mid-size seven-passenger crossover, it also showed the CrossCoupe Concept it had premiered last year at the Beijing Auto Show. Each...

Which car are you most excited about for 2013? If the BMW i3 electric car isn't near the top of the list, we'd be surprised. Its bare figures may not be headline-grabbing, but on design alone it makes even BMW's current production cars look a bit half-hearted. You can see this better than ever...

British luxury automaker Jaguar has cancelled plans to build a hybrid supercar, the company said today. The C-X75 plug-in hybrid supercar was originally set for launch in late 2013, following on from a concept car which used jet turbines as a range-extending powerplant. According to Autocar, those...

Every year at the Geneva Motor Show, Swiss carmaker Rinspeed shows off its latest confusing concept to the assembled crowds. In 2012, it displayed the Dock+Go--a lightly disguised Smart Electric Drive with a docking system to accept a larger battery pack. In 2011, it was the Bamboo, a beach-buggy...

Concept cars used to be flights of fancy, vehicles designed solely to grab attention when a carmaker's regular products were lacking visual verve. In more recent times, they've been so much more than that. They still look extreme and showcase blue-sky technology, but concepts now give us a much...

At the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show this week, Mercedes-Benz unveiled a striking new SUV concept said to be capable of packing a hydrogen fuel cell stack, lithium-ion battery and four in-wheel electric motors. The concept is the Mercedes-Benz Ener-G-Force, and although it doesn’t herald a new...

Though BMW is still some months away from launching its i3 electric hatchback and i8 plug-in hybrid sports car, the brand is already looking with an eye to the future of its electric car range. At this week’s Los Angeles Auto Show, BMW is displaying the latest member of its i Series, in...

There’s been talk of a more powerful Honda CR-Z in the works ever since the hybrid ‘hot’ hatch was first launched. This was mostly because the CR-Z, which was billed as the first sporty hybrid, was neither sporty nor all that fuel efficient. Its official performance specs came in...

The car you're looking at is the result of German automotive giant Volkswagen filling another niche in the market. Among its portfolio of worldwide brands there are very few shapes and sizes not yet explored, and the Volkswagen Taigun Concept adds a compact crossover to the list. Unveiled at the...

Audi is previewing the future of the compact crossover with a Paris Auto Show concept it calls the Crosslane Coupe. The Crosslane Coupe features lightweight construction and a fuel-saving, dual-mode hybrid drivetrain, which could potentially make it into the production version, reportedly called...