Concept Cars

  • Rinspeed XchangE concept - 2014 Geneva Motor Show live photos

    One does not simply buy a Rinspeed car. They have no easily-accessible showrooms, and all of their vehicles are one-offs. Instead, they provide endless mirth at major auto shows like that ongoing in Geneva, with vehicles like the autonomously-driven XchangE. It is of course based on the Tesla Model S. Perhaps it's a sign that Tesla has made it--past Rinspeed conversions have been based on Porsches, Lotus, and Smart Fortwos. Tesla is in illustrious company. The other school of thought is that by painting a Model S bile green and chopping up its interior, Rinspeed may have ruined a perfectly...

  • MINI Clubman Concept  -  2014 Geneva Motor Show live photos
    MINI Clubman Concept: Live Photos From Geneva Motor Show

    MINI's existing Clubman model is an acquired taste, but the Clubman concept launched at Geneva may find a few more fans. It loses the abrupt wagon layout and unusual suicide-style side door, and in its place you get a proper four-door vehicle with better rear passenger space and a larger load area...

  • Mazda Hazumi concept
    Next Mazda 2: Hazumi Concept Live Photos From Geneva Show

    Don't be fooled by the title. It may well read "Mazda Hazumi concept", but Mazda has played this game before. Just as Minagi begat Mazda CX-5 and Takeri begat Mazda6, the Hazumi is essentially the next-generation Mazda2. As you can see from our live Geneva Motor Show photos, the Hazumi--and...

  • Hyundai Intrado concept, 2014 Geneva Motor Show
    Green Car Preview: 2014 Geneva Motor Show Concepts & Production Models

    The 2014 Geneva Motor Show is almost upon us, and true to form there's much higher green car content than at other recent shows. Geneva has cultivated an image of forward-thinking vehicles and manufacturers are all too happy to oblige when the Swiss show rolls along. This year includes everything...

  • MINI Clubman Concept, 2014 Geneva Motor Show
    MINI Clubman Concept: Four-Door MINI To Make Geneva Debut

    If you like the MINI but want something a little more practical, then this could be the car for you. It's the MINI Clubman Concept and it's set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week. Though even a brief glance tells you there's little concept-like about the new car. In contrast to the...

  • Hyundai Intrado concept, 2014 Geneva Motor Show
    Hyundai Intrado Concept Previews Next-Gen Fuel Cells At Geneva

    Hyundai has revealed official images of its Intrado fuel cell concept, due at this year's Geneva Motor Show in early March. Revealed in a preview image back in December, the Intrado is a compact crossover vehicle powered by the latest generation of Hyundai's fuel cell technology, before production...

  • Mazda Hazumi concept, 2014 Geneva Motor Show

    With the new Mazda3, Mazda6 and CX-5 crossover launched over the last few years, you might have forgotten the smaller Mazda2 subcompact even exists. Mazda hasn't forgotten the 2 though, and will unveil a new subcompact concept car at the Geneva Motor Show to point the way to its replacement. Mazda calls it the Hazumi, which means "bound" or "spring up" in Japanese, a reference to a small car that's apparently "bursting with energy". Styling will echo that of Mazda's larger models, part of the firm's 'Kodo, soul of motion' design language. That much is clear even in the teaser image, which...

  • Rinspeed XchangE concept, 2014 Geneva Motor Show
    Rinspeed XchangE Concept: Tarted-Up Automonous Tesla At Geneva Motor Show

    One of the highlights of the annual Geneva Motor Show--whether technologically or simply for amusement value--is seeing what Swiss automaker Rinspeed has chosen to unveil. For decades the firm has churned out all manner of weird and wonderful vehicles, from submarines based on the Lotus Elise to...

  • Nissan & Cummins Frontier Diesel Runner, 2014 Chicago Auto Show
    Nissan, Cummins Present Frontier Diesel Project At Chicago Auto Show

    More and more automakers are slotting diesel engines into pickup trucks, and at this year's Chicago Auto Show Nissan and Cummins have made one of the most compact yet, the Frontier Diesel Runner. Based on the Frontier Desert Runner 4x2, Nissan has dropped a 2.8-liter Cummins turbodiesel engine into...

  • Kia Niro concept, 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show
    Kia Niro: Subcompact Hybrid Urban Concept At Chicago Auto Show

    Kia's Niro concept, a subcompact-sized urban hybrid, is making its U.S. debut at the Chicago Auto Show today. First unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Auto Show, the Niro points the way to possible future models for Kia, a potential rival for models like the Nissan Juke and upcoming Honda Fit-based...

  • 2015 Honda Fit launch at 2014 Detroit Auto Show
    Best In Show: Green Cars At The 2014 Detroit Auto Show

    It's a time-honored auto-show tradition, picking the best new cars and concepts in the show. While this year's Detroit Auto Show had very few cars that could genuinely be viewed as "green," we've nonetheless picked both our favorite production car and our favorite concept. MORE: 2014 Detroit Auto...

  • 2015 Chrysler 200  -  2014 Detroit Auto Show
    2014 Detroit Auto Show: Summing Up The Cars And Concepts

    Another year, another Detroit Auto Show. The public won't pass through the doors of Cobo Hall until Friday, but the world's media have largely departed after two days' worth of press previews. It felt like a somewhat flat show, despite rah-rah coverage in the local press, and it really had only...

  • Honda Fit Hybrid (Japanese domestic model), Honda Proving Grounds, Tochigi, Japan, Nov 2013

    The important global auto shows tend to go in waves, and this year's Detroit Auto Show isn't looking particularly notable for its green cars. Barring surprises, there will be no global debuts of new plug-in electric cars, hybrids, or even new diesel vehicles. Instead, the most popular introductions are likely to be the 2015 Ford F-150 pickup truck, the 2015 Ford Mustang unveiled last month, and most likely some new vehicles from Chrysler-Fiat. MORE: 2015 Honda Fit To Have 36-MPG Combined Gas Mileage Rating The list of green or even green-ish concepts and cars, on the other hand, looks pretty...

  • AMC Amitron concept car, 1967
    Electric-Car Trivia: When Was Regenerative Braking First Used?

    Regenerative braking is a standard and expected part of any electrified car now, from Honda's mild hybrids up through battery-electric vehicles like the Tesla Model S. It lets the car recapture energy from momentum, which would otherwise be wasted as brake heat, by running the electric motor in...

  • Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion Concept, 2014 Detroit Auto Show
    Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion Concept: High-MPG Model At Detroit Auto Show

    At next week's Detroit Auto Show, VW will take the wraps off a concept car that previews a new and more fuel-efficient version of its mainstream Passat mid-size sedan. The Volkswagen Passat BlueMotion Concept features a direct-injected and turbocharged 150-horsepower, 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine...

  • Nissan BladeGlider Electric Sports Car Concept  -  2013 Tokyo Motor Show
    Nissan BladeGlider Electric Sports Car Puts Efficiency, Fun First

    Nissan is still making all the right noises over one of 2013's most exciting concept vehicles, the BladeGlider electric sports car. Despite looking like nothing else on the roads and very much the sort of car that's often forgotten about once its auto show debut has passed, the company still says...

  • Teaser for Hyundai Intrado concept
    New Hyundai Intrado Fuel-Cell Concept For 2014 Geneva Motor Show

    Hyundai announced this morning that it will unveil a new hydrogen fuel-cell concept vehicle, to be known as the Intrado, at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show in March. The Hyundai Intrado Concept will be constructed around a "super-lightweight structure" that employs a "mixture of advanced materials" that...

  • The new Audi show car
    Audi To Show Electric Crossover Concept At 2014 Detroit Auto Show

    Audi will show a new crossover concept at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show in January. Nothing surprising there you might think--Audi has a crossover concept for just about every month of the year. But this one is a little different, as it wears a badge on its flank we've seen before: e-tron. That means...

  • Volkswagen CrossBlue Coupe Concept

    The choice of fuel-efficient crossovers is rather limited right now. There's a Lexus RX, the diesel Audi Q5, and we're waiting on Mitsubishi's Outlander plug-in hybrid... but that's about it. Volkswagen will preview one more at the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show, in the form of an updated CrossBlue Coupe Concept. The original plug-in hybrid CrossBlue Concept was shown earlier this year at the Shanghai Auto Show. Based on the VW group's MQB modular platform, and with a turbocharged gasoline V-6 and a twin electric motor setup, it promised 409 horsepower and combined economy of 78 mpg, with...

  • 2015 Subaru Legacy Concept
    2015 Subaru Legacy Concept Unveiled For LA Auto Show

    Subaru has released the first images of its Legacy Concept, due to make its worldwide debut at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. Updates for Subaru's midsize sedan are always awaited with eagerness, and the concept points the way to a more dynamic, sleek offering than the current car. Resplendent in...

  • Nissan BladeGlider Electric Sports Car Concept  -  2013 Tokyo Motor Show
    Nissan BladeGlider Concept: Electric Delta Wing Racer For The Road

    The claim that race car development helps road car development is getting harder to uphold these days, but there are still some engineers willing to have a go. Look at the Nissan BladeGlider electric car concept for example, and it's hard to argue that the design and engineering hasn't been...

  • Toyota FCV concept, Tokyo Motor Show 2013
    Toyota Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Car: 2013 Tokyo Motor Show Preview

    Toyota is serious about hydrogen fuel cell cars, and to prove it the company will unveil a new fuel cell concept at the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show. Called the FCV, Toyota's new concept is the clearest hint at what its fuel cell production car--due in 2015--might look like. It's certainly less...

  • 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV Tech Performance SEMA concept
    Hot-Rod Chevy Spark EV Unveiled For SEMA Performance Show

    The Chevrolet Spark EV Tech Performance concept will make the annual SEMA show a little greener.

  • Trio of Mitsubishi concepts headed to the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show
    Mitsubishi Doubles Down On Plug-In Hybrids: 2 Tokyo Motor Show Concepts

    Mitsubishi will debut large and small plug-in hybrid SUV concepts at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show.

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