After spending the past year peddling the Scirocco hatchback as a ‘sports coupe,’ Volkswagen has finally come up with a real coupe. Presently only a design study, we give it the award for the Most Boring Concept Car Of The Decade, and we will allow VW to quote that in their magazine ads in exchange for advertising money.
If you ever thought the Chevy Aveo was beyond redemption, this new concept may change your mind. To be shown at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show, the Chevrolet Aveo RS concept is a gussied-up version of the production 2011 Aveo hatchback that will debut in the U.S. later this year.
Toyota is showing off the Etios “concept” at the New Delhi Motor Show, ready to become the company’s volume seller in the competitive Indian market.
Honda’s Indian division has unveiled the Honda New Small Concept, a concept version for what will become a new sub-compact hatchback model, at the Auto Expo 2010 in New Delhi.
The iconic Toyota Sprinter Trueno, also known as the Corolla GT-S in some markets, was a 2-door hatchback that was first introduced in 1983. It had a 1.6-litre 4-cylinder engine with maybe 130 hp and, more importantly, a balanced rear-wheel-drive chassis. It became more commonly known as the AE86, nicknamed after its chassis designation, and is popular on the Japanese drift scene till today, even though production ended in 1986. It achieved worldwide popularity only during this past decade, as the hero car in the Japanese animated series Initial D. And now, Toyota is readying a successor in the form of the FT-86 concept at the 2009 Tokyo Auto Show.
Highly-anticipated by the Honda community, the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show in October will mark the debut of the Honda CR-Z hybrid concept again, except this time it is a near-production version. The sporty-but-slow CR-Z, slated for Japanese production early next year, is a revival of the Honda CR-X from the 1980s. Based on the Civic of that time, with a puny engine and decent suspension, it became somewhat popular among budget-minded car enthusiasts. The new CR-Z is expected to be exclusively hybrid.
After months of teasing the retarded press with a shadowy photo, Bugatti has finally revealed its new four-door sedan concept ahead of the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show at an event for Bugatti customers. Originally dubbed the Bordeaux, the super-sedan’s real name is Galibier, named after a difficult Alpine pass along the Tour de France route.
Lexus is desperate to reduce the average age of its buyers, and the IS sedan isn’t cutting it. So in the vein of the BMW 1-Series and the Mercedes-Benz CLC-Class, Lexus is readying a smaller hatchback model, and the LF-Ch concept offers a first look at its design direction.
The BMW Vision concept car is the latest in a string of “EfficientDynamics” ideas by the German automaker. Conceived as a 2+2-seater with plug-in full-hybrid technology, this concept car combines the performance of a BMW M vehicle with a standard of fuel efficiency and emission management that exceeds even the current levels achieved by the latest small cars. This result is made possible by the combination of BMW ActiveHybrid components with an economical combustion engine and good aerodynamic qualities.
BMW is showing a Mini Coupe Concept at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. It might head for production by next year, considering how “complete” it looks, but only if there is enough demand.