A concept car is a car prototype made to showcase a new vehicle’s styling, technology, and overall design before production. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced.
After first unveiling the concept version at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Volvo S60 Polestar has finally made it to production. However, before you get too excited, you have to know that the new S60 Polestar will initially only be offered in the Australian market. Depending on the Australian reaction to the new model, Volvo will decide if other market will also get it or not.
When it comes to the exterior look, the production version remains pretty faithful to the concept, but unfortunately the concept’s amazing output didn’t make it to production. So, if you were hopping to see the same turbocharged, in-line six-cylinder engine that delivers a total of 508 horsepower we have to tell you that you are going to be a little bit disappointed.
Even more bad news comes with the announcement that the S60 Polestar will be limited to only 100 units, so not even the Aussie market will get much of an opportunity to really enjoy it.
Updated 04/17/2013: The production version Volvo S60 Polestar has finally been unveiled, after a teaser video released the other days.
UPDATE 05/02/13: Polestar Racing has released a new video featuring racing and development driver Robert Dahlgren in a 4000 kilometer journey from Barcelona, Spain, to Jokkmokk, Sweden, in the final stages of the development of its first production Polestar model: the Volvo S60 Polestar.
Hit the jump to read more on the new Volvo S60 Polestar.
In 1998, Lamborghini went under full ownership of Audi and the last vehicle to be developed by Lamborghini as an independent company was the Pregunta - a concept car designed in cooperation with the Italian Studio Heuliez-Torino. While all the other models in Lamborghini’s lineup were named after famous bulls, the "Pregunta" got a simpler name: "pregunta" is the Spanish word for "question."
With the Pregunta, Lamborghini wanted to develop a vehicle that was "new, original and impossible to confuse with any other." The concept was unveiled in 1998 at the Paris Auto Show and shown again at the 1999 at the Geneva Motor Show.
Pregunta was limited to only one unit and you can imagine that the chance to actually drive one is pretty rare. Now, the concept has been put on sale by British web site classicdriver.com and can be yours for €1.6 million (about $2.1 million at the current exchange rate).
Click past the jump to read more about the Pregunta.
Mexico is becoming quite the haven for lightweight sports cars. Over the years, we’ve seen numerous brands coming from the country introduce their respective models. But to say that classic sports cars were foreign to Mexico is a little short-sighted. After all, one of the most famous sports cars of the 60’s and 70’s was the Renault Denalpin, which can trace its roots to Mexico.
All that said, there appears to be serious intention coming from some businessmen in Mexico to build a new sports car, called the SST-77.
The renderings of the SST-77 pretty much give away what Mexican businessman, Miguel Jimenez, wants to do with this sports car. It’s a re-imagined Alpine that was designed along the same veins of the original Alpine-110 with some pretty striking details, including the sweptback headlights, circular fog lights and those wide-open air intakes.
According to Autoblog Mexico, the SST-77 is being prepared to take the form of a lightweight sports car that will be made out of fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber. On top of that, it will be built on a platform that will be created in Sahagun City, Mexico, which, incidentally is the same birthplace of the original Dinalpin. We’re not sure if there’s a rationale behind the decision to build the car in that location or it’s plainly coincidence.
Either way, it’ll be interesting to see how the SST-77 develops from here on out.
Click past the jump to read more about the original Renault Alpine-110, or as it was called in Mexico at the time, the Dinalpin
The Shanghai Auto Show is the next auto event that a lot of people are already looking forward to. Scheduled to open in a few weeks, Shanghai is expected to be a largely attended event, particularly from the Asian automaker contingent.
Japanese brand, Acura, is one of the companies scheduled to go to Shanghai and its already gearing up for it with a new teaser of a concept that it’s scheduled to debut at the event.
Details surrounding the concept have not yet been revealed except for this teaser that shows the SUV’s side profile. Judging from what we’re looking at, the concept appears to be a completely new model that will complement the redesigned 2014 MDX. It’s got an aggressive headlight design that looks similar to the shape of the Toyota GT 86 with the rear end featuring a spoiler and an equally aggressive taillight setup that resembles what you can find in the Asian version of the new Honda CR-V.
Production is expected to commence after the concept’s unveiling and, for now, the only market that’s been confirmed to receive the model is the China, which explains why Acura decided to pull the concept’s covers off at Shanghai.
We’ll provide more details surrounding this concept when information becomes available.
French automaker, Citroen, is expected to be in attendance at the Shanghai Auto Show. But it won’t be there to just bask in the ambience; it’s headed there with a concept car, specifically called the DS Wild Rubis Concept.
As with most teaser photos (and videos) these days, Citroen didn’t reveal a whole lot of information surrounding the DS Wild Rubis Concept. What it did give us are a couple of teasers of the concept.
The teaser video, which you can find after the jump, plays to Citroen’s chic and metropolitan appeal, complete with a black and white treatment and minimal glimpses of the Wild Rubis Concept.
The photo, on the other hand, gives us a clear look at the concept’s headlights, or at least just one of them. As you can see, the new light setup is different from previous concepts we’ve seen from Citroen, particularly from the slit-like lights from the Technospace Concept.
We wouldn’t be surprised in the least bit if this is a prelude to a production model that will be available only in the Chinese market.
Regardless, expect to find out everything there is to know about the DS Wild Rubis Concept when it makes its debut at the Shanghai Auto Show later this month. In the meantime, click past the jump to see the teaser video of the concept.
A few years ago, Hyundai collaborated with Italian fashion label Prada to build a special-edition Prada-designed Genesis model. That endeavor proved to be a flop as only about 400 of the 1,200 models were sold.
But the Korean automaker is apparently undaunted because it’s once again taken the same partnership route, only this time it’s with French fashion brand Hermes.
Called the Hyundai Equus Hermes Edition, the special-edition model is only three units strong and none of them are for sale. Guess Hyundai learned a lesson or two from the Prada debacle, huh?
Aesthetically speaking, each of the three Equus Hermes models have interiors that live up to Hyundai’s pursuit of a "modern premium" car. More than 20 high-end items were used to dress up the interior, including luminary materials like crocodile leather lining the door panels. If the material rings a bell, it’s also the same one Hermes uses on a lot of its handbags.
As an extended wheelbase, the Equus Hermes has enough space to accommodate a host of luxury features, particularly the rear, which has its own folding table, four-cup holders, a water bottle compartment, and a large storage space, among other things.
Unfortunately, none of the three units of the Equus Hermes Edition are up for sale, according to Hyundai. But if you want to learn more about the automaker’s rationale in building the unique luxury sedan, you can check out its Q&A regarding the Equus Hermes Edition after the jump.
Subaru decided to surprise us at the 2013 New York Auto Show with two world debuts: first was the XV Crosstrek hybrid and the second one is an all-new performance concept car called WRX and built as a preview version for the upcoming WRX high-performance sedan.
The new WRX Concept car is bringing a new design language with a larger and bolder grille with a three-dimensional mesh pattern and a large powerbulge that that indicates this beast has something special lurking beneath.
The concept also offers new hawk-eye headlights and a carbon-fiber roof that helps reduce the car’s weight even more and in the same time lower the car’s total weight. The overall height of the WRX concept is slightly lower, dropping the center of gravity even closer to the pavement.
The concept’s rear features a dramatically curved trunk lid, a wide rear bumper and large quad tailpipes for the car’s sports exhaust system.
This WRX concept doesn’t only boast a new and more aggressive body. It also includes an all-new turbocharged engine that Subaru has not released any information on. The current Subaru Impreza WRX currently offers up a 2.5-liter boxer-four engine that delivers 265 horsepower and 244 pound-feet of torque, but we expect to see something nearing the 300-horsepower range.
The concept unveiled in New York is painted in a cool "WR Blue Pearl III" exterior paint combined with fluorescent Yellow insertions on the front grille, the brake calipers and the exhaust tip finishers. The concept sits on BBS "RI-D" One Piece Forged Duralumin wheels wrapped in 245/40ZR20 Dunlop tires.
Updated 03/28/2013: This review has been updated with the official details, images and specs.
Updated 04/05/2013: Subaru has unveiled a new video featuring Osamu Namba - General Manager of Design Dept, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. talking about the new WRX Concept.
There’s not much going on with Suzuki cars these days. All that could change at the Shanghai Motor Show when the Japanese automaker that specializes more on small vehicles and motorcycles introduces the Authentics Concept.
The concept, which has been described as one embracing Suzuki’s new design philosophy of "Sporty x Elegant," sure does look like a concept that could bring Suzuki’s design language into the new millennia.
Not much was revealed apart from these two teasers, but the images do offer some distinctive qualities about the Authentics Concept, including what certainly looks to be a sedan concept with a low roof line, sweptback headlights, massive taillights, a dual-exhaust system and a pretty long wheelbase.
The Suzuki press release also says the car has a "strong character line, which gives a wind-cutting image along with a rich and fine curved surface." That’s a way of describing the Authentics Concept that’ll surely have a lot of people interested in seeing what the car looks like when it rolls out of the shadows at the Shanghai Motor Show later this month.
We’ve gotta say, Hyundai’s been hitting these concepts out of the park lately. Remember the HCD-14 Genesis Concept that it introduced at the Detroit Auto Show?
Well, it followed that up with another fantastic concept that was unveiled in person at the Seoul Motor Show. It’s called the HND-9 Concept and it’s the ninth concept model developed by Hyundai’s own R&D Center in Namyang, Korea as a preview version for the next generation Genesis Coupe.
As far as the concept’s looks are concerned, the renderings points to an absolute stunning ride that has butterfly doors, a Lexus-like front profile with an aggressive nose and a dynamic wide hexagonal-shaped grille. At the back, there are definitely some hints of aggressiveness with highly stylized rear fenders, a dual twin muffler and sleek rear lamps.
Under its conceptual hood, the HND-9 is powered by a 3.3-liter turbo GDi V-6 engine that can produce 365 horsepower. This boosted engine mates to an eight-speed automatic transmission.
The HND-9’s interior is unlike anything you’ve likely ever seen before and is almost certainly not what its resulting model’s interior will look like. It’s main focus was to offer up a modern and luxurious driving experience with its splendid lines, tasteful use of color and wild-looking steering wheel.
Updated 03/28/2013: The new Hyundai HND-9 Concept made its world debut today at the 2013 Seoul Auto Show. Hit the jump to read Hyundai’s press release.
SsangYong’s continuing run of concepts has given birth to a new concept called the LIV-1, which stands for "Limitless Interface Vehicle".
Now we’ve seen the Korean automaker release some of the least attractive vehicles in the past, but it has done quite well in recent years, or at least not as bad as it used to.
The LIV-1 Concept is the latest proof that SsangYong is serious about giving its models a stylistic makeover. Pegged as a large premium SUV, the LIV-1 certainly has a couple of things about it that’s worth mentioning, including the haughty headlight setup, which we actually like because it gives off a proud but not too arrogant look that underlines SsangYong’s intention to make a name for itself in the business.
There’s a good chance that the LIV-1 Concept is a preview of a production vehicle and we won’t be surprised if it does make it to production. With the number of concepts SsangYong has been releasing the past few years, at least one of them has to make it to production, right?
Full details of the LIV-1 will be revealed at the Seoul Motor Show so sit tight and we’ll give you the information when it becomes available.
