You all remember Emil Baddal? If you don’t, then here’s a refresher: he was the guy we talked about around a month ago for his ingeniously designed BMW concept supercar, the 250tti.
Now, he’s at it again.
This time, the subject of Baddal’s creative juices is Porsche after the Iranian CGI designer released renderings of a still-to-be-named Porsche concept supercar. He didn’t give out any further details about the car except for the photos but then again, you know what people say: pictures are worth a thousand words.
We have to give Baddal his due as one of the most creative up-and-coming designers we’ve come across recently because the Porsche supercar looks like a finely-crafted work of art. Baddal designed it in such a way that it reflects a sexy look for the Porsche yet still maintaining the same classy and elegant aura that Porsche has come to be known.
Baddal gets an ‘A’ from us for this freestyle design exercise.
With the Tokyo Motor Show just a few days away, manufacturers that are set to participate are working double-time getting their concepts prepped for their debuts at the event.
Subaru is one such brand that is scheduled to partake in the event and one of its meal tickets, the Hybrid Tourer Concept, is the company’s first major foray into the world of hybrid vehicles and, incidentally, the first-ever hybrid to use a boxer four-cylinder engine. If you haven’t been prepped on what this type of engine really is, it’s actually a pair of electric motors housed in a lithium-ion battery pack that allows for regenerative braking, blended electric boost, and a purely electric drive.
Together with Toyota’s FT-86 Concept, the Hybrid Tourer concept is another car that was created out of the joint partnership between Subaru and Toyota to introduce cars that fit under the new hybrid umbrella that’s beginning to take shape as the cars of the future. Though the concept will be introduced in Tokyo in a few days, plans are already under way to have a production version out on the road in the coming years.
With hybrids and electric vehicles becoming more and more popular these days, Subaru is hitching on the Gullwing-ish-designed Hybrid Tourer to bring the company into the world of hybrids. Judging by these new photos that Subaru recently released, the Hybrid Tourer is fast-shaping up to be a hybrid that should give its more established counterparts a run for their money in the coming years.
Check out the new photos to get a closer look at Subaru’s new baby.
Those of us who can’t wait for the Tokyo Motor Show to open its doors in a week’s time, here’s a video that can satiate our appetites for the time being.
Now if you’re the type that can understand Japanese, then you’re in luck; you’ll be able to understand the video from beginning to end. But if you’re like a lot of us that don’t speak nor understand the language, then we can just admire the cars while not paying attention to the voice-over. Don’t worry, it can be done.
BMW announced today that the Simple concept is on display at the BMW Museum. The concept was first revealed in 2005 and is a lightweight vehicle with a kerb weight of approx. 450 kgand a 36 kW combustion engine.
Simple combines features and advantages from both automobiles and motorcycles. The concept owes its passenger cell to the car, providing protection from wind and weather as well as shielding the driver from exterior noise and offering occupants a high degree of safety in the event of an accident.
The motorcycle inspired the slim design of the Simple (at just 110 centimeters wide) and its configuration for two people sitting one behind the other. Plus it boasts the dynamic driving style typical of a two-wheeler, allowing you to lean right into corners as desired. The designation “simple” is an acronym of the project name “A sustainable and innovative mobility product for low energy consumption”.
Remember the fun little e:S Concept from the kei car maker Daihatsu that we showed you yesterday? Well the Japanese automaker has a few more sprightly little ideas for the upcoming Tokyo Motor Show, one of which is the compact convertible pickup truck, the Daihatsu Basket Concept. Now the name most likely came from the city car’s open bed and squared off roll bar design that makes the little kei car concept look like what Little Red Riding Hood was carrying to her grandmother’s house.
The Daihatsu Basket Concept is a 4 seater kei car with a wide rear deck based on their Mira model and is powered by a 660 cc engine. The roof is of the removable hardtop variety and covers the front seat passengers while a canvas unit provides a bit of shade to those riding in the back seat. Just like theh front buckets, the rear bench is wrapped in linen and can fold flat to significantly increase the Basket’s storage space. The open nature of the Daihatsu concept is also a benefit for individuals who plan on using their vehicles for work purposes because they won’t have to worry about whether their tools are dirty or not when they toss them in the bed.
The diminutive Japanese automaker Daihatsu, is better known for building compact off roaders and kei cars has prepared a treat for the Tokyo Auto Show. The Daihatsu e:S Concept is based on the automaker’s popular mini car platform, and while the 3,100 mm long design study’s wheelbase has been shortened to just 2,175 mm it still offers enough interior space to accommodate four full sized Japanese adults comfortably. Keeping in line with Daihatsu’s fun looking line of vehicles, the e:S Concept carries over all of the familiar lines from the Daihatsu family while adding an extra sense of spirit to the tiny ride.
The main theme behind the Daihatsu e:S Concept is lightweight efficiency, because without a lot of excess weight to pull around, the kei car can make the most of what it already has. Due to the mini car’s nature, there is not a whole lot that goes into the car’s assembly. Aside from the compact construction, Daihatsu’s engineers have shed as many pounds as possible by using slim, lightweight seats and replacing many of the vehicle’s materials with lighter versions, the result is a curb weight of only 700 kilograms, and that is only 1543 pounds. Enhancing the e:S’s lightweight efficiency is a mild hybrid style Idling Stop System that turns off the engine when the vehicle is at rest to further reduce fuel consumption. Although it may never make it to the U.S. Daihatsu’s e:S Concept is undoubtedly an efficient ride.
While quite a few automakers will be absent from the upcoming Tokyo Moor Show, the Nissan Motor Company has prepared a new zero emissions concept car that is ready to solve the problem of personal transportation in congested urban environments while still offering a spirited driving experience for both the driver and passenger; Nissan is calling it the Land Glider. Now the Japanese automaker is not the first to come up with an inline two sear that leans into turns, however they are the first to combine the concept with the forward thinking power train of a battery electric vehicle. This is quite convenient because crowded cities like London for example charge significantly higher taxes on automobiles based on their emissions, while some low emissions and especially zero emissions vehicles are exempt from some of those additional charges to operate inside the city center, making the efficient Land Glider a perfect choice to not only navigate congested cities but escape from them as well.
The Land Glider offers seating for two in tandem, with the driver sitting up front and room for only one passenger behind. The traditional round steering wheel is replaced with a unit more like the stick on an airplane, and the gauges match the aviation theme and make the concept’s cabin feel more like a cockpit. The only thing that reminds you that the Land Glider is intended for road use are the leather wrapped bucket seats and a more traditional three pedal layout. On the outside the Nissan Land Glider comes complete with 21st century styling like swept back headlights, floating fenders, angular body panels, large glass surfaces and a strip of LEDs for a taillight. From the side, the Land Glider has a profile similar to a Smart car, but from head on the Nissan concept is no more than a few feet wide.
Aside from having a very narrow footprint, the instant torque of its electric motor and lightweight construction make the Land Glider reasonably quick off the line. The low drag design means that the shape will be able to slipstream up to speed and then carry it through the curves by using a sophisticated suspension and drive train setup that makes the zero emissions concept lean into the turns and increase its capacity for high speed cornering.
We don’t understand too much Japanese, but we do know that we were caught by surprise to find out that the recently-revealed Toyota FT-86 Concept is actually a playable car on Gran Turismo 5.
Shortly after the concept car was revealed to have a ticket for the Tokyo
Motor Show, a video of it joining its predecessor, the Toyota AE86 Corolla in an all-out run where both cars end up sliding sideways.
Now since Sony was kind enough to share us this video, it makes us all the more excited to cop the game as soon as it comes out. You never know what other yet-to-be-unveiled concept cars GT5 has in store for us.
Now that you have delighted quite enough with the FT-86 Concept, is time to move our attention to the second Toyota concept to be revealed in Tokyo: the FT-EV II, which stands for "Future Toyota Electric Vehicle II". It is a four-seater concept that previews the upcoming small city electric vehicle set to be released by 2012. The FT-EV I was revealed at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.
The FT-EV II Concept is placed under the iQ in Toyota’s line-up. It measures 2730 mm in length, 1680 mm in width and 1490 mm height. The vehicle has no steering wheel or foot pedals-symbols of vehicle performance. In addition, it has not been designed simply as a means of transport, but instead based on the premise of collaboration with communications functions, a concept that differs from earlier vehicles.
The car is powered by a lithium-ion battery pack that has an autonomy of 56 miles and can hit a top speed around 62 mph.
The speculation is over, the Japanese automaker Toyota has finally shown the world the highly anticipated successor to the original AE86 "Hachi Roku" with the FT-86 Concept. The old Toyota Corolla was celebrated for its lightweight fun to drive layout. The new project has previously been referred to as a Toyobaru because the affordable sports car was developed in collaboration with Subaru and is scheduled to make its world debut in just a few weeks at the Tokyo Motor Show. We are happy to report that even though this is just the concept, the production model will look a lot like it, with the only revisions being done to the cars interior. However we won’t know for sure until the end of 2011.
The Flash Red FT-86 Concept is inspired by the Corolla based AE86 sports coupe from the 1980s, and carries a very strong resemblance to the FT-HS Concept that was revealed back in 2007 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The FT-86 is a compact, rear wheel drive sports concept powered by a 2.0 Liter horizontally opposed, naturally aspirated four cylinder gasoline burning engine supplied by Subaru. In its non boosted form, the flat four make a maximum output of 150 HP, but the automaker is toying around with the idea of a more powerful super charged version depending on consumer demands, but for now we will have to settle for a simple boxer engine connected to a 6 speed manual transmission and equipped with ADVICS brakes.
When designing the FT-86 Concept Toyota’s engineers wanted to give the car a very low center of gravity for improved handling and efficient aerodynamics so that it can cut through the air with ease. So the four passenger FT-86 ended up being 4,160 mm long, 1,760 mm wide and 1,260 mm tall with a wheelbase of 2,570 mm. Toyota’s design team has also included quite a few sporting touches to the concept’s interior; starting off with a flat bottom steering wheel, aluminum pedals and red stitching to accent the leather wrapped steering wheel and parking brake lever. The grey instrument panel is seamlessly molded into the darker dash and from the looks of things, is ready to hit Fuji Speedway.
To see what the Hachi Roku is all about, check out the video and Press Release after the jump.> More
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