Concept

Lexus shares a special bond with the North American International Auto Show. The brand officially made its debut during the first year of the auto show in 1989. Thirty years later, the brand celebrates the third year anniversary of the LC 500 coupe by unveiling a convertible LC. The best part is that the LC Convertible is not just a concept; it seems to be the real-deal and Lexus has hinted the same.

Chinese automaker, GAC Motor, introduced an-electric crossover concept called the Entranze at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show. When we first saw the Entranze, we were left befuddled wondering what it could possibly be. Later we figured out it is an all-electric crossover concept that GAC claims to have designed in the U.S. itself. Why go subtle when you can become the talk of the town?

A few days after identifying Cadillac as the brand that will spearhead its EV initiative, General Motors doubled down on that announcement by revealing a sketch design of an EV crossover concept that could point to its plans for Cadillac in the not-so-distant future. The design was unveiled at the Cadillac XT6’s launch party ahead of the 2019 North American International Auto Show. The General didn’t dive into the details behind its first electric vehicle, opting only to say that it will use an all-new skateboard electric platform and will come in either two-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. It’s also going to be a crossover, adding weight to the company’s renewed focus on crossovers and SUVs to drive the brand moving forward. That said, is it possible that this electric concept is actually a preview of the next-generation Cadillac Escalade?

With the QX Inspiration, Infiniti becomes the latest company to enter the EV fray. The automaker unveiled the QX Inspiration Concept at the Detroit Auto Show which gives a peak into the brand’s new design language for EVs. Although Infiniti has not revealed any specs yet, it says the QX Inspiration, when launched, will be a high performance production SUV.

At the dawn of the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, Nissan has taken the covers off the interesting IMs EC Sport Sedan Concept. It is an electric autonomous car of the future that seemingly looks to try and save sedans. The premise is,... newish. Nissan envisioned the raised up electric sedan with a really interesting interior layout, an all-wheel-drive system, and autonomous gear. If I go back to 2017, I can find the Volvo S60 Cross Country. See, the S60, not the V60 Cross Country. The S60 Cross Country sedan was on sale for some time. It was basically a raised up sedan, with soft off-road gear inherited from its wagon brother. So, now Nissan did the same, only with a twist. A hell of a twist might I add.

The 2019 Detroit Auto Show, the final show to be held in January before the NAIAS moves to warmer months, is shaping up to be rather thin in comparison to years before. I just recently looked up the floor plan for the Cobo Center this year, and it appears as if the auto show will only consume three halls instead of all four as it has done in recent years. We’re missing a number of big attendees including makes like Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW, among others. Even the number of booths dedicated to aftermarket parts and suppliers has dropped considerably.

Be that as it may, there’s still going to be some pretty interesting stuff going on at this year’s show. I’m talking about more than just the Kia Telluride Torque Track. I’m talking about debuts of the 2020 Ford Shelby GT500 and the 2020 Toyota Supra. Those are the two big headliners, however, there are a few other concepts coming, and one of the most mysterious is a Nissan concept that was recently teased.

In the video below, you’ll see a weird animation put together by Nissan. We suspect that it’s a hint at the production process, which could be, among other things, comprised of 3D printing. We know it’s a "future mobility" type of concept so it’ll probably be something a little off the wall, anyway. Well, why don’t you go ahead and watch the video for yourself and let us know what you think.

The Lexus LC Convertible is a concept vehicle that the luxury firm unveiled at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show. But while it’s presented as a concept, it’s actually a drop-top version of the LC coupe that Lexus introduced for the 2018 model year.

Devoid of any features that would make it a proper concept, the LC Convertible likely previews a production model. The drop-top LC has been rumored ever since the coupe arrived and would enable Lexus to offer a competitor for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Cabriolet. Although the Japanese firm didn’t specifically confirm a production car, it did say that a production version "would be exhilarating in many different ways."

The transformation of the LC coupe into a convertible seems like a no brainer. While we did hear rumors on the matter, now we have a confirmation (sort of). This is the Lexus LC Convertible Concept - a roofless concept car scheduled to debut at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday (14th, January). As it is based on top of the Lexus LC Coupe, the LC Convertible Concept looks gorgeous. Well, at least I think it does. As Lexus prioritized the development of the convertible version of the F branded LC, I believe we will see the production version sometime in 2020. Interestingly enough, Lexus did not confirm the production version of the LC Convertible Concept, but I guess it is likely to happen.

“A production version of this concept would be exhilarating in many different ways. You would see its dynamic lines as you approach, hear its engine when you started it up and feel everything around you once on the road. It would engage the senses in a way that is unique and exciting every time you got behind the wheel,” said Tadao Mori, Chief Designer of the LC Convertible concept.

The new Lamborghini Huracan Evo is properly angry. Just look at it. Lambo managed to widen it visually with those cool front aero blades and a razor-sharp splitter. This is a subtle change compared to what we have seen before. A good change at that. On the other side, we can see centrally mounted exhausts and aero parts arrangements that are really similar to what we have seen on Lambo race cars.

Although the Lamborghini Huracan Evo is basically a facelifted Huracan, the changes Lambo did to it compared to the first Huracan are rather comprehensive. I compiled a list of important facts about the new Lamborghini Huracan Evo that you need to know about.

The 2019 Consumer Electronics Show has now officially reached full chat, and many of the major automakers are there to show off their latest and greatest gadgets and concepts. Kia is among them, arriving in Vegas to debut its vision for an autonomous, intelligent, highly connected transportation system that can understand your moods and adapt itself accordingly.

How often do you get to read a title like that? How often does anybody revive a 15-year-old concept? Well, that’s exactly what Superformance, licensed builders of Shelby reproductions for decades, are plotting to do with the stunning GR-1 concept car. It will be here in two year’s time, with either an electric or gas-powered drivetrain, and it should deliver astonishing performance that includes a two-second sprint to 62 mph.

Now, I know you may be asking yourselves why we’re reporting about what a tuner plans to debut two years from now. It’s even fair to assume that all of this may be vaporware, but the guys at Superformance are as serious as it gets. It is, first and foremost, "a distributor of complete, rolling-chassis replica and continuation race cars of the 1960s" that’s been in the business since 1996 and has received the blessing of both Ford and Shelby American to build a number of Shelby Cobra continuation models that are painstakingly accurate to the original.

Hyundai Mobis, the parts and services division of Korean auto giant, took part in the festivities of the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show with a concept that embraces the role that lights play — yes, lights — in improving the safety of autonomous driving vehicles. Called the Communication Lighting Concept, the coupe-like creation’s importance isn’t grounded in its appearance, but more so in the technology it carries. In this case, the concept is equipped with an assortment of lights and displays that it uses to communicate its intentions to pedestrians and commuters alike, alerting them of potential dangers and hazards on the road. Hyundai Mobis says that the technology can be rolled out in a quick and cost-effective manner, though that would still depend on the willingness of automakers to incorporate the technology into their own vehicles.

Hyundai and Kia announced the commercialization of autonomous vehicles by 2021 and the full-scale production of autonomous vehicles by 2030. Yet, in a video about the future of electric and autonomous vehicles it published only days ago, Hyundai and Kia graphically showcased the features of the inductive charge system and proposed an autonomous valet service for its cars. The technology will land on Hyundai-Kia cars in the future, but it won’t reach mass production until electric vehicles reach Level 4 of autonomy. According to projections, this will happen around 2025.

Nevertheless, the system Hyundai-Kia proposes could noticeably improve the efficiency of the charge ports by automatically controlling the vehicles after the charge is complete. In short, the vehicles will move to a free parking spot after the recharge process.

Furthermore, the technology will probably solve the problem of jams in parking locations.

I thought I had sen it all, but then Hyundai revealed the Elevate Concept, an Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV), at this year’s CES. It is a car. Actually, a vehicle that can drive and that can walk. Yup, you’ve read that right. The Hyundai Elevate Concept is one of the latest projects that has developed in the minds of Hyundai designers heads from the Hyundai Cradle Center for Robotic-Augmented Design. These people are obviously buried into sci-fi, or, at least, into things that Boston Dynamics does with its robots. Hyundai Cradle created a vehicle that looks a bit like that Boston Dynamic cyberdog, or the Star Wars AT-AT walker. But the Hyundai Elevate Concept isn’t supposed to go to war (well, it is a bit). In fact, it is an out-of-the-box design exercise that shows the possibilities for an all-terrain vehicle that weren’t explored before.

And, with this, I do not imply comparing it with the machines that can conquer Moab. The Elevate Concept is a vehicle designed to help the unfortunate in search-and-rescue missions, on humanitarian missions, or to walk over terrain no vehicle has ever managed to traverse. Its go-anywhere capability is unmatched even by the most extreme offroad machines you can think of. All because of the robotic legs with tires linked on far ends. Actually, as I visually inspect the Elevate Concept, I am rather sure that a similar sketch exists somewhere in a NASA office in a drawer where all the rejected designs for Mars rovers reside. I get that vibe from this. It’s like Hyundai designers looked to create a vehicle for the Earth from the perspective of some “alien NASA” designers. I actually like it a lot.

The Hyundai Cradle, a Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experiences, that actually envisioned the vehicle, managed to craft something that goes well beyond what a standard car, or a truck, can do. The Hyundai Elevate Concept can walk, climb, and traverse almost every kind of terrain.

BMW’s Designworks division is showcasing its latest project at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show. Developed together with outdoor clothing company The North Face, the concept is called the Futurelight Camper, and it’s essentially a futuristic camping tent that traces its roots to the BMW GINA Light Visionary Model Concept that the German automaker unveiled in 2008. If anything, the Futurelight Camper Concept proves that just because camping doesn’t necessarily extend to being a high-tech affair, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it in the comfort of a camping tent that comes with a geodesic-dome frame made from carbon fiber and a high-tech fabric that comes from a process called Nanospinning technology. Unfortunately, it looks like the Futurelight Camper Concept is going to remain a concept for the time being.

Toyota’s Mobility Foundation, in partnership with Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre, has unveiled the five finalists of its Mobility Unlimited Challenge. The contest was created to recognize the best new designs that help improve the lives of people with lower-limb paralysis or paraplegia. In the end, five finalists were chosen, including an Italian design house that we know more for its exotic performance car designs. Of the five finalists, two developed exoskeleton designs while another created a concept for the purpose of cultivating the electric wheelchair equivalent of a bike-sharing scheme. All five finalists received $500,000 from Toyota for making it this far in the competition. The winning designer, which will be announced in 2020, will also receive an additional $1 million for taking the competition.

For years and years, Rolls-Royce never really needed to branch out or experiment all that much. And why would it? With a long resumé of creating some of the most-respected high-end luxury sedans in the world, anything else would seem out of place. Welp, we’re heading into 2019 now, and things are getting kinda weird - Lamborghini made an SUV, the world’s quickest passenger car to 60 mph is an EV, and Apple might build a self-driving transportation pod. With that in mind, the old guard might need to step out of its comfort zone, as evidenced by efforts like the Rolls-Royce Cullinan. But what if Rolls-Royce really went off the deep end? To find out, Compare the Market drew up a set of renderings that placed the Spirit of Ecstasy in a variety of unexpected places.

Infiniti is preparing a new concept car for the first auto show of the year in Detroit. And as you might have already guessed, it comes with an "Inspiration" badge. This time around though, it’s of the QX variety, which means it’s an SUV. Infiniti says the QX Inspiration previews the brand’s electrified, high-performance future.

As fascinating a show as the Consumer Electronics Show is, it’s not immune to hosting weird creations. This year’s no different as Hyundai is bringing with it the Elevate Concept, a prototype emergency response vehicle that can also walk. Yes, you read that right. The Hyundai Elevate Concept is a walking car straight out of a future that’s neither here nor there. If for nothing else, Hyundai says that the Elevate Concept, if it ends up becoming an actual production model, will establish an all-new vehicle category called Ultimate Mobility Vehicle or UMV. Whatever Hyundai’s intentions for the concept are, it’s definitely going to grab a lot of people’s attention when it shows up at CES next week.

Byton will be participating at the Consumers Electronic Show next week and is showcasing what it calls the “world’s most intuitive automotive interface.” Byton has not revealed any details other than a teaser image that appears to show the production interior of the M-Byte. The image shows one large screen instead of multiple instrument clusters and displays, and a tablet mounted on the steering wheel. This will surely raise the tech-heads’ heartbeats.

The Tokyo Auto Salon is one of the most unusual auto shows on the calendar year. Among other things, TAS plays host to a number of oddball creations from some of the most established automakers in the world. This year is no different. Nissan, in all its respected glory, is bringing the Juke Personalization Adventure Concept to the Tokyo Auto Salon. That doesn’t necessarily raise any alarms except for the fact that the Juke Personalization Adventure Concept is a muscled-up crossover wearing tracks instead of wheels. It’s not the kind of Nissan Juke you see every day, but it’s probably one you’ll need if you find yourself in a pickle when you’re outdoors in the winter.

The latest-generation Suzuki Swift looks surprisingly sporty, especially in Sport trim. But the little hatchback just got a bit brawnier for the Tokyo Auto Salon, where it will showcase a new livery as the Yellow Rev concept.