Design Study

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.

By his own admission, the start of 2018 wasn’t a good time for Santa Claus. He had just finished his 2017 holiday delivery schedule and found himself more exhausted than he usually was. His back was screaming, his knees hurt, and he was, in his own words, growing a “bowl of jelly” in his stomach. Six months passed and Santa was still stuck in a rut. He knew he needed to work out. He just wasn’t inspired to do it. Then, in one fateful night in June, Santa visited his favorite auto website — we think it’s Topspeed — and saw the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye. The very next day, Santa called up his local Dodge dealer in the North Pole and asked to test drive the 797-horsepower monster.

We jump to the present day, and Santa’s a completely different man. His “bowl of jelly” is gone, replaced by muscles that sat on top of muscles. He credits his physical makeover to the test-drive he had back in June, saying that it transformed his outlook in life. That same test drive also inspired him to transform his old ride to match his new “shredded bod.” And so, the Dodge Redeye Express was born.

A company best known for creating bicycles is dipping its toes in the electric car business with a new concept called the SIN. No, it’s not named after the immoral act; “SIN” is actually a hat tip to the “contemporary urban sprawl of Singapore.” On that note, the Biomega SIN is a simplified electric vehicle that takes a shape similar to a lot of mobility concepts we’ve seen in recent years. A production model is planned for the future, but for now, it’s only a concept that just made its debut at the China International Import Expo.

I think that we can all agree that the car that shaped the supercar landscape of today is the Ferrari F40. Not only was it the first proper and true supercar, but it spruced a whole line of successors, each of which was a breakthrough in its own right. Now, more than 30 years since its inception, we are still praising it for its remarkable technological proves and astounding performance. However, one guy – an automotive designer – went a bit further and actually reimagined the Ferrari F40 using the styling cues of the modern Ferrari cars. He made sure that the car he designed resonates with the extrovertness of the old one, but also with the sophistication that new Ferrari supercars/hypercars brought to the world. Samir Sadikhov, a graduate of the Istituto Europeo di Design, invested heavily in designing the Ferrari F40 tribute. He did it in his own time as he is currently employed as a designer at Genesis. Previously, he worked on a line of astounding Rezvani cars. Yet, if you are deep within the world of cars, you may know him for a number of astounding designs he did over the years.

Nevertheless, this particular Ferrari F40 seems like one of his most striking works.

Nikola was founded in early 2016 and announced plans to make a production version of the big rig concept they showed at the time, one which they planned to make and sell for North America. Two years later and the company has come out with this futuristic looking concept for a truck destined to exclusively operate in Europe, although it uses the same hydrogen-electric setup as the original concept.

Volkswagen wants to start selling a pickup smaller than the Amarok which it plans to call Tarok and which is previewed by this very close to production concept it revealed at 2018 Sao Paulo International Motor Show in Brazil.

The vehicle revealed in Sao Paulo is nearly identical to the production model it previews, and we really expect VW to only operate major changes to the front fascia in its transition from study to series production.

Judging by the fact that its interior is identical to that of the VW Tharu, a China-only SUV related to the Skoda Karoq and Seat Ateca, it’s pretty clear the project is already in the advanced stages of development - there is nothing even remotely concept car-like about the way it looks inside.

The plan is to reportedly just sell it in Brazil, where it would sit below the Amarok in the company’s pickup hierarchy. On the local market, it’d rival models from Fiat and Renault; no plans have been announced to sell it outside Brazil yet, but it seems unlikely VW won’t try to push it in other markets as well.

You can pretty much see anything and everything automotive related at the SEMA show. From pure-bred muscle cars, wild exotics, monster trucks, and full-on race cars. SEMA has something for everyone to love. On the other side of that spectrum, there is a lot that may not be to your taste. From the crazy awesome to the crazy clueless, here you can find a bit of each.

Following a number of teasers in the run-up to the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas, the speed gurus from Mopar, FCA’s in-house performance group, pulled the sheets on a brand-new, utterly custom Dodge Charger concept car, and with it, a new crate engine that puts last year’s “Hellcrate” package to shame.

Arctic Trucks is a world-renowned off-road specialist based out of Reykjavik, Iceland whose trucks are specially designed to cross vast frozen wastelands. Their creations have a unique look, with bulging fender flares and big, oversized tires, but that look doesn’t only work on pickup trucks from Toyota, Isuzu or Nissan - it works on any high-riding vehicle, so why not the brand new BMW X7?

In a collaboration with the Royal College of Art’s (RCA) Intelligent Mobility programme, Bentley Design team tasked design students with formulating thought-provoking designs of the future of British luxury. Under the byword ‘What will British luxury mean in 2050?’, 24 students submitted their designs showing the future of Bentley in the year 2050 and giving a unique opportunity to Bentley design team to assess the thinking behind the designs.

Bentley’s Design Director Stefan Sielaff, an alumnus of the RCA’s renowned Automotive Design programme, explained: “Bentley has always been at the forefront of automotive luxury, and with this collaboration, we asked millennial students for their vision of the future.

We wanted ideas and concepts that could potentially lead us in new and interesting directions, using the perspective of these digital natives – from all over the world – to see things differently. These second-year students are the ones who will be designing the cars of the future – the taste makers in training if you will. That’s why the results of the challenge are so exciting.”

The Bugatti Chiron 4x4 SUV thing is live. Well, at least in Rain Prisk’s mind. That guy, with his imagination going wild, created a fantastic rendering of the Bugatti Chiron with massive off-road tires, body claddings, underbody protection, and a roof rack.

If you are some kind of a sadist, you might do this to the Bugatti Chiron, and you may even enjoy the process. Of course, this would be possible only in a Mad Max movie. That is only on the big screen though.

Plymouth was killed off as a brand in 2001 by parent company Chrysler; a move met with dismay by many fans of the brand whose roots could be traced back to 1928. But if Plymouth were still around today, it would most likely have offered a modern, reimagined version of its Barracuda pony car that it sold from 1964 to 1974.

Supercars are designed and built to accelerate and go around corners quickly on smooth tarmac, but what if you have one with raised suspension, body cladding, and beefy off-road rims and tires? It’d probably look somewhere along the lines of this digitally manipulated previous-generation Ford GT and would even be decent off-road, but nowhere near as good as it originally was on-road.

Is your average Porsche 911 not roomy enough for you? Rain Prisk has answered your plea with this, a shooting brake 911 that actually doesn’t hurt the eyes when you look at it. Porsche should get to work!

There comes a time in everyone’s lives when the sports car has to make way for something bigger, more family-friendly, like a sedan or a crossover SUV. What if, however, you could bargain your way into a compromise: have the sports car, but with some added room?

That’s exactly what the 911 in shooting brake guise is: the extra practicality offered by a hatchback rear without going for the added hassle of the longer wheelbase and two more doors of the Panamera. It would be really cool if it was real.

Just when you thought nothing truly exciting could come out in 2018 with the Holden logo on the hood, here’s the Bathurst Time Attack Concept. It was developed as a futuristic race car to mark the 50th anniversary of the company’s first major win at Bathurst.

The R&D department at Holden, in Australia, set about proving that Holden isn’t just a badge GM slaps on the Buick Regal. So they came up with a groundbreaking concept that uses fans that direct airflow in order to improve downforce through each and every corner the car tackles. It’s low, wide, electric and it isn’t real. It’s similar to a Gran Turismo concept car without being one. But we wish they’d make it.

I mean, look at it. Check the tunnels that run on either side of the monocoque, the ginormous diffuser at the back, the rear wing, everything looking like it came from 2040. And it does, in a way, because all the tech that the AVD group crammed in it isn’t all here – yet.

Bentley, one of the world’s most sophisticated and luxurious marques, has collaborated with second-year design students from the Royal College of Arts (RCA) to envision its future. The students were asked, "What will British luxury mean in 2050?" Out of the 24 responses, four were selected by the lecturers at the college and the Bentley Design Team.

This new concept car is more than just a development for Holden. This year, Holden marks the 50th anniversary of its first victory at the Bathurst, and also its 70 years since it produced its first car. Dubbed the Time Attack Concept Racer, this car has 1,341 horses to power it. However, Holden has no plans to build it! Funny, right?

Renault is previewing its future mini electric crossover with the K-ZE concept revealed at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. Taking a closer look at the K-ZE, it becomes immediately apparent that it is, in fact, just a dressed up Kwid (which Renault already sells in emerging markets) which has had its internal combustion powertrain swapped out for a full-electric one.

The future electric crossover will look much closer to this concept, than it will to the current Kwid, although it will maintain its basic body shape. What will set it apart visually more significantly are the new, redesigned front and rear fascias, as well as various details around the exterior. It also promises to offer “class leading” range for a vehicle in its size-bracket.

Renault showed off at the Paris Motor Show with its new personal assistant, the Augmented Editorial Experience, or AEX, which was developed as an A.I. that would help the driver and the other occupants of the car enjoy each trip to the fullest.