Concept car

BMW M5 Concept to Debut in Shanghai

Feast your eyes on our first look at the new BMW M5. Technically a "concept car," the M5 you see here should closely represent the upcoming production version.

The car is set to debut later this month at the Shanghai Motor Show, but has already leaked onto the Internet. No details were announced, but what we already know is that the 2012 BMW M5 will feature the twin-turbo V8 from the X5M and X6M performance crossovers (instead of the V10 from the previous model).

Stay tuned...

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Tags: bmw, bmw concept m5, bmw m5, concept car, m5, shanghai, shanghai motor show

Bertone Concept Cars up for Auction at Villa d'Este

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Concept cars are typically designed and crafted as one-of-a-kind creations by automakers or independent design studios, shown at a couple of expositions, and then disappear into museum collections. But every once in a while, these radical rarities come up for sale or auction. And that once in a while is about to arrive, and arrive in a big way, this coming May. That's when the venerable Bertone Museum collection will cross the auction block.

The six concept cars were all created in the 1960s-1980s by the famed Italian design house, which is now facing a restructuring and is selling off much of its collection. The items up for auction are the 1967 Lamborghini Marzal, 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero, 1963 Chevrolet Testudo, 1974 Lamborghini Bravo, 1980 Lamborghini Athon and 1978 Lancia Sibilo concept cars, ranging in pre-sale price estimates between six figures and as much as $2.5 million apiece.

The sale is being conducted by the venerable RM Auctions as part of its first event during the prestigious Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Lake Como on May 21.

Tags: bertone, concept car, Concorso dEleganza Villa dEste, lake como, rm auctions, villa deste

Jaguar C-X75 Wins Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Architecture & Design

Jaguar C-X75 Wins Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award

Jaguar's amazing C-X75 hybrid concept car, which my colleague David Kiley first wrote about last September, has just won the Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award 2010 by a panel of luminaries from the worlds of design, fashion and luxury in Paris. "Ian Callum, Jaguar's Design Director, and his team have achieved not only a beautiful design in clothing a world-premiere and mouth-watering technology, but also a true Jaguar, projecting the brand's DNA into the future without an ounce of nostalgia," said Christian Philippsen, inaugurator of the prize. The gas-electric hybrid two-seater is capable of a top speed of 205 miles per hour, and up to 68 miles of all-electric operation. It's powered by four 195-horsepower electric motors, one in each wheel, giving the vehicle an all-wheel drive system with torque-vectoring controls to distribute power as needed.

Gallery: Jaguar C-X75 Hybrid

Tags: concept car, hybrid, Jaguar, Louis Vuitton, luxury cars, Paris

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento for Sale at $2.5 Million

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

The super-cool Sesto Elemento concept car unveiled by Lamborghini at the Paris Motor Show in September has been listed for sale by a Moscow exotic auto dealer via online global luxury marketplace JamesList for about $2.5 million. Though not exactly street legal, that's of no consequence if you're an oligarch with your own a private racetrack, of course. The name Sesto Elemento stands for the sixth element in the periodic table, i.e. carbon, and references Lamborghini's mastery of carbon fiber technology.

The supercar weighs only 999 kg making for an impressive power-to-weight ratio of just 1.75 kilograms per hp in conjunction with the V10 powerplant producing 570 hp. It can do 0 – 62 mph in just 2.5 seconds and hit a top speed of nearly 190 mph, though with lower fuel consumption and thus lower emissions than a heavier vehicle. The carbon fiber theme carries over to the interior as well, finishing the doors, cockpit and center console. Lamborghini has said that the car may go into a limited production run of 20 examples for track use only, but that will likely take a while.

Gallery: Lamborghini Sesto Elemento

Tags: carbon fiber, concept car, JamesList, Lamborghini, Moscow, Sesto Elemento, supercar

Wally Supercar Concept for the Superyacht Set

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Luxury Cars & Autos

Monaco-based boatbuilder Wally, known for its avant-garde yacht designs, is responsible for some of the most eye-catching craft plying the waters. As we reported last year they also make some of the world's coolest high-performance skis. Now Matthew Hockham, an automotive design graduate of the UK's Coventry University, has come up with a Wally supercar concept inspired by both of the company's passions. Hockham's brief was to take Wally's distinctive design language and apply it to a suitably high-end and high-tech automotive concept. "The aim is to bring the essence of Wally onto the land and offer an exclusive user experience," he tells Car Body Design. Hockham's design uses Wally's trademark futuristic form language with sharp edges, black glass surfaces and hi-tech gray tones. The side profile was inspired by the lines of the stunning 118 WallyPower yacht. The interior makes extensive use of carbon fiber and teak, two materials used widely by Wally, and the elongated chassis is especially designed to transport a pair of Wally carbon fiber skis.

Gallery: Wally Supercar Concept

Tags: car design, carbon fiber, concept car, design, industrial design, Monaco, skis, supercar, teak, UK, Wally, yacht

Get Your Very Own Jetsons Car for $3 Million

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Okay, so what you're looking at is not a car from The Jetsons. It doesn't fly and it doesn't fold into a briefcase when you get to your office in the sky. But it might as well. What it is, in fact, is a one-of-a-kind prototype made by Pininfarina – the same company that designs every Ferrari – in 1960 to demonstrate what was possibly in advanced aerodynamics. And now it's up for sale.

Called the X Concept, it has a unique wheelbase with one wheel front, one aft, and two near the center. It has a drag coefficient of 0.23...that's lower than a Toyota Prius, one of the most aerodynamic cars on the road today, but this was done fifty years ago. Only one was ever made, and the Aero Toy Store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has it for sale with a price tag of $3 million. JamesList has it listed from the same dealership for $1.3 million, so it looks like the steep price is negotiable.

Gallery: 1960 Pininfarina X Concept

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Tags: aero toy store, concept, concept car, pininfarina, pininfarina x concept

Ducati Desmosedici RR2 Supercar Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

From time to time we've brought you news of efforts to make a Ferrari superbike; now Ducati is turning the tables with a supercar concept. The vision of young designer Anthony Collard, the Desmosedici RR²concept is a carbon fiber-bodied two-seater made mostly from motorcycle parts. A spyder which can be converted into a coupe via a removable polycarbonate roof, it's designed to be powered by a V8 based on two Ducati L4 Desmosedici engines kicking out about 420 hp. Collard's goal is to deliver a driving experience as similar as possible to actually piloting a superbike, with style to spare befitting a vehicle bearing the famed Ducati name. Some of the mechanical parts are left visible to enhance the effect, with a narrow front and open back to display the Italian-made Marchesini superbike wheels. The engine is situated in a central front position just behind the front wheel axis, similar to that of the Mercedes SLR McLaren. We think it definitely has potential.

[via JamesList]

Tags: carbon fiber, concept car, Ducati, Ferrari, motorcycle, superbike, supercar

Is This the New Ferrari Enzo?

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

There's been plenty of speculation surrounding Ferrari's long-awaited successor to the iconic Enzo, usually referred to as the F70. After some revealing remarks from Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa recently, the new vehicle is beginning to take shape. Most insiders agree the F70 will be based on the marque's lightweight Millechili supercar concept combined with some tech from the FXX or racetrack version of the Enzo. The resulting "hypercar" (rendering above) is expected to feature a carbon fiber chassis and be powered by a direct-injection twin-turbo V8. Look for the F70 to hit 0 – 62 mph in three seconds with a top speed in excess of 230 mph. Also expect it to be limited to just 399 examples like the Enzo, available for purchase by invitation only with a pricetag in the $850,000 range when it's released in 2012.

Tags: carbon fiber, concept car, Enzo, Ferrari, Ferrari Enzo, ferrari enzo successor, Ferrari F70, supercar

2020 Lamborghini Minotauro Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

There's something about Lamborghini that inspires design students to try and improve what is already one of the world's most exotic supercars. Witness the Badall, Insecta and Conquisto concepts we've written about in the past. Now Italian designer Andrei Avarvarii has come up with a vision for what a Lamborghini could look like in the year 2020. Avarvarii, a master's candidate at Milan's Scuola Politecnica di Design, drew up plans for an eye-popping electric supercar with help from Lamborghini's head of design Filippo Perini. His 2020 Minotauro concept employs four separate electric motors splitting the power 70% to the rear wheels and 30% to the front via a KERS system and Li-Tec flat-cell battery in back of the vehicle. That leaves room for a central seating position for a third passenger in the rear. Triangular exhausts meanwhile not only cool the batteries but also "act like the tubes of a subwoofer, channeling the sound of the electric motors placed behind them."

Gallery: 2020 Lamborghini Minotauro Concept

Tags: car design, concept car, electric car, Italy, Lamborghini, supercars

Saab Spyker 9+ Tribute Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

What could a future collaboration between Saab and its new owner Spyker produce? A cross between a stylish Swedish sedan and a Dutch supercar of course. Eduard Gray, an industrial designer educated at Coventry University in the UK and now based in Saab's hometown of Trollhättan, Sweden, has come up with a viable vision for this automotive offspring. His long, lean two-door Saab Spyker 9+ concept car imagines an evolution of Saab's Aero-X enhanced by some of Spyker's exoticism. The design features a Spyker chassis with a mid-mounted engine and low down aerodynamics, including a system to reduce friction in straight line driving whilst increasing traction in cornering and braking. An enormous panoramic glass roof gives it an airy feel as well. Envisioned as a 2+2 model in the storied GT tradition, engine-wise it's speculated to house a V6 bi-turbo capable of producing over 600 hp, perhaps powered purely by ethanol.

Gallery: Saab Spyker 9+ Concept

Tags: concept car, eduard gray, Saab, saab spyker, saab spyker 9+, Saab Spyker Automobiles, Spyker, supercar, Sweden

Legendary Hispano-Suiza Marque Returns at Geneva

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Hispano-Suiza, the famed Spanish ulltra-luxe auto marque which dates back to the early 1900s, is being revived at the Geneva Motor Show with a new $950,000 supercar concept (above) that will bear the legendary name. Once renowned for exquisite hand-built racing and luxury cars, including several one-offs made for King Alfonso XIII of Spain, by the 1920s Hispano-Suiza was considered on a par with Rolls-Royce. Royalty and heads of state from other nations, luminaries such as the Rothschilds and Pablo Picasso were all proud Hispano-Suiza owners. The new vehicle will be powered by a supercharged V10 engine producing 750 hp with a 0 - 62 mph clock of just 3.4 seconds and a top speed in excess of 205 mph. Production is scheduled to start this summer with deliveries beginning in the fall. A revival of the marque on the order of Maybach and Bugatti is the ultimate goal.

Tags: concept car, ConceptCar, Geneva Motor Show, GenevaMotorShow, Hispano-Suiza, Pablo Picasso, PabloPicasso, Spain, supercar

Conquisto Lamborghini SUV Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Aston Martin's Lagonda SUV concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show is, in the words of our correspondent, "an awkwardly-styled crossover with a huge gaping mouth and unattractive shape." An unlikely idea from the famed British marque, we'd say it needs more work. Even unlikelier perhaps is the prospect of an SUV from Lamborghini, though Belgian designer David Cardoso has come up with an idea of what such a creature could look like. Dubbed the Conquisto, the two-door vehicle looks a bit like a jacked-up Gallardo, while the four-pipe sports exhaust system and massive air intakes front and rear indicate a beast lurking beneath the bonnet. While you may not be crazy about the idea it at least manages to retain much of the marque's aggressively sporty spirit.

Tags: Aston Martin, AstonMartin, concept car, ConceptCar, Lamborghini, SUV

Lamborghini Ankonian Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

A German design student has come up with a killer concept for a next generation Lamborghini that's a cross between the Reventon and the Batmobile. Slavche Tanevsky's vehicle is dubbed the Ankonian after a breed of black-haired bull in a nod to the famed marque's mascot. It features a fairly narrow body, cab backward classical GT silhouette, and a mélange of soft and angular surfaces. Tanevsky, a design student at Munich University, says the main themes behind the concept are "underground" and "hardcore", reinforced by a combination of shiny black and matte charcoal finishes. Lamborghini's engineers, who are apparently impressed with Tanevsky's work, helped him render the concept which could one day make it's way into production.

Tags: car design, CarDesign, concept car, ConceptCar, Germany, Lamborghini, Munich

Mercedes-Benz Archimed Concept from Iran

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

When Iran makes it into the media here these days the focus tends to be negative, but not all the news is bad. Mohammad Morassafar, a young mechanical engineering and design student at Azad University in Tehran, has shown that with his newly unveiled eco-efficient Archimed Mercedes-Benz concept. His innovative three-wheeled, two-door, four-passenger luxury transport is named in honor of Archimedes, the Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Fitted with gullwing doors, the hybrid vehicle carries a combination of three different engines, two electrical and one diesel powered. With a hypothetical output of 356 hp it's designed to achieve a top speed of 158 mph. Able to literally turn on a dime and rotate 360 degrees while stationary, it's designed to maneuver in cramped urban quarters.

[via JamesList]

Tags: car design, CarDesign, concept car, ConceptCar, hybrid, Iran, Mercedes-Benz, Tehran

German E-Wolf Electric Supercar Concept

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Green

At the moment it's only in the planning stages, but German firm E-Wolf's e-2 electric supercar concept (above) will be a real game-changer when it goes into production. The carbon fiber composite vehicle is the result of a collaboration between E-Wolf, the Saxony Lightweight Center and the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Polymer Technology at the Technical University of Dresden in Germany. The e-2, due in 2011, will feature four electric motors, one in each wheel, delivering a combined output of 544 hp and 737-lb.-ft. of torque in a chassis that is expected to weigh in at just 2,000 lbs., enabling it to hit a top speed of 155 mph - all without using a drop of gasoline.

Tags: carbon fiber, CarbonFiber, concept car, ConceptCar, E-Wolf, electric car, ElectricCar, Germany, supercar