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Lamborghini Ankonian Concept

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

Citroen DS named "Most Beautiful Car", Rare Example fetches $440k at Auction

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

A rare Citroen DS convertible set a new record when it sold last week at Bonhams' Retromobile auction in Paris – the same event where the barn-find Bugatti Type 57 Atalante found a new home – for a high bid of 337,500 euros, equivalent to about $440k. Wait a second, a Citroen? A 1973 Citroen, actually, making the high price even stranger, but this was no ordinary DS. The rare convertible was made by French coachbuilder Henri Chapron, one of only three DS23 convertibles he made and the only one with fuel injection. The striking shape the roofless DS cut prompted Citroen to put it in its catalog for public consumption.

The sale came at an apropos time, as Citroen prepares to relaunch the DS line with a new concept at the upcoming Geneva show, and a panel of automobile designers named the original Citroen DS to be the most beautiful car of all time. Beauty being in the eye of the beholder of course, but now seems like a golden time for the iconic DS.

Gallery: 1973 Citroen DS23 Chapron convertible