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Filed under: Concept Cars , Convertibles , Geneva Motor Show , Japan Click above for a gallery of the K.O. 7 and 8. When we make the trek to Switzerland each year, there always seems to be one particular car that stands out. It's generally something unexpected from an independent automaker far removed from the spotlight. This year, tucked away in a corner cubicle of the Geneva Motor Show's basement, was the K.O. 7 Spider, a concept hailing from Japan that attempts to strike a balance between bespoke supercar and track-day terror. There were actually two vehicles on display at the Ken Okuyama Design booth: the K.0. 8 coupe, an E.V. that's decidedly less attractive and strictly a design exercise, and the K.O. 7, a production model that will be on sale sometime in 2008. Hit the jump for all the details. Gallery: K.O. 7 and K.O. 8 Continue reading Geneva 2008: Japanese ambition, the K07 Spyder Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Hybrids/Alternative , Geneva Motor Show , Green Click above for high-res gallery of the Italdesign Giugiaro Quaranta concept Beauty may be in the eye of the proverbial beholder and all that, but the Italdesign Quaranta wasn't quite the beauty of the Geneva ball. And while Giorgetto Giugiaro, the celebrated designer at the studio's helm, has more iconic designs to his name than we could possibly list here, his latest was not his best, easily outclassed by the Giugiaro Mustang concept with which we fell so deeply in love and the Ferrari GG50 he built for himself. The Quaranta concept was built to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Italdesign Giugiaro, and features the Lexus RX400h's mid-mounted hybrid 3.3-liter V6 powerplant driving all four wheels through a CVT and supported by a solar panel on the unfortunately styled nose. Think of archrival Pininfarina's Maserati Birdcage concept crossed with Robocop 3 and you're beginning to get the picture...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Geneva Motor Show , Motorcycles Last October, when Yamaha showed off its Tesseract concept, we had trouble deciding how to classify the vehicle other than as extremely awesome. We are left scratching our heads yet again as Swiss automobile and motorcycle customizing company Sbarro unleashes its Pendolauto concept. Like the Tesseract, the Pendolauto leans into turns like a motorcycle would, yet features four wheels, like a car or a quad. With most of the excitement of a motorcycle, the machine would certainly be a blast to ride, but perhaps a bit more stable due to the addition of the two extra contact patches. Piaggio has seen a great deal of success with its MP3 scooter , but that machine features three wheels and is classified as a motorcycle. Because the Tesseract and Pendolauto have four wheels, nothing quite like them will be available in the U.S. any time soon. Unfortunately, the powers-that-be have yet to understand that a machine like the Pendolauto can...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Sports/GTs , Geneva Motor Show , Euro , Maserati Click above to view high-res gallery of the IED Maserati Chicane concept Geneva has been good to Maserati. Last year the company unveiled the GranTurismo to thunderous applause, and followed up this year with the more powerful GranTurismo S . Meanwhile, the students of the Instituto Europeo di Design unveiled their Maserati Chicane concept , which won out over rival designs to win sponsorship and a spot under the bright lights of the Geneva Motor Show to show their talent to the world. We caught up with the IED graduate design students and found our cameras snapping away at the striking concept. Although certain details aren't likely to find their way onto a production Trident, with the design chiefs from Maserati and Fiat AG on the selecting jury, we wouldn't be all that surprised to see some similarities when Maserati eventually unleashes its anticipated new sportscar. Check out the video in our previous...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Geneva Motor Show , Etc. Click above for a high-res gallery of the Rinspeed sQuba concept. While the Geneva Motor Show provides its own brand of ridiculousness, the Rinspeed crew takes the cake in Switzerland. We've already seen the pics, the prosperously pompous video and have attempted to rationalize the Rinspeed sQuba concept, but until we saw it in person, we just couldn't cope with the realization that a perfectly good Lotus Elise could be made into a pseudo-submarine. Well, we saw it. We shot it. And our necks are sore from shaking our heads. Our previous post on the sQuba concept tells the whole tale and we've assembled a gallery of live shots to prove that where there's an ill-advised will, there's a way. Gallery: Rinspeed sQuba Concept Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Geneva Motor Show , Euro , Alfa Romeo Bertone's not officially exhibiting at Geneva this year, as the company is going through some upheaval, but it still made a splash in Switzerland. The B.A.T. 11 , paying direct homage to the original B.A.T. concepts, was unveiled in Geneva at the AutoDesignNight event. The car was commissioned by Gary Kaberle, and you'd never know that there's an Alfa Romeo 8C hiding under the sheetmetal that's strongly evocative of the 1955 B.A.T. 5. Tapered fins and faired in wheels follow the design fundamentals laid down 50-plus years ago by Nuccio Bertone and Franco Scaglione, and the unique wheels with two layers of spokes are a 21st-century interpretation of the classic Borrani wires. Surfaces with a mix of soft and crisp forms and details still look futuristic, even while paying homage to the past. Financial woes or not, Bertone is still one of the world's premiere houses of automotive haute couture, and the B...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Minivans/MPVs , Geneva Motor Show , Crossovers/CUVs , GM , Opel Click above for a high-res gallery of the Opel Meriva concept. We finally wound our way over to Opel's booth to check out the newest take on the compact MPV concept. The Meriva's small footprint would lend itself well to the urban confines Opel expects the majority of buyers to be based out of, and the FlexDoors, a modern take on the suicide doors of yore, should make ingress and egress easier for the kiddies and anyone else banished to the back of the mini-bus. Opel wanted to maintain the stylistic edge of a high belt-line, which normally impedes rearward visibility, but the slopping rear windows and D-pillar might make blind spots a bit more bearable when some version of the Meriva makes it to production around the turn of the decade. You can read up on all the details about the Opel Meriva concept in the press release after the jump. Gallery: Opel Meriva Concept Continue reading Geneva...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Sports/GTs , Geneva Motor Show Click the image above for a hi-res gallery of the Morgan LifeCar For a company that still makes cars out of wood, Morgan knows not only how to hang in there, but to come up with some really neat stuff. The LifeCar divides a line that reaches well into the past and well into the future. Its lines are retro modern -- or is that modern retro? -- with all the traditional early-20th-century coupe cues done in aluminum. The hydrogen powerplant is theoretically good for a 200-mile range and "sporting" British performance. Check out the press release for the full details, and be sure to look at the gallery of hi-res images below. Gallery: Morgan LifeCar concept Continue reading Geneva 2008: Morgan LifeCar Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , SUVs , Geneva Motor Show , Audi Click to view the Audi Q7 V12 TDI Coastline in hi-res The Audi Q7 Coastline is not the first attempt at infusing an automobile with a nautical theme, but it very well might be the most exquisite execution we've seen to date. Forget about automotive mishaps like the Mercury Villager Nautica edition and the Plymouth Breeze, this concept rivals even the teak-decked Rolls-Royce Phantom DropHead Coupe for dockside prowess. In fact, a Maserati convertible parked at a Monte Carlo marina would be jealous. This writer, meanwhile, would be hard-pressed to upstage Alex Nunez's poetic waxing for maritime prose in his preview post , but the pearl white sport-ute makes me feel like picking up the clear-coat polish and teak oil just the same. As you can see in our gallery of high-resolution images, Audi set up an exceptionally photogenic dedicated showroom off the Geneva show floor to showcase the 500hp V12 TDI that would be right at...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Wagons/Estates , Geneva Motor Show , Mitsubishi Click above for a high-res gallery of the Mitsubishi Prototype-S. Mitsubishi is serious about extending its range of Lancer products to fill every niche between the base ES model and the range-topping Evolution X MR. The introduction of the Lancer Ralliart was one way of plugging the gaping hole between the lesser Lancer and its rally-bred big brother, but still, something was missing: utility. Mitsubishi's answer to the Subaru WRX Sportwagon and Volkswagen's four-door GTI is the Lancer Prototype-S, a new model that will move on from concept to production within the next year. All the details that have trickled out over the past month were realized earlier today, as the five-door Lancer made its appearance in Geneva. As expected, power will come from the Ralliart's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, which sends 240 hp and 252 lb.-ft. of torque through the Twin Clutch SST gearbox and on down to all...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Geneva Motor Show , Supercars , Audi Click image above for high-res shots of the R8 V12 TDI Le Mans We just got our first glimpse of the newest AudiR8 concept and we are breathless. Most of that is due to digging ourselves out of the scrum that resulted when the press conference concluded and we found ourselves in a crush of humanity that made us momentarily consider knocking down a few pushy folks around us. Gladly, the thought passed quickly and so did the crowd. What we have for you now is a cluster of pics of this tasty turbodiesel treat. When we told you about this car yesterday, we expected it to be much like the silvery version we saw in Detroit. That was mostly true. This version, finished in Brilliant Red is called the Audi R8 TDI Le Mans to play on Audi's participation in dominance of that legendary endurance race in recent years. It features the same 6.0L V12 pumping out 500 horsepower and prodigious torque, enough in fact (737 lb-ft) to be among...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Geneva Motor Show , Euro , Crossovers/CUVs , Renault Click above for high-res of the Renault Megane Coupe concept. Koleos, Laguna GT and Twingo RS. Those are three of the four new models which Renault was anticipated to unveil at this year's Geneva show, but right up until the end of the press conference, a big question mark hung over the identity of the fourth. The wraps have been taken off and the veils have been lifted, revealing the Megane Coupe concept. The existing Megane - along with its distinguished curved rear window - is on its way out , and Renault is assuredly working hard at a new design that will capture buyers' attention in an increasingly crowded market. But while the concept is likely a very far ways away from what the production version will end up looking like, it did grab its share of attention. See for yourself in our high-resolution image gallery below. Gallery: Renault Megane Coupe Concept Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Hybrids/Alternative , Sports/GTs , Geneva Motor Show , Euro , Green , Lotus Click above for a high-res gallery of the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel While assorted activists, politicians and random individuals carry on about the spectres of global warming, imported oil, CO 2 emissions and other issues that combine to create timetable-free doomsday scenarios, there are people working on potential solutions that do not involve us driving around four-wheeled Segway scooters. That's right: the "dreaded" internal combustion engine might yet provide the answer -- or at least an answer. And because Lotus is the entity searching for the answer in this particular case, the end result might not only be green -- it looks ridiculously fun, too. The car you see here is the Geneva-bound Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel concept, the successor to 2006's Exige 265E , which made 265 horses running on E85. The 270E goes a step further. Not only can it run on gasoline or ethanol...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Geneva Motor Show , Supercars , Alfa Romeo The saga of whether Bertone will or will not be at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show to debut its Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 11 concept is over. Automotive News Europe is reporting that the Italign design house will display the vehicle you see above in Geneva, just not at the Palexpo where the auto show is taking place. Bertone's Vice Chairperson Marie-Jeanne Bertone told AN that her mother Lilli, who is also Bertone's Chairperson, had cancelled the company's booth at the Geneva show. Unfortunately, it's not yet known where within the city limits of Geneva the car will debut. We assume it will be a shady part of town and a password might be required to get in. Despite the highly unorthodox unveiling, the B.A.T. 11 looks every bit as dynamic as the original B.A.T. concepts from which it takes inspiration. Being that it's based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione platform, it probably goes like...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Geneva Motor Show , Hatchbacks , SEAT Click above for high-res gallery of the SEAT Bocanegra Concept SEAT is set to unveil the Bocanegra Concept tomorrow during the first press day of the 2008 Geneva Motor Show , and it previews the upcoming replacement for the production Ibiza model. For those familiar with the rather homely looking Ibiza , the Bocanegra (which literally means "black mouth") should be a welcome portent of things to come. SEAT, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, was always supposed to be the Kia to Volkswagen's Hyundai, but has not done a great job of mixing performance and low prices together. Well, it got the latter down. The Bocanegra Concept, however, sports an aggressive, expressive design that, while not altogether original (we see Euro Focus and BMW 1-Series cues), is a major leap forward for the Spanish brand. Sources say the concept's sheetmetal is pretty darn close to what the production model will be when it debuts later...
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