The Chevy Volt concept was a hunkered-down, chopped roof sport sedan that just happened to conceal a forward-looking plug-in hybrid powertrain. The innovation here was that the Volt promised to use a gas engine like a generator to charge the battery pack—a smart solution to the range anxiety that owners of pure EVs experience.
GM invested heavily into the Volt's development. However, the production model looked more like a Prius than the sleek concept. And the Volt's powertrain has proven to be a tough sell, especially now with falling fuel prices. Chevy had planned to move 60, of them per year, but the reality proved to be about one-third of that.
The next Volt, due in , promises more power and better efficiency in hopes of connecting with more buyers. Built to connect Toyota's road cars to its F1 racing efforts, the Lexus LF-A concept showed that Toyota could build not only reliable family car but also something to compete with the world's best supercars. The concept was rumored to use a hp V as an homage to the engine configuration used in F1. Two years later, a second, more complete LF-A hit the show circuit. By , spy photographers were catching shots of prototypes testing on racetracks around the world.
The nearly half-million dollar production LF-A would finally hit the road in , generating hp from its 4. The LF-A was unlike anything Lexus or Toyota had ever produced, becoming one of the most rewarding sports cars of the day and trumping the performance and aural pleasure of just about any exotic.
Looking at the Fisker on the show stand in , it was hard to imagine the voluptuous sedan could maintain those insane curves and proportions on the real roads—even design purists eventually cave to pressure from engineers. But not here. Henrik Fisker is a designer ahead of all else, and once the engineering for the sedan was ready to go a plug-in hybrid system with a range extender gas engine not unlike the Chevy Volt , the Karma hit the road.
The Karma looked simply breathtaking. Yet a sedan cannot survive on looks alone, and this stunner was heavy, had a cramped interior, and cost six figures.
Add in a handful of fire incidents and this car was a tough sell against reliable mainstream luxury rides. Financial troubles closed the company's doors in after about cars were built. Today's hottest electric car began life as the Model S Show Car, unveiled at a private event in Southern California back in Here was a sleek sedan that cloaked enough battery power to hit an estimated mile range. The proposed specs seems ambitious to say the least, especially coming from a company that was then a relative newcomer to the auto scene.
Many believed that this car would never materialize. Well, Elon Musk doesn't fail often. In , Tesla Motors delivered on all the performance claims and produced what can now be considered a smash hit for the company.
Today's top Model S the P85 D dual motor reportedly hits 60 mph in 3. Those numbers are so far ahead of everyone else that this sedan basically has no competition. The original Jaguar F-Type concept of was a stunning retro-themed homage to the company's greatest sports car, the E-Type. It never came to fruition, but Jag kept the dream of a small sports car alive. In , it unveiled the C-X16 to a feverish crowd at the Frankfurt Motor Show, and instead of going retro, the concept was completely modern and borrowed just a handful of cues from the past.
Nowadays, the concepts got glamorous and are mostly complete in every aspect. They are more popular than ever before.
This is mainly because they are futuristic. Also, they give an idea of what to expect in the coming years. The concept cars are now loaded with all the features which the actual car will offer at the launch. Thus, it helps the prospective buyers in getting more accurate information about the product they will buy. However, there could be some minor changes at the launch in the actual car's specifications compared to the concept.
The concept car may also feature some of the exterior key elements such as the LED headlights, tail-lamps, anti-pinch windows, rear camera, etc.
It could also showcase the specific interior key elements such as the type of seats, upholstery, and dashboard. These days, many countries around the world host the Automotive Shows or Auto Expo, which attract manufacturers and prospective buyers alike. Some of the most visited Auto Shows in the world are as per the following. Automotive manufacturers participate in these Auto Shows to showcase their concept cars to the world.
Their participation in the Auto Shows helps them enable prospective customers to buy their products. After finalizing the concept car, the manufacturers make the prototypes of the car. These prototype cars are raw in nature and manufactured mainly for testing purposes. Fast forward to later in , and we got the very first Honda Insight - which looked pretty much identical.
And pretty damn strange by the standards of the day. Economical, though. It was as early as that we first got wind of Citroen's desire to showcase a new, premium-feel grand tourer. We're told the driving position was inspired by aerospace technology and was designed to resemble a cockpit. Considering it took another seven years to see it emerge as a production car, it's quite astonishing that the DS5 carries over so much of the C Sportlounge's design lines.
It was only ever created as a styling exercise, to remind the world that BMW could do beautiful, too. Although the drive never delivered quite the purity BMW would have hoped for, the design remains a modern classic. Pick one up now, and treasure it. Like skyscrapers and country clubs, Cadillacs were the visual vernacular of post-war American decadence. And from the Eldorado was the manufacturer's finest offering. And for it to reach production, GM changed But only were made, pretty much by hand, so the chances of seeing another were at comfortably long odds.
C is for Corvette, 1 is for 1st. Thing is, sporty stuff was new territory for the The General, and eager to capitalise on an enthusiastic public reaction, which wasn't shy of fist-biting spasm, it rushed the project through. Which culminated in a pretty rubbish car.
Only were built, and came fitted with a 3. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Your information will be used in accordance with our privacy policy. Concept 12 concept cars that became real.
Top Gear. External link to. Advertisement - Page continues below. Jaguar C-X Jaguar F-Type Coupe. And here it is. Meet the new F-Type Coupe. McLaren P1. Porsche Spyder. Land Rover LRX concept.
0コメント