Car and Auto Reviews

Archive for the ‘Concept Car’ Category

Mazda are set enter the competitive compact SUV market and take on the likes of the Kia Sportage, Toyota RAV4 and Nissan Juke, with their own mini SUV. The official sketches of Mazda’s Minagi concept car have been released ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The Japanese manufacturer is yet to confirm but the new mini-crossover SUV is expected to be called the CX-5. The sketches have been released just over a month after a possible prototype of the Mazda CX-5 was spotted undergoing winter testing in northern Europe.

The Minagi is the second concept vehicle inspired by the brands new design language, called Kodo which is Japanese for ‘soul of motion’. Mazda have described the design as showing “pent-up energy bursting with vitality as the vehicle nimbly navigates a sprawling urban cityscape.”

The Shinari concept, designed by Mazda’s new design chief Ikuo Maeda and unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in 2010, was the first car to showcase the brand’s next generation design language.

The compact SUV will fit in the Mazda line up between the Mazda CX-7 compact crossover and CX-9 crossover, and is thought to be based on a modified Mazda3 platform. Read the rest of this entry »

Gone are the days of our automobiles running 5-6 kilometers per liter of fuel, Volkswagen is preparing to unveil the much hyped Volkswagen L1. The Volkswagen L1 marks a milestone in the history of the automotive industry, this “bullet car” has received the moniker the “1-liter car” because it is able to run 100 km on a single liter of gas or 235 mpg, an unheard of distance in today’s market. CO2 emissions of the 160 km/h fast concept car are just 39 g/km.

Volkwagen L1 Hybrid Concept Car

The key feature behind the Volkswagen L1′s low energy consumption converting to the increase in mileage is the Volkswagen L1′s extremely aerodynamic and lightweight construction, shaped like a bullet (hence bullet car), with a slightly different seating arrangement placing two occupants in a row enabling the extremely low profile design. The Volkswagen L1′s body is composed of lightweight carbon fiber and aluminum allowing it to tip the scales at a mere 838 pounds

The L1 can reach 100 mph, but fuel economy at that speed drops to a pitiful 1.38 liters per 100 kilometers, or 170 mpg.

‘It is an enormous challenge to control costs in producing the monocoque out of CFRP,’ says Dr. Ulrich Hackenberg, member of the Board of Management for the Volkswagen Brand with responsibility for development. Both technically and visually, the CFRP body is already considered a significant achievement in car design. Read the rest of this entry »