Influential concept cars
Flashback: in-car record players
Car Design News takes a look back at the unlikely trend to integrate turntables in the cockpit
Rumpler Tropfenwagen – the first streamliner
Car Design News’ Karl Smith investigates the Rumpler Tropfenwagen, an innovative pre-war car that inspired new approaches to aerodynamics
Top Ten Pininfarina aero designs
As Pininfarina celebrates 50 years of its famous wind tunnel Car Design News highlights ten of its best designs shaped by aero tech
Italian car design legends captured in unique photobook
Italian car design greats captured in unique new photo book by Car Design News contributor and former Bertone employee Piotr Degler
Renault collaborates with Mathieu Lehanneur on 4L tribute
Product and architectural designer Mathieu Lehanneur works with Renault to create new concept based on iconic 4L
Review – DeLorean: Back from the Future
A testament to hubris wrought in stainless steel – the DeLorean story elevated the act of building a car into the realms of Shakespearean tragedy. A fascinating new BBC documentary profiles the man at the heart of it
Infiniti’s design team talks through the FX
In a new video released to mark the 20th anniversary of the model, Infiniti’s design team outline the features of the old FX45, its evolution, and its overall impact on the automotive industry
Concept Car of the Month: Lamborghini 400 GT Flying Star II (1965)
Revisiting the shooting brake that proved the swansong of an Italian coachbuilder’s heyday
Interior Motives: Hyundai Concept 45
From the Winter 2019/20 edition of Interior Motives magazine: Simon Loasby and SangYup Lee talk Car Design News through the interior design of the electric Hyundai Concept 45
Concept Car of the Month: Opel Experimental GT (1965)
In the guiding hands of a young of Erhard Schnell, this month’s concept car, the Experimental GT, marked a turning point for Opel Design
Concept Car of the Month: Opel GT2 (1975)
Opel’s crisp and geometric GT2 concept car was Jean-François Venet’s breakthrough project
CES 2020: Chrysler Airflow Vision concept
New Chrysler CES concept shows the brand’s possible new direction
CES 2020: Toyota debuts a concept city
After the smorgasbord of tech and mobility solutions we saw at the Tokyo motorshow last year, we wondered what else Toyota could have up it’s sleeve for CES 2020… turns out it is a whole city
LA 2019: Hyundai Vision T Concept
Hyundai has introduced a sculptural plug-in Hybrid SUV concept called the Vision T
Design Analysis: Hyundai 45 & H-Space concepts
Car Design News takes a closer look at the Hyundai 45 and H-Space concept cars to understand the Korean manufacturer’s view of the future of car design
LA 2019: VW ID Space Vizzion concept
The 2019 version of VW can’t be accused of shirking its environmental responsibilities. Hot on the heels of the production version of the ID.3 at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show, just two months later it revealed the latest in its all-electric ID family in the shape of the Space Vizzion concept at the 2019 LA Auto Show.
Concept of the Month: Renault Radiance (2004)
As we saw last month, delightful design can be found in unusual places. The 2004 Renault Radiance, a concept for a full-size lorry with more automotive design elements, is just such an example.
Frankfurt 2019: Hyundai unveils Concept 45
Hyundai unveiled the next iteration of its electrification journey with the Pony-inspired 45 Concept at the Frankfurt 2019 international motor show
Concept Car of the Month: ATNMBL (2009)
The autonomous concept study that ripped up the car design rulebook
Pebble 2019: first sight of the Acura Type S concept
This week at the 2019 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Acura will introduce a new expression of the Precision design language in the form of the Type S concept sedan. We take a look at the design language and consider how it will feed into future models
Three 1980s economy concepts by Renault, Audi and Citröen
The Renault Vesta II, Audi 60 and Citröen Eco 2000 – three concepts from the 1980s that bear revisiting
Concept Car of the Month: VW Futura (1989)
The once and future Golf? The Volkswagen Futura, introduced at IAA Frankfurt in 1989, was once considered the future of the German marque
The Cars of Ian Callum: Jaguar R-D6 concept
A push for a 21st-century Jaguar spawned this highly influential sports hatch
Concept Car of the Week: Linea Diamante (1953)
Arguably Italy’s greatest modernist architect, Gio Ponti also had a whirl at car design with the Linea Diamante
Citroën’s Ami One urban mobility concept: small yet significant
The French firm’s centenary city car puts them squarely into the wider mobility landscape
CES 2019: Hyundai Elevate concept UMV can stand up and walk
A collaboration with Sundberg-Ferar gives this mobility concept some legs… literally
Concept Car of the week: Dome Zero (1978)
Launched at the Geneva Motor show in 1978, the Dome Zero designed by Minoru Hayashi was a Japanese concept car that echoed Italdesign or Bertone
Concept Truck of the Week: Ford Super Chief (2006)
The trend towards luxury has produced a number of interesting truck concepts over the years. One of the largest and most interesting was the Ford Super Chief concept of 2006, which was, despite appearances, more of a personal limousine than a pick-up truck
Concept Car of the Week: ItalDesign/Volkswagen Project Orbit (1986)
Following the success of the Golf, Italdesign proposed a radical duo – Machimoto and Orbit – to evolve Volkswagen’s small car concept
Peugeot’s Gilles Vidal on the e-Legend concept
A closer look at the neoclassical show star
Concept Truck of the Week: Toyota A-BAT (2008)
A ‘ute’ for the ’burbs – and beyond
Peugeot E-Legend Concept revealed
A retro throwback on the surface, an autonomous connected EV underneath
Mercedes-Benz Vision Urbanetic concept
Swappable bodies make autonomous, electric concept van an urban tool
Concept Ute of the Week: Isuzu Como F1 (1991)
A car, a truck, a prophecy... with a whole load of horsepower to boot
Concept Car of the Week: Arthur Radebaugh & the Bohn concepts (1947-49)
In the late 1940s, artist and advertising man Arthur Radebaugh produced a series of futuristic artworks for automotive and aircraft parts manufacturer Bohn Metals based in Detroit. The results were stunning
Design Development: Tata EVision Concept
In-depth details of how the UK-conceived concept car came to be – and lots of images
Concept Car of the Week: Lamborghini Marzal (1967)
In 1967, Lamborghini’s lineup consisted of just two cars - the Miura and the 400 GT 2+2 - but this wasn’t enough for Ferrucio Lamborghini, who fancied a true four-seater GT to add to his stable. After the successful collaboration on the Miura, he naturally returned to carrozeria Bertone which was commissioned to design the car.
Concept Car of the Week: Autobianchi Runabout (1969)
The 850 was a very popular car for Fiat in the ‘60s, especially in its spider version with its cute design and compact proportions. When the time came to replace it, Fiat went back to Bertone, where chief designer Marcello Gandini was charged with designing its replacement.
Concept Car of the Week: Bertone Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968)
Marcello Gandini’s Carabo for Alfa Romeo pioneered a distinct design language, influencing automotive icons such as the Lotus Esprit and Lamborghini Countach
Concept Cars of the Week: Italdesign’s 20th anniversary cars (1988)
Giugiaro celebrated 20 years of success like only he could, with a trio of radical concept cars: Aztec, Apsid and Asgard
Geneva 2018: Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo concept
On a new electric powertrain, the Mission E Cross Turismo previews a future crossover
Icona show ‘self-driving living room’ concept
Previewing autonomous concept the Nucleus
Design Development: GAC Enverge concept
A look into GAC’s trend-driven poster car which prefaces their planned entrance to the US market
Concept Car of the Week: American Motor Corporation Concept 80 Cars (1977)
A brave, but ultimately doomed, attempt to save the brand
Concept Car of the Week: BMW GINA (2008)
The GINA Light Visionary Model extended themes first seen on the 2001 X-Coupé and the production BMW Z-4. Designed by Chris Bangle and his team in 2001, the car had been kept secret for over six years
Concept Cars of the Week: The ItalDesign ‘M’ Cars (1978-82)
Sleek, smooth and enormously influential concepts from Giugiaro including the Lancia Megagamma, the 1978 ItalDesign M8, Lancia Medusa and the Lamborghini Marco Polo, we trace the connections
Rinspeed Snap mobility concept unveiled
Separating the interior space from the automobile, both literally and philosophically
Concept Car of the Week: BMW X-Coupé (2001)
Chris Bangle’s now famous Flame Surfacing made its debut in the form of the BMW X-Coupé at the 2001 North American International Auto Show
LA 2017: Toyota FT-AC concept
On-trend SUV steals the lime-light
LA 2017: Chris Bangle’s Redspace project
At the launch of a startling Chinese government-backed urban micro-EV
Concept Car of the Week: GM Ecotec Lakester (2003)
Racing on California’s dry lakes dates back to before World War II, but the sport became a real phenomenon in the years after the war. Hot rods and speciality cars like streamliners would streak across the dry lake beds hoping to set records for speed in the forbidding desert landscape.
Concept Car of the Week: GMC Terradyne
The Terradyne was General Motors’ turn-of-the-millennium vision of the urbanised future of the truck
Concept Car of the Week: Holden Hurricane (1969)
Tuesday, 4th March, 1969. A select group of journalists had been invited to Holden’s Technical Center at Fishermen’s Bend, Australia for a secret unveiling of Holden’s first-ever concept car. Among those assembled that day, there was great curiosity. After all, Holden – as a part of GM industrial empire – was only 21 years old (it was independent before World War II), and its technical centre was only founded in 1965. Holden was a producer of staid family transportation, so what could be so top secret?
Concept of the Week: Oldsmobile Profile (2000)
A compact SUV concept that looks strikingly contemporary
Concept Car of the Week: Renault Nepta (2006)
A land yacht for cruising the Corniche, the Renault Nepta is an open-top grand tourer with classic lines and proportions evoking classic open-topped cars like phaetons, or the classic 1960s Lincoln Continental convertible
Design Review: Borgward Isabella Concept
From nowhere, the revived German brand gave us one of the stars of Frankfurt. We analyse the Isabella concept
Concept Car of the Week: The Airomobile
Even the most casual student of automotive history knows that aeroplanes and automobiles ‘grew up’ together, with much technology transfer between the two. Both designers and engineers, as well as various manufacturers, moved freely between the aeroplane and the automobile in the decades before the Second World War.
Frankfurt 2017: Honda Urban EV Concept
Retro preview of a future EV turns on the 'kawaii' charm
Concept Car(s) of the Week: The early Ford Fiesta concepts
This week (September 2017) is the 41st anniversary of the introduction of the Ford Fiesta. Now about to enter its seventh generation, Ford has sold over 16 million Fiestas worldwide since its introduction in 1976. Conceived as a competitor to the Fiat 127 and Renault 5, the Fiesta has managed to outlast all its competition for a generation now. But what is often overlooked is how robust a platform the Fiesta has been for interesting concept experiments.
Concept Car of the Week: The Dale (1974)
Grifts, murder, a transgender con-artist and a micro car – the story of The Dale concept car proves life is stranger than fiction
Concept Car of the Week: Pontiac Firebird Type K (1978)
When Chevrolet introduced the Corvette Quartet in 1954, an unusual amount of interest was shown in the shooting brake/wagon variant, the Corvette Nomad. Chevrolet wanted to develop this car as a competitor to the Ford Country Squire, but elected to build the car on a Bel Air frame instead. The two-door Nomad wagon sold in modest numbers but became an instant classic, an iconic car of the 1950s. The Nomad name was transferred to a more conventional wagon later, but the idea of a two-door, sporty wagon stuck in the minds of GM design staff.
Concept Car of the Week: Vauxhall SRV (1970)
When a young GM designer named Wayne Cherry was asked, in 1965, to travel to the UK for a temporary assignment at Vauxhall, he eagerly accepted the invitation. In addition to automotive design, Cherry was an avid racer, and longed to see some of the legendary European races in person. It seemed like the perfect opportunity.
Infiniti reveals vintage-inspired ‘Prototype 9’ concept
Nissan’s premium brand (est. 1989) imagines its own 1940s Grand Prix car, in a fit of ‘fauxstalgia’...
Concept Car(s) of the Week: The Corvette Mako Sharks
One day in 1956, Bill Mitchell, who would soon become GM’s design chief, pulled up at a red light not far from the GM Technical Center. Beside him was a Ford Thunderbird driven by a young designer GM had recently hired and who had quickly made a name for himself with interesting ideas for the 1959 Pontiac and Chevrolet models.
Concept Cars of the Week: Corvair Sports Cars
The humble Chevrolet compact inspired some surprising sports cars
Concept Car(s) of the Week: The Darrin Roadsters
Dutch Darrin’s search for the ‘Holy Grail’ of sports cars
Concept Car(s) of the Week: The Darrin Roadsters
Dutchman Darrin's search for the ‘Holy Grail’ of sports cars
Concept Car(s) of the Week: The Corvette Quartet (1954)
The Chevrolet Corvette is an American automotive icon. Introduced in 1953, it is the longest continually produced domestic car, still going strong at almost 65 years. But its beginning was shaky, and the sports car program was almost canceled before it had really begun.
Concept Car of the Week: Studebaker Sceptre
Studebaker is an American automotive legend, and of the few manufacturers to successfully transition from the horse-drawn to the horsepower eras. Founded in 1852, the company produced high quality wagons for farming and overland freight hauling. By 1875 Studebaker was the largest vehicle manufacturer in the world, producing wagons and carriages in a proto-assembly line that had no rivals.
Concept Truck of the Week: Ford Ranger II
What Syd Mead Would Drive to the Beach
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Lincoln Continental
This week marks the sesquicentennial (150th anniversary, if you’re not fluent in Latin) of the birth of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. All over the United States, and beyond, celebrations and exhibitions are planned and the architect’s contributions to modern architecture and city planning are once again a lively subject of debate and critical essays.
Concept Car of the Week: Renault Avantime (1999)
In the history of French car design, Philippe Guédon is a legend. While maybe not as well-known as Patrick Le Quement or Robert Opron, Guédon has been involved in the design of many vehicles from Simca, Matra and of course Renault. He is considered the father of the Renault Espace, a design widely attributed to designer Antonis Volanis but finally shepherded to production by Guédon for Renault in 1984.
Lamborghini Bravo (1974)
For many, the recent crisis of 2008 through to 2012 was the worst downturn for the automotive industry in many years. But the mid-1970s were in many ways just as grim, though many of the players in the industry were stronger then and could weather the economic storm better than in recent crises. For makers of fine cars, however, those were desperate times indeed. But many of the designs of those years, some of the best ever, seem to defy the desperation and might fool one into thinking it was an automotive golden age.
Pontiac Phantom (Madam X)
William ‘Bill’ Mitchell spent his entire 42-year career at General Motors, much of it served under the leadership of the flamboyant Harley Earl, GM’s Vice President of Design for over three decades. Earl appointed Mitchell as Cadillac’s first design chief in 1936. In 1954 he was promoted to Director of Styling, serving directly under Earl. Finally, after Earl retired, Mitchell stepped into Earl’s place and was Vice President of Design from late 1958 until his own retirement in 1977.
Cadillac Personal Luxury Car Concepts
In 1960, General Motors found itself on top of the industrial world. It was the largest corporation with the greatest reach and broadest product line of any corporation in the world. It produced everything from home appliances to cars and trucks, to heavy industrial machinery and military vehicles. True to its name, if it had a motor, General Motors probably produced some version of it.
Concept Car of the Week: Pininfarina Jacqueline (1961)
When John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1961, he and his wife Jacqueline were not just state dignitaries, they were celebrities. Their image was one of a young America entering a new era. Jacqueline herself was an instant fashion icon – an American beauty, only 31 years old at the time of her husband’s inauguration. She became famous for pink Chanel suits, pillbox hats and a glamorous lifestyle inherited from her wealthy, old-world family. No other First Lady, before or since, has captured the American and international imagination so completely.
Concept Car of the Week: Hillman Zimp [1964]
The Hillman Imp was manufactured from 1963 to 1976 for the Rootes Group, then later for Chrysler’s European group. It was sold in the lineup of a number of marques – Hillman, Singer, and Sunbeam – and in a number of configurations; coupé, saloon, estate (the Husky), a van and others. It was meant to be a direct competitor to the BMC Mini, and the two cars did fight it out for supremacy in the subcompact/starter car market, at least for a few years.
Concept Car of the Week: Chrysler 70X (1969) and Cordoba Del Oro (1970)
Defining the “Fuselage” Aesthetic for a New Decade at Chrysler
Concept Car of the Week: Citroën M35
Ami meets Wankel. Odd romance ensues
Concept Car (OK, Truck) of the Week: Siemens Innotruck (2012)
Luigi Colani, Siemens and T.U. Munich showcase their vision of tomorrow’s truck
Concept Car of the Week: General Motors Bison (1964)
The Bison concept by General Motors explored a trucking application for gas-turbine technology
Concept Car of the Week: GM LeSabre (1951)
The car that defined auto design in the 1950s in America was the General Motors LeSabre of 1951. Conceived by the flamboyant GM design chief Harley Earl, it was meant to set out the programme for the cars of the new rocket age
Concept Car of the Week: Norman Timbs Special (1948)
Like a Hollywood take on a German race car, this sleek road-legal roadster was both out of place and time
Concept Car of the Week: Buick Centurion (1956)
The centrepiece of General Motors legendary Motorama shows, the Buick Centurion was the combined talent of Harley Earl and Charles ‘Chuck’ Jordan
Concept Car of the Week: Pininfarina Maserati Birdcage (2006)
In the late 1950s Maserati launched a series of lightweight racing cars to conquer the 24 hours of Le Mans as well as other famous races. Known as ‘Birdcages’, the cars were constructed of a latticework of chromium/molybdenum steel tubing and covered by light sheet metal.
Concept Car of the Week: Chrysler ecoVoyager (2008)
Not quite the future of the luxury car, but an interesting experimental monospace
Concept Car of the Week: Lincoln ‘C’ (2009)
Big American Luxury in a C-Segment Car
Concept Car of the Week: Cadillac N.A.R.T. (1970)
A racing team's redesigned Eldorado, by Zagato
Concept Car of the Week: L'Oeuf Electrique (1942)
The mother of all bubble cars has something to say to us about the car of the future
Concept Car of the Week: The Kar-A-Sutra (1972)
In 1972 the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York held an exhibition: Italy: The New Domestic Landscape. A number of avant-garde Italian architects and designers were invited to submit work for what would become one of the seminal exhibitions of the decade, and included Mario Bellini’s Kar-A-Sutra
Concept Car of the Week: Stout Scarab (1936)
Taking inspiration from aviation to create the world’s first minivan the Stout Scarab, The Scarab recently acted as inspiration for the Hyundai Prophecy concept (2020)
Concept Car of the Week: Ford Indigo (1996)
Twenty years ago, Ford predicted an IndyCar in every garage
Rinspeed previews a 2017 concept car – complete with space to grow plants
Interesting Oasis concept will debut at January’s CES in Las Vegas
Concept Car of the Week: General Motors Firebird IV/Buick Century Cruiser (1964/1969)
The concept car that believed you only live twice
Corvette Rondine (1963)
Ask any Corvette enthusiast the significance of the year 1963 and an excited smile will break across his or her face. That was the year of the introduction of the second generation Corvette, the C2, with its dramatic styling, shape, and controversial split rear window, all courtesy of Larry Shinoda and the GM Design team.
Lincoln Quicksilver (1983)
A forgotten concept from an era of radical aerodynamic experiments
Concept Car of the Week: Colani Ferrari Testa D’oro (1989)
A record-breaking aerodynamic fantasy created by design’s ‘nutty professor’
Concept Car of the Week: Opel Trixx (2004)
A look back at GM’s attempt at a smarter Smart city car
Concept Car of the Week: Volvo YCC (2004)
The car designed by an all-female team that raised some important questions as well as eyebrows
Concept Car of the Week: Vauxhall Equus (1978)
Wayne Cherry's favourite car: "the most uncompromised design I've ever worked on"
Concept Car of the Week: Ford Seattle-ite XXI (1962)
Ford’s vision for spaceage, nuclear-powered cross-country driving
Concept Car of the Week: Autobianchi A112 Giovani (1973)
A generation ago, Autobianchi stood for innovation in packaging and engineering. Formed in 1955 as joint project by Bianchi, Pirelli, and FIAT, the small company was “the mouse that roared”, creating a limited number of models, each unique in the marketplace, and frequently serving as platforms for innovative features FIAT hoped to incorporate in future models.
Concept Car of the Week: Ford Aurora (1964)
Launched at the World’s Fair in 1964, the Aurora was Ford’s vision of the family hauler for the baby boomers
Concept Car Of The Week: Stola S81 ‘Stratos’ (2000)
What happens when the original creator attempts to revisit one of their past masterpieces?
Concept Car Of The Week: Corvette Nivola [Bertone] (1990)
A mid-engined Corvette concept with Italian Flair
Concept Car of the Week: Bertone Saab Novanta (2002)
Italian firm's 90th birthday present to itself, via Sweden
Concept Car of the Week: New York Taxi (1976)
The seminal monovolume that spurred on Giugiaro's most creative period
Concept Car of the Week: Nissan Chappo (2001)
The issue of the automobile in the megacity of tomorrow has been on automakers’ agenda for the last decade now. Plenty of questions are still being debated – What will power this car? Will it be autonomous? What will its architecture need to be? And what will an urban design language look like?
Concept Car of the Week: Daihatsu X-021 (1991)
Tiny rival to the Mazda MX-5 that was destined not to be
Concept Car of the Week: Oldsmobile Expression (1990)
The concept that aimed to revive the estate car with the help of a built-in Nintendo – the Oldsmobile Expression
New Car: BMW 2002 Hommage
BMW has organised the annual Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este classic car show since 2005, and frequently uses the event to debut retro-inspired ‘Hommage’ show cars. This year the brand unveiled the BMW 2002 Hommage, an exterior concept intended to evoke memories of the classic 2002, launched 50 years ago this year.
Concept Car of the Week: Pininfarina X (1960)
The diamond layout, low drag family car that challenged the status quo
Concept Car of the Week: Porsche Boxster (1993)
Revisiting the concept that kickstarted Porsche's road to recovery
Concept Car of the Week: BMW Mille Miglia Coupe (2006)
An object lesson in using the past as an impetus for creativity
Concept Car of the Week: Suzuki Mobile Terrace (2003)
The anti-car mobile room that continues to appeal
Concept Car of the Week: Dodge Super8 Hemi (2001)
Revisiting the concept that evoked the cars of pre-Interstate America
Concept Car of the Week: Lancia Dialogos (1998)
For any brand with a long heritage, there is always a tension between the past and future. The past is a rich source of design ideas, but can also hinder the need to drive the brand’s image and design language into the future. How do you reconcile the two?
Concept Car of the Week: Jaguar Kensington (1990)
Giugiaro's vision for a modern Jaguar that made production a decade later and half a world away
Concept Car of the Week: Ford Bronco (2004)
Revisiting Ford's show-car resurrection of the classic Bronco
Concept Car Of The Week: Ferrari F100 (1998)
The F100 is Leonardo Fioravanti’s unique commemoration marking 100 years since Enzo Ferrari’s birth
Concept Car of the Week: Chevrolet Aerovette (1976)
The mid-engined Corvette concept that swapped rotary for V8 power
Concept Car of the Week: Mitsubishi SE-RO (2003)
The dieselpunk showcar that used the 1950s to predict the future
Concept Car(s) of the Week: Ferrari 250 P5 (1968) & Alfa Romeo Tipo 33/2 Coupe Speciale (1969)
Revisiting the Ferrari and Alfa Romeo showcars that shared far more than Italian heritage
Concept Car of the Week: Mazda MX-81 Aria (1981)
Marc Deschamp’s Mazda MX-81 Aria coupé featured one of the most unusual steering wheels of all time
Concept Car of the Week: Renault Scenic (1991)
Anne Asensio’s genre-defining new type of family car
Concept Car of the Week: Scion Hako (2008)
With news of the brand's closure, we revisit Scion's best concept car
Concept Car of the Week: Citroën Eole (1986)
Introduced at the 1986 Geneva Motor Show, the Eole was a four-passenger luxury wagon based on the production CX. But while that car had its roots in the 1970s, the Eole was an exploration of where the genre might go in the next decade and beyond
Concept Car of the Week: Lancia Medusa (1980)
When was the last time the humble family car paradigm was thoroughly questioned and progress made? Yes we’ve made huge strides in terms of refining and finessing details, but the overall concept hasn’t changed since Giorgetto Giugiaro defined the segment with his 1974 Volkswagen Golf.
Faraday Future introduces FFZero1 concept
Secretive automotive start-up shows first concept car at Consumer Electronics Show
Concept Car of the Week: Volkswagen Concept 1 (1994)
J Mays and Freeman Thomas resurrect the Beetle to help rebuild VW’s US reputation
Concept Car of the Week: Volvo ECC (1992)
The Volvo ECC concept was design legend Peter Horbury’s vision of a cleaner, more sophisticated future
Concept Car of the Week: Mazda MX-03 (1985)
The boom-time super-GT that shot for the stars
Concept Car of the Week: Chevrolet California Camaro IROC-Z (1989)
The 'running sketch in steel' that rebooted the muscle car genre
Concept Car of the Week: Mazda Senku (2005)
Recalling the last time Mazda’s Tokyo show star came with added global appeal
Concept Car of the Week: Le Corbusier’s Voiture Minimum (1936)
2015 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Le Corbusier, the famous Swiss-French architect who ranks among the great modern masters of the craft
Is this one of the very best Pininfarina concept cars? By Peter Stevens
Tracing Abarth's impact on design since the 1969 Turin Motor Show
Concept Car of the Week: GM Futurliner (1939)
The 1938 Buick Y-Job is rightly famous for being the world’s first concept car. But while the Y-Job was being created by Harley Earl and the designers at GM’s newly-named Styling Division, the team was also working on a project much larger in scale: the Futurliner
Concept Car of the Week: Audi Avus (1991)
J Mays' wildly-proportioned supercar that found its identity in its heritage
Concept Car of the Week: Renault Ondelios (2008)
A forgotten and misunderstood crossover that has clearly had a wider influence
Concept Car of the Week: Jeep Treo (2003)
Three-seat micro machine set out to outdo the Japanese on their home turf
Concept Car of the Week: Chrysler D’Elegance (1952)
The Chrysler concept that would become a Volkswagen
Concept Car of the Week: Ford Probe V (1985)
The Prove V was first shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in 1985, and was arguably one of Ford’s most radical concept cars
Concept Car of the Week: Lancia Megagamma (1978)
Visitors to the 1978 Turin Auto show expected the latest Giugiaro sports car concept. Instead, they were shocked to see a truncated version of Lancia’s Gamma fastback sedan. What was it? A little utility van? A stumpy estate wagon? The Italian maestro had in fact invented the MPV
Concept Car of the Week: Volkswagen NILS (2011)
Looking back at one of the many highlights Frankfurt Motor Show has given us over the years
Citroen Survolt [Geneva 2015]
Hot pink butting up to gloss blue; matte gray nestling closely with orange and chrome detailing. Add a riot of layered surface interplays as well as extreme, mini-supercar proportions, and extended exposure to the Citroën Survolt concept sounds like a recipe for a migraine, or a page out of Tommy Hilfiger’s Spring/Summer catalogue. So why the double-whammy of complex form and the bold use of color and textile?
Concept Car of the Week: Pininfarina Ethos 1 and 2 (1992, 1993)
Exterior designer Stephane Schwarz talks us through two of his early works at Pininfarina
Design Development: Volkswagen Sport Coupé Concept GTE
How VW’s four-door, four-seater Geneva Motor Show concept was created - exterior in harmony with interior to form a dynamic coupé
Concept Car of the Week: Ford Zig and Zag (1990)
The Ford Zig and Zag concepts were shown at the 1990 Geneva motor show
Concept Car of the Week: Renault Talisman (2001)
In the week Renault announced its Laguna-replacing Talisman sedan, we're returning to the first car to bear the name
Concept Car of the Week: Citroën Activa I (1988)
A look back at the big Citroën built to show off some pretty high-tech hydropneumatics
Xeno III - The Personal Concept Car
The Xeno III, the culmination of a decade of design and engineering development, was unveiled at Art Center College of Design on January 26.
Concept Car of the Week: Mazda Nagare (2006)
A look back at the concept car that went with the flow
Concept Car of the Week: Chrysler CCV (1997)
The lightweight, low cost concept that owed more than a little to the Citroën 2CV
Concept Car of the Week: Maserati Boomerang (1972)
In 1972, Giorgetto Giugiaro created one of the most futuristic wedge-shaped concepts of all – the Maserati Boomerang
Concept Car of the Week: Fiat VSS I.DE.A (1981)
The Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering, or I.DE.A for short, was founded in Turin in 1978 by the entrepreneur Franco Mantegazza and the architect Renzo Piano. The institute’s first project a commission by Fiat, who invested $3.25-million in exploring how the cars of the 1990s could be designed and built more efficiently.
Concept Car of the Week: Jaguar Ascot (1977)
Bertone's fourth attempt at creating a car for the Jaguar brand
BMW GINA concept - 2008
In 2008 BMW Group Design revealed a revolutionary new concept car which utilises a flexible textile cover to form its outer skin. Called the ‘GINA’ Light Visionary Model - an acronym derived from the principle of Geometry and Functions In “N” (Infinite) Adaptions - the concept offers dramatically different solutions that affect the design and functionality of future cars. One of Chris Bangle’s most famous cars.
Audi Prologue Avant concept (2015)
Following the Prologue coupé unveiled at the 2014 LA Auto Show, and a slightly more refined autonomous version of that car shown at the 2015 CES in Las Vegas, Audi will debut the Prologue Avant at the Geneva Motor Show.
Concept Car of the Week: Fiat Scia (1993)
Although based on the Punto, the Fiat Scia looked so much more with its boat-like body shape and enticing stature
Concept Car of the Week: Nissan Jikoo (2003)
The curvy two-seater Nissan Jikoo was shown at the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show
Concept Car of the Week: Saab 9X (2001)
With a glorious heritage, a strong and understated design philosophy combined with a focus on technology and innovation, it is sad to have witnessed how GM’s questionable management led to Saab being completely wiped off the map in just a decade.
Design Review: Mazda Ibuki
The Ibuki is a compact two-seat open topped sports car concept that is 330mm (just over a foot) shorter than the current Mazda MX5.
Concept Car of the Week: Italdesign Columbus (1992)
Italdesign’s interpretation of a deluxe MPV, the voluminous and implausible Columbus, debuted at the Turin Motor show in 1992. It was one of those concepts that remained just that but Car Design News is very much a fan
Design Development: Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow concept [2011]
Building full-size models of its virtual entries for the annual LA Design Challenge is now becoming something of a habit for the Mercedes-Benz US Advanced Design Center. After the critical and public success of its Biome concept last year the California-based team developed another 1:1 model for this year’s competition, called the Silver Arrow in homage to the classic 1930s and 1950s racing cars
Design Review: Volvo YCC concept
Launched in 2004, the Volvo YCC (Your Concept Car) was a landmark in automotive design in that it was created by and all-woman team
Concept Car of the Week: Italdesign Machimoto (1986)
The Machimoto might look and sound like a Japanese concept, but it was developed in Europe in the Turin-based Italdesign studio, and was based on a Volkswagen Golf GTI platform. The name actually derives from MACHIna (car in Italian) and MOTOciclo (motorcycle) as the perfect hybrid between the worlds of two- and four-wheelers.
Concept Car of the Week: Volvo Tundra (1979)
In 2013, Volvo unveiled the Concept Coupé – a good reason for Flavien Dachet to take a look back at another Volvo coupé concept from 1979 – the Tundra
Concept Car of the Week: Mercedes F200 Imagination (1996)
The F200 Imagination was designed at Mercedes’ Advanced Design studio in Tokyo, in response to the question ‘does the car of the future still have a steering wheel and foot-operated controls?’
Concept Car of the Week: Lancia Bertone Sibilo (1978)
The second half of the ‘70s saw automotive design fall into an era of uninspired and uninspiring economic cars finished with cheap plastic add-ons and stuffed with beige itchy fabrics. Working from the little Bertone studio in Turin, it seems Marcello Gandini didn’t get the memo and carried on drawing futuristic wedgey supercars.
Concept Car of the Week: Citroën Karin (1980)
With the 1980 Paris Motor show approaching and no new model to unveil, Citroën needed something to wow the crowds on its home turf.
Design review: Mazda Furai concept
The Mazda Furai concept was developed at the Mazda North American Operations design studio
Design Development: Saab Aero X concept
‘The ultimate vision for the brand’. This was the simple brief for the Saab Aero X concept car shown at the Geneva motor show in 2006.
Concept Car of the Week: Cadillac Sixteen (2003)
Many premium brands struggle to keep their heritage of crafts and aesthetics up to date without often falling into obvious retro references. With a rich tradition of innovation, Cadillac tackled this difficult task in 2003 by creating the stunning Sixteen concept.
Concept Car of the Week: Ferrari Modulo (1970)
Considering how radical and visionary the Ferrari Modulo still looks today, it is easy to understand the impact it had on car culture when it was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show 45 years ago
Concept Car of the Week: Lancia Stratos Zero (1970)
The Lancia Stratos Zero took the 1970 Turin Motor Show by storm, propelling designer Marcello Gandini into superstardom
Concept Car of the Week: Italdesign Capsula (1982)
In the mid-1970s, Giugiaro experimented with vehicles that maximised space efficiency; prioritizing interior volume, while reducing the exterior footprint. But this idea of space-efficient modularity was taken to its extreme with the Capsula. Launched at the Turin Motor Show in 1982, the car’s design was inspired by coaches constructed with the chassis, engine and luggage space set separately underneath the cabin.