Concepts : Car News And Reviews

As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, Maserati unveiled the stunning Maserati Alfieri Concept car, a classic 2+2 sports coupe named after one of the founding brothers of Maserati and that pays tribute to the classic 1954 Maserati A6 GCS designed by Pininfarina.

When somebody mentions “rat rod,” it conjures images of rough-around-the-edges cars designed with simplicity and power in mind. You know, something like this. In the case of this concept design by Pawel Winsniewski and Jans Slapins, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Chrysler’s lead designer Virgil Exner was responsible for many wonderful concept cars from Plymouth, including this radical asymmetrical concept car from 1960, the Plymouth XNR. The car was built as a two-seater but had a huge headrest/tail fin behind the driver’s seat reminiscent of the Jaguar racing cars of the day and was better suited to a single occupant.

If you’ve seen TRON: Legacy, Oblivion, or Captain America, you’ve seen the work of vehicle designer and futurist Daniel Simon. His designs include the latest-gen TRON light bikes, tanks and jets, those amazing retro-futuristic Hydra craft, and the incredible Lotus C-01 bike among others.

Inspired by elements of classic Alfa Romeos, the Doppiezza concept is the labor of love of a team of industrial design students, including Emeric Baubant, Benoit Viguier, Charlie Fournier, Aurelien Deleuze, Mathilde Ampe, Romain Mivelle and Djihad Itoumaine.

The Sbarro Espera ES-13 Flèche Rouge was one of the more interesting pure concept cars on display at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. The car was designed by students from the 2012-2013 design program at the Espera Sbarro Montbéliard design school, located in France.

Jay Leno had the chance to take a look at the Nissan IDx NISMO Concept, which is a great Nissan concept car that pays homage to the Datsun three-box cars of the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

Swiss designers and coachbuilders, Rinspeed, came to Geneva and showed off what they consider to be the future of autonomous driving vehicles with their ultra high tech, luxurious XchangE Concept. Built on top of a Tesla Model S, the concept car aims to redefine what it means to drive.

Subaru showed off their latest concept 4-door SUV at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Dubbed the “Viziv 2”, the concept is designed with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain using a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine combined with one front and two rear electric motors and all-wheel drive system.

After teasing us with a rough sketch, Honda drew the curtain surrounding the Honda Civic Type R Concept at the 2014 Geneva Auto Show and this is a beast of a Japanese hot hatch. Honda says the car’s 2.0-liter, inline four-cylinder, turbocharged VTEC engine will produce “more than 280 horsepower” and the goal is to record the faster lap around the Nürburgring for a series production, front-wheel drive hatchback; a record currently held by the Renault Megane RS 265 Trophy.

Do you find yourself circling the block over and over again looking for a parking space, only to find some parkholes have taken up more than the necessary space with their cars? This concept car from Korea aims to make it easier to park in even the tiniest of spaces.

Undoubtedly taking aim at the Jaguar F-Type Coupe, Maserati is showing off its own powerful sports car – albeit in concept form only. Unlike the F-Type, though, the Alfieri is a 2+2. Named after one of the Maserati brothers, the Alfieri pays tribute to the 1954 Maserati A6 GCS designed by Pininfarina, but is unmistakably modern.

Lexus will be unveiling its RC F GT3 concept at the upcoming 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Weighing in at just 2,755 pounds, the GT3 Racing Concept packs a modified version of the RC F’s 5.0-liter V8 engine, boosting horsepower from the production 450 up to a whopping 540.

Volkswagen will be introducing a new concept vehicle at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show that looks to us like a close cousin of the Audi Shooting Brake Concept we saw in Detroit and the sister of VW’s CrossBlue Coupe Concept.

While there’s still no word if or when we’ll see the Acura NSX Concept go into production, that hasn’t stopped Acura’s parent company, Honda from showing off a test footage very special build of the car – the NSX Concept-GT.