Concepts : Car News And Reviews

Opel has lifted the veil on their extremely aggressive new Astra: the Opel Astra OPC Extreme, which will make its world debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. This race-inspired Astra was developed on the vaunted Nürburgring Nordschleife and carries over all the key high-tech components from its racing peer, the Opel Astra OPC Cup.

Volvo has released a preview of its Concept Estate, a beautiful wagon that will be officially revealed at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. The car showcases some of Volvo’s new concepts when it comes to interior and exterior designs.

MINI will be unveiling its new Clubman concept vehicle at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show and we really like this preview of where MINI may be going in the future with the four-door Clubman. The Clubman Concept is a bit larger than the current production version, coming in about 10 inches longer and 7 inches wider, but it wears its larger size well.

UK Designer Mark Hostler envisions this incredible “LaMaserati” concept car, based on the LaFerrari platform. The LaMaserati carries over the same 6.3-liter V12 engine with the kinetic energy recovery system removed to save weight. Hostler decided to build the car on a LaFerrari platform in much the same way as the Maserati MC12 was built around the Ferrari Enzo.

Hyundai collaborated with the Istituto Europeo di Design in Turin to create this stunning concept car, dubbed the PassoCorto, which will be unveiled at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. The 16 students designed the car as part of their thesis project in the Master of Arts in Transportation Design course and worked in collaboration with the Hyundai Design Center Europe.

In the 1950s, General Motors was working to develop a car powered by a futuristic engine that was the darling of the jet age: the turbine. We’re not talking about strapping a jet engine to a car a la Wile E.

Yet another vehicle being shown off in advance of the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, the Hyundai Intrado looks like a major step in the right direction for Hyundai’s styling. The compact crossover coupé  has a bold, large grille with a shape similar to the 2015 Genesis Sedan.

Yet another incredible car you could never buy, the 1938 Phantom Corsair was a true thing of beauty – especially in comparison to the other cars of its era, which largely were stoic rides that looked a bit like limousines.

It seems as if every time a sports car gets announced, somebody out there decides that a shooting brake version would be a good idea. And while we’re not opposed to the mini-station-wagon format of these cars, we’re not quite sure the style works on everything you apply it to.

With a similar footprint to the BMW i3, this diminutive crossover is designed for everyday driving and fuel efficiency. While it’s only designed to produce 109 horsepower from its 3-cylinder TSI engine, it’s still able to go from 0-to-62mph in about 9.2 seconds.

The 1970 Bertone Lancia Stratos Prototype was designed by Bertone’s acclaimed Italian design shop. The car garnered quite a buzz when it debuted at the 1970 Turn Motor Show. This sleek, wedge-shaped car had a 1.6 liter Lancia Fulvia F4 engine under the hood with 115 horsepower at the ready.

Volkswagen has updated their Touareg snow monster, the “Snowareg” for this year’s Rally Sweden. Fitted with snow tracks, this Touareg chugs through the snow and even drifts on ice with aplomb. This may be the most snow-worthy Touareg on the planet at the moment and it’s certain to come in handy over a Swedish winter.

Renault unveiled the highly stylized KWID Concept at the Delhi Auto Show (the car Renault teased a few days ago) and the final product is striking, to say the least. The vehicle is meant to demonstrate Renault’s commitment to new markets and the car’s fun design and tech-driven features reflect the maker’s connection to young customers.

While Cadillac hasn’t announced an ATS convertible model at this point, it sure doesn’t seem like a bad idea. The forthcoming 2015 ATS coupe looks grand, so why shouldn’t it get a drop-top variant? Fortunately, artist Remco Meulendijk has put together a rock-solid looking rendering of what an ATS convertible just might look like, and we like what we see.

Originally shown off in 1964, the Pontiac XP-833 Banshee bore more than a passing resemblance to what would eventually become the C3 Corvette, which was produced from 1967 all the way up until 1982. Surprisingly, it was not the car that served as the official basis for that vehicle – that distinction would go to the Mako Shark II.