The six Most Significant Concept Cars of the Geneva Motor Showcase – Automobile Magazine
The six Most Significant Concept Cars of the Geneva Motor Demonstrate
[ cars name=”Maserati”] Birdcage by Pininfarina
Years ago, the Italian design houses–Pininfarina, Ghia, Bertone, Zagato, et al–stole auto shows with audacious concept cars. In the past twenty years, however, their creativity has waned, and we haven`t seen many showstoppers from them. That switched at Geneva this year with Pininfarina`s Maserati Birdcage, built to feast the excellent Torinese design house`s 75th anniversary. The basis of the Birdcage is a Maserati MC12`s carbon-fiber chassis and 700-plus-hp, 6.0-liter V-12 engine. The radical bodywork has a combined cockpit and nose that open up and forward. Inwards, there is a heads-up display that doubles as the instrument panel, supported by a triangular structure that recalls the multi-tube framework rails of the Birdcage Maseratis. The car was exquisitely detailed, too, down to twenty-inch front and 22-inch rear wheels that had the Maserati motif cast into them. It makes the production MC12, which was displayed nearby, look clunky and ugly.
Dodge presents a fresh take on the petite car with its Caliber concept. Looking at the pictures, you might think that this car is similar in size to <<>>, but it`s not much fatter than a PT Cruiser. The form of the concept goes after current Dodge design language, with the signature crosshair grille and pumped-up wheel arches. Overall stance is athletic and almost coupe-like, with effective use of what Dodge calls «black graphic appliqu» running the length of the sloped roofline and tailing off to a rear-hatch spoiler. We think the concept looks amazing. And with crossover-like dimensions, the Caliber promises to be functional as well. Expect to see the Caliber in Dodge showrooms as a two thousand seven model.
This concept could foretell a future version of Nissan`s popular European-market X-trail SUV. Based on the Altima platform, it also could spawn a unibody, compact SUV for the U.S. market to challenge with the and the . Some U.S. Nissan officials worry, however, that it would cannibalize sales of the more rugged, body-on-frame Xterra. Albeit not particularly attractive, the Zaroot (the name plays on the words «root» and «route») undoubtedly makes an aggressive visual statement, with substantial wheel arches, the now-familiar Nissan truck front-end styling, and hefty gull-wing doors that spread from the A-pillar to the C-pillar. (There is no B-pillar.) When the doors lift up, the sill drops away, creating a gaping aperture for loading humans and gear. Inwards, you`ll find predictable concept-car features such as a floating center console, copious use of aluminum, frantically exotic colors and materials, and organic shapes.
Ford Sport Activity Vehicle (SAV)
Look beyond the concept car wheels and tires and the gussied-up interior, and this latest variation on the monospace theme that is so popular in Europe is a good indicator of a real vehicle coming to a Ford showrooms in the not-too-distant future. Martin Smith, Ford of Europe`s recently appointed chief designer, says: «This shows what we can do off of the next Mondeo platform. It is also a template for a more dynamic design language for Ford [of Europe] in the future.» Other inwards sources say that the SAV isn`t just a template; it is planned production model. Sized midway inbetween a Mondeo and the current Galaxy minivan, the SAV features three rear seats that can be reconfigured at the touch of a button. Using electrified motors, the middle seat slips rearward into a central location. It sits inbetween integrated, fitted luggage trolleys that provide built-in armrests for the third-row passenger, albeit luggage space is nothing to write home about. The two outer seats then shift inward slightly for more elbow room. Smith thinks something like this could sell in the U.S., but we have a feeling that you`ll be a lot more likely to see one in a European Ford showroom.
If the intent was to display the next generation of Honda design, as one insider put it, the European Civic five-door hatchback did a good job. Just like the coupe that was shown at Chicago a few weeks ago, the hatchback had an edginess that has been lacking from Honda styling in the past. Sure, there were lots of nice show-car details and the obligatory oversize wheels and tires, but otherwise this gives a good indication of the way that the production car–to be built in Swindon, England–will look. It is lower and broader than the current Civic, albeit there is no word on the final engine line-up, except that Honda`s Two.2-liter i-CTDi diesel engine will be part of the range, making one hundred thirty eight hp and two hundred fifty one lb-ft of torque.
The Zoe is the sort of whimsical concept that makes the Geneva Motor Display so much joy. The diminutive city car is based on the precept that, on average, cars carry only 1.Four people per journey, but that consumers are put off by the perceived limitations of two-seat cars nonetheless. Thus the hatchback Zoe is a three-seater, with the rear seat area split inbetween a single seat and an expanded cargo space. The Zoe`s interior is awash in light from glass roof panels that roll up whenever the doors are opened, and Renault stresses that all seats suggest the same level of convenience, with the rear passenger loving a built-in footrest and a seat that Renault likens to a comfy armchair. The driver`s-side door swings open on hinges, while the passenger-side door glides. The curved glass roof panels have LED starlet lights embedded in them. The left rear quarter-window can be opened via the keyless remote for effortless loading of cargo into the trunk space. The 11.3-foot-long Zoe is powered by a 100-hp, 1.2-liter four-cylinder engine.
