Super Concept Cars Blog

Mazda Kiyora Concept Picture:

Preview:

If there’s one company we’d love to see put its concept cars on the street, it’s Mazda. The latest whiz-bang project, the Kiyora, was shown in Paris with the hint that it might be close to a promised mini-car from the Japanese manufacturer. With a lightweight chassis and body, four-cylinder direct injection gas engine and stop-start system, the Kiyora reflects the meaning of its name, which is “clean and pure” in Japanese. The average car buyer might not be ready for such cutting-edge design, but we’re looking forward to the day when the fruits of Mazda’s excellent design studio drop from the tree into showrooms.

What it Looks Like

There is a lot of glass in this concept; running the length of the roof and most of the side panels, little will hinder the driver’s view. The prominent nose that has found its way into so many of the other Nagare concepts has found a home on the Kiyora as well. We’re guessing a flatter nose, doesn’t flow as well as the schnozzes that have found their way into the Nagare design studies. As with the previous concepts, there are lots of vents and sweeping curves to aid the wind in flowing through and over the car instead of the car having to beat its way through it. The swoops continue around the back end, further enhancing the Kiyora’s aerodynamics. It even extends to the taillights, which are two thin sweeping strips that run from the top of the rear lip and over the rear hind quarters.

What’s Under the Skin

The Mazda Kiyora Concept is powered by Mazda’s next-generation four-cylinder direct-injection engine and equipped with the Smart Idle Stop System to boost fuel economy and lower tailpipe emissions. Standard stuff these days, and since it’s a concept, Mazda isn’t forthcoming with much more information except to say that the design helps increase fuel economy.

What We Think

We’ve enjoyed watching the Nagare design concept develop over the last couple of years and had hoped they would continue to get more exciting with each iteration, especially after the introduction of the Taiki Concept in Tokyo last year. The Kiyora is interesting, but we’re still hoping Mazda has saved the best for last and will still bring something even cooler. Large expanses of glass make for great concept cars, but offer little in the way of any real production cues to get us excited.

This is the Audi A1 Sportback, set to be unveiled tonight at a special event at the Paris Motor Show and designed to bring sexyback to Audi’s A1 concept series. The A1 Sportback Concept is the successor to the A1 Metroproject Quattro Concept unveiled in Tokyo last year with the obvious distinction being — a bigger back end. The A1 Sportback concept has an overall length just shy of 12 feet, leaving a sizeable gap between itself and the larger A3 sportback which comes in at just over 14 feet. But as is true with concepts from every automaker under the sun, don’t expect a standard powertrain. Hit the jump for what to expect under the hood.

Power comes from a 150 HP 1.4-liter TFSI engine mated to a 27 HP (20Kw) hybrid drive that will provide the A1 Concept with an additional 110 lb-ft of torque (150Nm). Audi’s coupled the powertrain to their dual-clutch S-Tronic gearbox and the A1 Sportback Concept can thrust itself from 0-to-62 MPH in just 7.9 seconds. Fuel consumption lies at an admirable 3.9 liters per 100km with emissions output a mere 92g/km.

Audi A1 Sportback Concept Picture:

Watching futuristic movies such as the Demolition Man and Minority Report has given us an insight into what the future holds in the automotive industry. The concepts which employ a soothing high-tech styling theme could one day be seen in full production form rather than the heavily toned down models we are limited to at the moment. The new Nissan Nuvu Concept is one such model that would nicely fit into the future, the curvaceous body profile, smooth design lines and futuristic interior back up this theory. But back in reality, we are actually looking at a preview of the next generation Nissan Micra.

The mini car is just 3 meters long but the interior has been designed to provide occupants the kind of space usually accustomed to models in the C segment with its 2+1 layout.

Power for the concept comes courtesy of a zero emissions Electric drivetrain, it previews a system set to be employed in the electric vehicle Nissan plans to launch in Japan and the United States in 2010. This electric motor is mounted on the rear of the vehicle with all of it power output directed to the back wheels. Power and torque figures are being withheld at this time, but Nissan are kind enough to announce it has a driving range of 125km and a top speed of 120km/h.

Citroen’s stunning concept supercar, the GTbyCitroen, took to th­e streets of central London on Tuesday (23/06) to recreate part of the ‘st­reet circuit’ featured in Gran Turismo® – the PLAYSTATION®3 ­driving game which the GTbyCitroen was designed for.

Taking in some of the Capital’s most famous landmarks, the virtual-turned-­reality supercar swapped pixels for Piccadilly as it swept through the world fam­ous circus, toured Regent Street, rounded Trafalgar Square and cruised down the ­Mall past Buckingham Palace.

The result of a unique partnership between Citroen and Polyphony Digital In­c., a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc., creators of ­the Gran Turismo game series, the GTbyCitroen concept measures nearly five ­metres long (4.96m) and just over a metre high (1.09m) with an impressive superc­ar design sporting wide air intakes, rear air-diffuser, horizontal LED headlamps­, gull wing doors and diamond-effect 21inch aluminium wheels. Inside the cabin o­ffers a refined racing experience with copper, steel and black leather finishes ­combined with hi-tech racing controls.