Every year, at car and technology fairs around the world, well-known and unknown car manufacturers exhibit their concepts. Their completed design and engineering projects are presented to the public, letting everyone get a glimpse of how they think about the future. TopSpeed.gr picks 8 of them today and presents them.
8.Jeep Wrangler Trailcat
Okay, the Wrangler is perfect for what it's meant to be anyway. What better could it get? Well, of course, the group's one and only engine that produces 707 horsepower! Not Hellcat, Trailcat, for digging the trails that were once impassable.
The Trailcat is so crazy that they had to lengthen it by 12 inches to fit the huge motor. Α! And it's wearing the divine seats from the latest Dodge Viper...
7.BMW Vision 100
When you have as your timeless slogan that you're making the "ultimate driving machine", it's a question of what you're going to do with autonomous cars. BMW's Vision 100 gives us a glimpse of the future.
The BMW Vision 100 has a wealth of next-century technology on board. One of which is autonomous driving. Based on the logic of moving parts, the car has many such elements on board. For example, in self driving mode, the steering wheel folds into the dashboard to take up no space and the seats turn inwards so that the passengers can talk or do whatever they do, except for dealing with the road. Externally, the wheels are covered with also moving elements that follow the wheels, improving the aerodynamic coefficient to 0.18.
What about driving? When the driver chooses to take the steering wheel in his hands, it comes out and the heads-up display is set on the windscreen, which not only shows the necessary information, but even calculates the best "lines" to take in the next turn!
6.Opel Concept GT
We've said it before: Opel may have a Corsa, Astra, Insignia OPC and GSi (soon), but it doesn't have a halo sports car, an authentic rear-wheel-drive coupe like the ones that brought thousands of fans to Opel.
The Concept GT is a solution that Opel could - and should - adopt. Does a lightweight chassis and a simple engine equal a sports car? Yes! Why, the power of the 143 horsepower, 998 kg, 1000cc three-cylinder engine (turbo, of course) is enough to give it a sprint to 100 km/h from standstill in 8 seconds. But, 0-100 isn't the point, is it?
5.Pininfarina H2 Speed
Just look at it: even if it had... pedals as a drive unit, you'd still crave it. The Italian house of Pininfarina certainly knows a thing or two when it comes to designing beautiful cars, as they've proven in several Ferrari and Maserati models.
But even for this company, the H2 Concept is one of the most beautiful, one of the most important projects it has ever created. As you can tell from its name, it's not powered by petrol, but by hydrogen.
It has two electric motors, producing 500 horsepower at 13,000 rpm, sprints to 60 in 3.4 seconds, finishes at 300 and emits only water vapor as "exhaust". In this case, it will go into production by the end of the year.
4.DS E- Tense
Citroen revived the legendary DS brand in 2009 and turned it into a standalone brand in 2014. Isn't it time the French luxury brand now took it a step further? The E-Tense, proves that yes.
Designed to have the French finesse you'd expect, this is not just a design exercise. It's a modern electric sports car that, "just" happens to be gorgeous. It produces 402 horsepower and features interior solutions (which took 800 hours to design) that we'll see or already see inside new DS.
3.Renault Trezor
It's impossible to look at this Renault and not have a heart attack. The French brand's electric concept follows the lines of the 2010 DeZir Concept, with wide bumpers and elongated headlamps giving it an aggressive look.
But it's not that, nor the 349 (electric) horsepower, nor the performance (0-100 in 4 seconds) that makes the Trezor amazing. It's the way it welcomes the driver and passengers into the cabin, making the lambo-style and gullwing doors look like an antiquated kangaroo.
The Trezor's monocoque roof rises, like a fighter's mirror, to facilitate entry into the bright red cabin. Come on, Renault, get it out in production.
2. Mercedes Maybach Vision 6 Cabriolet
The 6-meter Mercedes Maybach Vision 6 Cabriolet is so long, it won't fit in the camera of any mobile phone to take a selfie, unless you get too far away. Too far. It's Maybach's first open-top car concept (and not a derivative of an S-Class) since the Maybach Zeppelin was introduced in 1929. And which was similarly extravagant, weighing 2.7 tonnes.
This particular jewel doesn't weigh as much, has a 750 horsepower electric motor and is fast, doing 0-100 in just 4 seconds. Apart from the given luxury, the design makes this concept stand out. Especially the bonnet that opens in two, like the wings of a bird...
1.Mazda RX-Vision Concept
Mazda stopped producing cars with rotors after discontinuing production of the petrol-thirsty but capable RX-8 in 2011, disappointing millions of fans. A concept reveal, the patenting of the new rotor, the trademarking of the names "RX-7″and "RX-9", information and rumors (lots of rumors) had the entire petrolhead planet hoping that the rotor would return with a vengeance.
