The Future As Represented By 5 Exciting Concept Cars

The latest ideas in car design are embodied in concept cars which give the manufacturers the opportunity of judging the public’s response to them. There’s bound to be something that will appeal to all of us whether the concept is technical innovation or design. For 2011 I present five cool concept cars.

The likelihood of having your new car written off is fairly strong, it’s best to take out gap insurance when you purchasing the new car.

Volkswagen XL1 Concept

First unveiled at the Qatar Motor Show the Volkswagen XL1 Concept puts the emphasis on economy. The car is not heavy on account of its strong yet light carbon fibre body. A 20kw lithium-ion battery pack will take the XL1 twenty miles at which point a 800cc 48hp engine takes over. A further efficient 320 miles can be squeezed out of the small 2.64 gallon fuel tank. It’s a mystery as to how Volkswagen will manage to provide production models of this concept at a reasonable price.

Renault Captur concept

Renault hope that the new Captur concept car will sell like hot cakes. With its removable hardtop and its eclectic features the Captur combines the characteristics of a convertible, an MPV, a coupe and a hatchback. Anyone sitting in the Captur will experience a strange floating feeling which is the result of having the seating attached to the central console rather than to the floor. Powered by a 158bhp engine, it is capable of speeds up to 130mph. Low emissions put this concept in the tax free range.

BMW Vision ConnectedDrive

At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show this sleek and aggressive looking concept car has stimulated enormous interest. The bodywork is beautifully designed with rounded headlights and grill that is reminiscent of a shark’s head. Sliding doors remind us of the Z1 limited edition and the L shaped rear light cluster is a new design we’ll be seeing on new Beemers. Essential information such as speed is displayed on a 3D screen which can also display GPS information when needed.

Infiniti Etherea concept

Infiniti’s contribution to the Geneva Motor Show is the Etherea, their first compact car and a direct competitor to BMW’s Series 1. The Etherea, a smart hatchback, is quite different from Infiniti’s usual range of luxury 4×4′s and executive saloons. Probably to be powered by a turbocharged 4 cylinder Mercedes Benz engine, this petro-electric hybrid will be in production in 2014 and is clearly aimed at a younger market. My wish list includes the Etherea and the necessary gap insurance.

Vauxhall Zafira Tourer concept

Amazing performance is not a pre-requisite of a concept car. The Zafira Tourer, by Vauxhall, is an example. The hugely popular MPV could be superseded by this seven-seater passenger vehicle. Although shown as a concept, the style and design may be what we will see when it goes into production later this year.

The Zafira features a new version of the Flex 7′s practical seating system but does not inherit the FlexDoor system from the Meriva. On the dash there’s a touch screen display whilst the rear seat passengers can surf the internet or watch films on the front seat mounted laptops.

Concept Cars – What Are They And Why Are They Popular?

In 1966, fanatics of comic superhero Batman were awed by the presence of the character’s legendary Batmobile in the Batman television series. That time, people could not help but wonder whether the fancy car was actually existent. To the surprise of everyone, the car was for real and was actually fully functioning. Alas, the car was not marketed for mass production due to several limitations that include the overall design, safety and feasibility.

The Batmobile was actually a Lincoln Futura, designed and developed in 1954 by Ford Motor Company. The fancy and highly impressive car was in actuality a ‘concept car’. Many other concept cars had already been introduced prior to the popularity of the Batmobile. But the Lincoln Futura certainly paved the way for global car buyers to know more about the concept of such vehicles.

So what are concept cars? The special vehicles are prototypes of ideal cars that are showcased for public exhibition. For those who are not familiar with the traditions of the global car industry, carmakers are constantly designing and making special cars to exhibit their ability and capacity to design and manufacture vehicles that would be highly useful and functional. Concept cars are conceptual in nature wherein car manufacturers work on their ideal and futuristic vehicle concept.

For so many times, concept cars have prepared the market for the development and launch of similar car models. For example, in the 1980s, Porsche 989 was unveiled as a concept car that later on became the predecessor of a mass-produced Porsche Panamera. In other cases, concept cars highlighted special design and manufacturing situations, like the case of the Volvo YCC, a prototype designed in 2001 by a team comprising entirely of women car designers.

Usually, concept automobiles remain just concepts. The vehicles normally do not go for mass production for several reasons. For one, prototypes are made of exotic, non-traditional and very expensive materials that making them for mass production would certainly be unfeasible. Some concept cars are made of materials that would never ever be useful for real cars like paper and carbon fiber. Another reason why concept automobiles remain just concepts is the fanciness and impracticality of designs and layouts. The original Batmobile for example could not be mass-produced because driving the car would certainly be not effective and safe.

In traditional practice, concept cars are unveiled to the market and are admired for their fanciness and freshness. But they will remain that way. Usually, after the exhibition, the cars are destroyed because they would not be useful. At times, the car manufacturer would keep the concept car for public exhibition and museum purposes, other than as a strategy to expand the list of company patents.

Concept cars, most aficionados know, are mostly not drivable. Although the cars might come complete with engines, turbines and all other necessary car parts, driving and operating them would always be non-feasible. Mock-ups of fancy cars, made up of clay, fiberglass, wax, plastic and metals, are also technically considered as concept cars.

People hope that in the future, concept cars would be more than just concepts. These times, some things do not remain impossible. More impressive cars are certainly lined up for the future, and they need not be concept cars.