The "Tundra Sportsman" concept pickup truck was developed in collaboration with Bass Pro Shops and their RedHead Pro Hunting Team members.
The vehicle is inspired by the outdoor tradition of hunting.
Toyota used a 2011 Tundra Double Cab 4×4 equipped with the TRD Rock Warrior Package and 5.7-liter V8 with a six-speed automatic transmission as the canvas for the concept truck.
In addition to the performance modifications, the exterior uses a muted color palette of Grays and Blacks to blend in with the wooded environment without the cliché of camouflage to sustain curb appeal.
Inside, the truck was designed to be a command center for extended hunting trips. It includes a weather station and GPS system.
The truck bed was modified to serve double-duty as the ultimate sportsman fantasy transport and base camp.
Everything required for conventional firearm and bow hunting is included as well as an area for meal preparation.
This racing-version Yaris was created by SportsCar magazine, starting from a 2006 Yaris five-door liftback.
The name is an homage to the popular GT-S grade Celica's of the 1980's and 90's.
The Yaris GT-S Club Racer has 400 kg of weight savings, and an exterior with a Molly Designs inspired graphics that pays homage to Dan Gurney's All American Racers-built IMSA GTP Toyota Eagle Racers of the 1990's.
Additional exterior features include a Seibon carbon fiber hood and hatchback, AeroCatch hood pins, Racing Lifestyle fender flares, I/O Port Racing Supplies tow hooks, and Lexan side and rear windows
Underneath the hood is a Toyota 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with VVT-i.
The Yaris GT-S Club Racer won its very first race, topping the competition at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California.
The Toyota Prius PLUS Performance Package is a new hybrid performance line by Toyota Racing Development (TRD).It offers accessories that add sporty look and performance handling. Toyota Prius PLUS Performance Package These include a seven-piece aerodynamic body kit with a uniquely styled rear diffuser and race-inspired 17-inch forged wheels. The PLUS package deliversimproved handling without sacrificing any fuel efficiency. The package also includes exclusive floormats with a "PLUS" logo and a unique "PLUS" exterior badge.
The new PLUS brand of accessories from Toyota will be available in limited production beginning in April 2011.
Four Wheeler Magazine's Project Toyota 4Runner Backcountry is a special version focused on exploration. The 4Runner was lifted approximately 2.5-inches, using Old Manu Emu (OME) suspension system with heavy-duty springs and special shock absorbers.
The P285/70R17 Falken WildPeak A/T tires are mounted to 17×8 Teflon-coated ATX Mojave wheels.
The factory rear locker is complimented with an ARB front Air Locker and a Warn XD9000 winch mounted to an ARB Deluxe Bull Bar front bumper. Also mounted to the front bumper are two 6×9 KC HiLiTES HID driving lights.
The interior featuresa Cobra CB radio for trail communications and a dash-mounted Garmin GPS as a primary navigational aid. The rear cargo area includes a Power Tank on-board air system for airing up tires.
The Prius C&A Custom Concept vehicle was developed by the Conversions and Accessories group at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan.
Toyota Prius C&A Custom Concept Toyota Prius C&A Custom Concept
Exterior areas equipped with carbon fiber include aero side skirts with vertical spoilers, front bumper and fender flares with radically large air intakes, the engine hood, roof, rear hatch, rear spoiler, rear bumper with vertical spoiler, and rear garnish.
Other exterior features include an outside mirror CCD camera system, smoked rear combination lamp with a translucent rear side spoiler, styled exhaust tip and front and rear lighted Toyota badging.
Among the details are the 18-inch, forged wheels with aluminum aero rings and sport suspension by TIEN that lowers the Prius concept by four inches in the front and six inches in the rear.
The Tacoma X-Runner RTR (Ready to Race) project pickup truck is a high performance vehicle made using almost only Toyota standard parts.
It is powered by a stock Tundra 5.7-liter V8 engine coupled with a six-speed automatic transmission. A Toyota Racing Development (TRD) Supercharger Kit was added, bringing the power output to 504 horsepower and 550 lb.-ft. of torque. The truck runs on premium gas rather than race fuel.
The exterior body panels of the Tacoma X-Runner remain untouched. A silver and red paint scheme applied by Five Axis was inspired by classic low cost but ready-to-race sports cars, including the late 1960s Dan Gurney Cougar XR7-G.
Inside, all non-essential equipment was removed to make the vehicle as light as possible.
At the Sao Paulo Motor Show Renault Brazil ha unveiled the Sandero Stepway Concept, a show car produced by Renault Design America Latina and based on the Dacia Sandero model. Among the features is the three-tone paint scheme.
Renault Sandero Stepway ConceptBased on Renault/Dacia Sandero Stepway (35,000 cars sold since 2008), the Sandero Stepway Concept features some special materials & colours.
These include the gloss black titanium hood, tailgate & roof, which make a strong contrast with the matt copper color of the doors.
The bumpers & body lower parts are platinum finished while the cabin features a blend of anodised aluminium & satin-finish titanium.
Additional details of this style study are the distinctive blueish LED headlamps and the flower-themed graphics.
The concept has been presented at the recent Sao Paolo Motor Show (27th October – 7th November 2010).
(Source: Renault)
French AutoMoto.fr has revealed that Lamborghini has given the green light to a limited series production of the Sesto Elemento concept, presented at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The estimated price is 2.5 million Euros.
According to the source, the carmaker will build the Sesto Elemento in a limited run of up to 10 cars.
Presented as a show car at the last Paris Show, the Sesto Elemento (Sixth Element in Italian) is powered by a 5.2 liter V10 engine with 570hp and thanks to the extensive use of carbon fiber has a total weight of just 999 kg.
The extreme performances include a 0-100 km/h time of 2.5 seconds.
The projected price for the production version is about €2.5 million / $3.4 million.
(Source: AutoMoto.fr via Autoblog.it)
Presented at the 2010 LA Design Challenge, the Volvo Air Motion Concept is a two-seater open sportscar targeted to driving enthusiasts, with a carbon fiber body and a powertrain with compressed-air motors.
Volvo Air Motion ConceptFor the "1,000 lb car" brief of the 2010 LA Design Challenge, California-based Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center (VMCC) has presented the Air Motion Canyon Carver, a design study of a futuristic open sportscar running on compressed air.
The carbon fiber body takes inspiration from Scandinavian design heritage and is "sculptured like a clam shell."
Aimed at minimizing weight and complexity, while maximizing driving enjoyment, the concept is powered by simple compressed air motors. These motors cool down under load rather than heat up, thus removing the need for heavy cooling systems.
An integrated approach to the chassis, interior and suspension design also contributes to the overall efficiency.
Volvo Air Motion Concept Volvo Air Motion Concept Wheel assembly
The air needed for the centrally mounted air tank is compressed using Air Replenishment Sites, which are equipped with wind-powered air turbines floating 1,000 ft. in the air.
Design Team:
* Chris Benjamin
* Dean Bakker
* Steve Goodrich
* Bjorn Wessman
* Doug Frasher
* Dean Shaw
* Geza Loczi
(Source: Volvo)
BMW has announced that it will produce a 2+2 sportscar powered by an innovative plug-in hybrid system and based on the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car presented at Frankfurt in 2009.
At the Leipzig trade fair centre BMW is presenting a road-ready technology showcase vehicle based on the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept.
The ActiveHybrid powertrain features a 3-cylinder turbo diesel engine coupled with a hybrid synchronous motor at the front axle and a full-hybrid engine at the rear axle, for a total output of 241 kW/328 bhp.
The main performances are a 0-100 km/h sprint in 4.8 seconds, average fuel consumption in the EU test cycle of 3.76 l/100 kilometers and a CO2 emission rating of 99 g/km.
The BMW Group is undertaking extensive field tests in regular traffic, with the MINI E and -soon – the BMW ActiveE.
The first purely electrically powered model – called Megacity Vehicle – will be produced at the Leipzig plant from 2013.
(Source: BMW)
Created by Toyota's Calty Design Research for the 2010 LA Design Challenge, the NORI Concept is a futuristic four-seater with a body and chassis integrated into a single lightweight component made of carbon fiber and seaweed.
Toyota NORI Podular StructurePresented at this year's Design Challenge at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Toyota NORI Concept features a structure called Podular form which integrates both the body and the chassis.
The component allows for weight optimization and reduction of number of parts. It is made of a bioplastic material that combines "nori" (the Japanese word for seaweed) combined with a carbon fiber weave.
The concept is powered by four electric wheel motors coupled with a removable battery pack. Woven into the PODULAR form are solar cells that capture and generate supplemental solar energy.
"The PODULAR forms are grown at factories located nearby the sea. Seaweed grows prolifically, and using it as a bioplastics source is an effort to minimalize the impact on the food chain (corn/soy etc) that has previously been used for bioplastics. The solar cells are embedded as part of the growing/manufacturing process."
Toyota NORI Manufacturing Process"PSI's (partial shape insets) are utilized to shield or expose passengers to the elements and address vehicle regulations (such as covered wheels), while serving as a new form of personalization.
"The color/graphics of NORI can be changed through an electronically generated data charge sent into the surface. There are no doors: ingress/egress is achieved by stepping over and into NORI's PODULAR form."
Design Team:
* Craig Kember
* Erwin Lui
* Kevin Hunter
(Source: LA Auto Show)
Presented at the 2010 LA Design Challenge, the Smart 454 WWT Concept is a design study of a futuristic 2-seater with plastic body panels and a frame made of carbon fiber manufactured by knitting robots.
The Smart 454 WWT (Weight Watch Technologies) was designed by Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Germany for the Design Challenge hosted at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show.
The car is a 2-seater features a Tridion-frame which is knit by so-called "Smart Granny Robots" (SGRs) out of
carbon fiber.
Smart 454 WWT ConceptThe knitting can create complex shapes and forms, enabling the geometry to be optimized in strength and weight.
Each part is made of a different specific material, which gives the car an original look and allows to optimize the balance between weight and function.
Windows, fenders and bumpers are all made of recyclable plastics with ingrained colors. The roof is a thin, but highly durable recycled textile that comes with different prints and weavings.
The modular "clip-on" construction concept allows easy customization: the doors, roof, engine and drivetrain can be easily removed or replaced.
The wheels with integrated suspension are made of carbon fiber and their construction makes it impossible to run a flat tire.
Design Team:
* Mr. Emiel Burki – Senior Designer
* Mr. Sylvain Wehnert – Designer
* Mr. Gabriel Nemeth – Designer
(Source: LA Auto Show)
Mercedes-Benz has officially confirmed that the CLS Shooting Brake, previewed by the Shooting Break Concept at Auto China 2010, will be produced starting from 2012.
Mercedes-Benz Shooting Brake ConceptAs Mercedes-Benz executives reported, the company's intent is to repeat the success of another high emotional appeal vehicle: the CLS presented in 2004, which created a new segment and quickly became a design reference.
The design is based on the homonymous concept presented at Auto China in April 2010 and will be launched in 2012.
The CLS Shooting Brake is characterized by coupé-like proportions, with a long hood, narrow-look windows with frameless side windows, and dynamic roof sloping back towards the rear; all combined with four doors and a large rear lid.
The new model will be built at the Mercedes-Benz Plant Sindelfingen, which is currently building the C-Class saloon, the E-Class saloon and estate, the S-Class and the coupés CLS and CL as well as the Maybach models and Mercedes-Benz Guard vehicles.
The origins of the name "Shooting Brake"
Break, or the homonym Brake, was the name once given to carriages used to "break" in wild horses and also to restrict (or "brake") their urge to move, so that they could be put to use as work horses.
Since the carts could easily be broken as part of this process, people tended not to use ones which they may have urgently needed for other purposes.
Where necessary, "Brakes" were often fitted out with variable bodies, which were only really used to carry along anything that may have been necessary for the hunt, for example. Any such vehicle which was used when going out shooting was called a Shooting Brake or Shooting Break.
In the 1960s and 1970s motorised Shooting Breaks were popular in Great Britain – exclusive crossover vehicles, which combined the luxuriousness of a coupé with extended space on offer and additional variability.
(Source: Mercedes-Benz)
Audi's latest example of micro-nicheing made its motor show debut here in Paris. Outside, it's striking how low this car appears to sit (although, at 1420mm high it's taller than the A5 Sportback by 29 mm), an impression aided by the graceful arc of the beltline front to rear and its low-set intersection with the trailing edge of the trunk. One is drawn to the superb surface transition from fender to C-pillar, the helical detailing within the tail lamps and surface intersections radiused so tightly that they could almost be lead-filled and hand-finished. The stance of the vehicle is without reproach, appearing muscular and exceedingly elegant.
From the front we again had to play a game of guess-the-Audi, but the designers have shown as much restraint as is possible with their aggressive house DRG style. There are, of course, wonderfully intricate headlamp cans which, when specified with LEDs give a vision of a future where cars start to lose their human or animal facial characteristics, gaining something far more bionic instead.
Inside we find Audi at its predictable best with two surprising caveats. Firstly, while we welcome a return to the discretion of a fully retractable, integrated navigation screen, the chrome appliqué that crosses the IP and screen housing draws unnecessary attention to a surprisingly large gap. Secondly, in the press material Audi constantly references this car against the A8, but in execution and design the A7 is far more A6.
It's fair to say that the A7 represents Audi at their current best and, unlike the quattro concept, the A7 only pays the subtlest of compliments to the first 100 coupé. The CDN team and many we spoke to felt the car remarkably Italianate for a brand, traditionally at least, so German. With Mercedes appearing increasingly Baroque and BMW returning to their southern European roots, maybe there's room for Audi to return to the modern G-factor that made it so beguiling in the first place.
Where the quattro Concept caused a certain amount of consternation for its brutal graphics and overt retro-ness, the e-tron Spyder draws subtle nods of appreciation – surely a more appropriate reaction to an Audi.
Rather against the expectation offered up by the potential of a compact mid-engined sports car, the e-tron Spyder (or R4 as many now refer to it) is a car that takes some time and exploration to appreciate – a refreshing change from the in-your-face obviousness served up by many. The e-tron Spyder has a beguiling subtlety that reveals itself in layers the closer you get.
Lead exterior designer, Wolfram Luchner, has created an incredibly technical-looking car that harks back to the reassuringly detail-obsessive Audi of a decade ago, yet its form language is also perfectly aligned with the technology-rich e-tron label. Its surfaces – the doors in particular – are sheer in a way that's reminiscent of the first-generation TT. It is on the verge of looking rather too solid, an accusation it averts by virtue of its expressive, yet wonderfully taut fenders.
If only its DRG were as restrained. We found ourselves blocking the e-tron's face with our hand in order to appreciate the rest of the car; such is its abrasive character. It is too aggressive for such a refined design, with the expression of a mechanical piranha. The mechanical aspect is an admirable visual identifier for 'e-tron', but the flesh-eating fish connotation is unpleasant. It's representative of a wider need to progress from the state we find ourselves in where extreme aggression is seen as positive. Here it is the exact opposite and is totally at odds with the car's character.
The interior design – the work of Ivo van Hulten – is another Audi triumph, with a design that is clean, technical and sophisticated, yet with a visual lightness that's entirely appropriate for a compact sports car. The instrument binnacle is particularly successful with its minimal instrumentation, touch-sensitive secondary switches and metal detail that we find repeated on the passenger's side of the IP.
The e-tron Spyder demonstrates Audi's most successful exploration of its e-tron aesthetic to date and also demonstrates a very welcome return to the marque's famed surface discipline that had begun to wander around like an A5's beltline. All it now needs is a more approachable DRG.
Seats, relationships, city life, the virtual world and new materials exploration: one month into the Car Design News-Opel/Vauxhall interactive design competition, launched on 11th October, these are a few of the themes student designers are exploring, in answer to the question 'What do you think is our lounge style?'.
The competition, a collaboration between Opel-Vauxhall and Car Design News, is an interactive design competition for students who are studying design - of any discipline - at a college in Europe. The winner of the competition will work as a paid intern at Opel/Vauxhall design center in Rüsselsheim.
Iranzo's simple 'opel.net' is an ultra-lightweight seating concept, which eschews upholstery and cushioning
Dsoranio is thinking about the overall experience - beyond the physical space, exploring smell, lighting, visibility
A section of Chiayuan Lu's board. He plans to explore how the interior could be better orientated around families with children
Markus's board
Renowned editor and writer, Guy Bird, forms part of the judging panel
Grettve's board looks at the key themes a lounge could have
This week, the four judges began to comment and interact on the site. Watch out for their 'Tips from the top' blogs, which will appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the site's home page. Judges are commenting on individual entries and giving guidance on how to develop ideas, which is why we are encouraging students to upload their ideas as they develop them throughout the course of the competition, rather than on the closing date of 10th December.
Over 200 students have so far registered to enter and follow the competition. Unsurprisingly - given the lounge theme - seats are a primary concern in many of the entries. Entrant Albizu gets straight to the point with the statement at the top of his board: 'the seats: the main part of car interiors'. Meanwhile, Iranzo uploaded a simple, elegant structure termed 'Opel.net' - an 'ultra lightweight seating concept' which eschews upholstery and cushioning and has sparked an interesting discussion among fellow entrants and commentators.
Victor Uribe was one of those to comment on Iranzo's concept; his own entry begins from the interesting starting point of questioning how we get into the car in the first place. Yet it's the digital world, and its potential effect on both the car interior and the experience of driving that Uribe appears most keen on exploring.
A special mention, too, to the competition's very first entrant, Gsagoo, whose board exploring how city life relates to technology, energy sources and inspiration shows what a powerful graphic a simple, monochromatic mood board can make.
Elizabeth Wetzel, Director of Interior Design, Opel/Vauxhall - based in Russelsheim, Germany - leads the judging panel. Wetzel was previously Director of Cross Brand Strategy Design, where she led two of General Motors' Global Design Departments - Color and Trim, and Interior Components & User Interface. She is joined on the panel by Anne Asensio, Vice President of Design Experience at Dassault Systèmes in France. Also judging are Guy Bird - renowned design editor and writer, for Wallpaper*, Design Week and Intersection (to name just a handful of his titles) - and the editor of Car Design News, Eric Gallina.
Don't forget that even if you're not a student, or you're outside the EU, we want you to get involved by commenting on the site. This week, we've added functionality to allow tagging on individual entry images, so you can comment on and address a specific element of an entrant's mood board or design.
Commenting is easy. Simply register for the site, and once you've received your details and logged-in, hovering over an individual entry board will bring up an orange pin. Click exactly where you want to place the pin and comment, and add your thoughts. Alternately, you can simply add your general comments below each entry.
Remember, the person judged to have made the greatest contribution to the community wins a year's membership to Car Design News.
The competition is a collaboration between Opel/Vauxhall and Car Design News, to use social media and web-based tools to help develop car designs. The competition is supported by our partners, Dassault Systèmes and Dinamica by Miko
Keep those entries coming in, and good luck!
