Future of concept cars

Chamari Senanayake

The future of motoring was on display at the Melbourne Motor show a few years ago in the form of a new Honda that consumes only hydrogen and emits only water vapour. In 2006 this power machine took my breath away and at that time it was just a dream turning in to a reality.

Honda’s FCX Concept fuel cell car was the prototype of a new model that was to go on sale in Japan and the USA by the following year. Featuring a compact fuel cell system that converts hydrogen into electricity and offering a roomy four-seater cabin, and futuristic styling along with significant improvements in power output and environmental performance, the car was to perform a top speed of 160 km/h and a range of up to 570 km. Its energy efficiency of around 60 percent is approximately three times that of a petrol-engined vehicle, twice that of a hybrid vehicle.

At that time, this car was the most expensive car on display, estimated to be costing around one million Australian dollars. By the year 2008, it became a reality to the roads with many people all over the world owning and leasing the vehicle.

Now the automakers are willing to take even higher risks and push boundaries. Some of the cars produced this year are purely out of science fiction and looking to travel through time. Los Angeles Auto show recently saw some breath taking machines that screamed of our lives on the road in the future. While the Honda machine I saw at Melbourne showed us of a more recent future, some machines from LA Auto show, seem to display a future as further as possibly 2050.

The bright white Mercedes-Benz Biome looks like the most beautiful car on earth and purely out of science fiction. This vehicle, designed at the German company’s design studio in Carlsbad California, has room for four-passengers inside and the seating position is in a diamond format. Mercedes-Benz company says the ‘Biome’ can be grown from seeds, and not built in a traditional factory. Using genetically modified trees and powered by something called BioNectar4534, Mercedes-Benz says the Biome’s bio-fiber cloth body would be grown organically, and on the road, the car would emit pure oxygen.

The Biome reportedly would weigh only 875 lbs. Don’t get excited, not you or your great grand children would be able to own this beauty, as it would be several generations before anyone could own genetically-built Mercedes like the Biome.

The Jaguar C-X75 turbine-electric hybrid supercar is another beauty in the world of concept cars. The Jaguar CX75 electric car, which has a top speed of 205mph making it the fastest ever electric road car.

The C-X75 also represents Jaguar’s new design face for upcoming models. That is excellent news for potential buyers, which will make them purr in excitement. The C-X75 can also travel for 560 miles without needing to be recharged through a plug, which is significantly further than the current industry peak of around 100 miles because of a gas turbine system designed by a British engineer. At each wheel is an electric motor that weighs 100 pounds and provides 195 horsepower (145 kW) of power.

Power for the electric motors comes from a 506-pound lithium-ion battery pack, which Jaguar claims takes a full charge in just 6 hours at 240 volts. Jaguar claims the C-X75 can accelerate from zero to 62 mph in 3.4 seconds.

After flaunting itself at the Paris motor Show ‘Audi Quattro concept car was on display at LA. The German automaker built the Quattro Concept to celebrate 30 years of its Quattro all-wheel drive system and the Quattro Sport that dominated rallying in the 1980s. Finished in Col de Turini white paint, the Quattro Concept is powered by a compact turbocharged five-cylinder engine that puts out a whopping 408 hp and 354 ft-lbs of torque.

The chassis beneath the car comes from an Audi RS 5, with its wheelbase shortened and roof lowered. To further trim weight, the two-passenger Quattro has an aluminum body and hood, plus hatch and bumpers made of carbon fiber. The car weighs just 2,866 lbs.

The Cadillac Urban Luxury Concept car was seen for the first time in Los Angeles. It has moved to smaller and more fuel-efficient city car type. The exterior shape of the Urban Luxury Concept carries Cadillac’s strong and instantly recognizable sharp contours of its Art & Science design philosophy.

The huge 19 inch wheels are pushed to the corners of the diminutive body to create a muscular stance, while a large windshield, overhead skylights and see-through A-pillars aid visibility adding a spacious feel of the interior. The Cadillac Concept accommodates four passengers, with access to the cabin handled by huge chiseled door slabs that open scissor-style. This is a hybrid, featuring an electrically assisted turbocharged 1-liter inline-three-cylinder paired to a dual-clutch transmission.

Another newcomer to 2010 is Mazda Shinari concept. While keeping the traditional Mazda design elements, such as the five-point grille and the prominent front fender shape, the four-door Shinari embodies a new dynamic that blends sharp character lines with sculpted body shapes to convey a sense of power and elegance.

With careful attention to details, and crisp character lines, sculpted body panels, and a pronounced cab rearward proportion give the Shinari a powerful appearance.

The satin-finish metal trim that frames the bottom of the grille splays out through the headlamp openings.

This strip seems to travel through the wheel arch and re-emerges as a side vent accent. With this type of vehicles seeing the light of the day, who knows what we may be driving in our next life.