The biggest news at Hyundai's Geneva Motor Show booth is the world premiere of the i-Flow concept study. The sporty-looking mid-size sedan with the 'Cab-Forward' design is said to give Europeans a first look at the Sonata replacement (apparently the latest generation model wasn't cut for Europe) that will get a new name following the brand's alphanumeric nomenclature.

Hyundai confirmed that a production model based on the styling of this concept study will hit European showrooms sometime in 2011 offering the South Korean brand a new fighter in the D-segment that includes models like the Ford Mondeo, VW Passat, Toyota Avensis [...]

Three prominent automakers teamed up to jointly develop the Proton Emas Hybrid. Employees at Italdesign Giugiaro co-created the car with one of Malaysia's largest automakers, Proton, and outsourced the hybrid drivetrain to Lotus.

Proton really needs an interesting new hit to win back market share they have lost over the last few years. Perhaps that is why they selected the name "Emas," which translates from Malay into English as "gold."

"We have created a family of models in different configurations but all offering the passenger room of a medium-category car while maintaining the exterior dimensions of a compact mini," said [...]

The ActiveHybrid 5 is (officially now) the newest concept from BMW's Efficient Dynamics division, and ED has shaken things up a bit in the power train department. Instead of going with a V8-based mild hybrid setup a la the 7-Series and X6 hybrids, BMW decided to try the system out with their award-winning TwinPower Turbo'd 6-cylinder with Start/Stop tech running the show.

The system is fairly straightforward: up front is the engine, followed by the electric motor which is connected via an automatic clutch, and the 8-speed automatic transmission is the caboose. BMW placed the battery pack somewhere around the [...]

Tesla Motors is known for its innovative work in the area of clean electric powertrains. The company recently commissioned a group of eleven L 'Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) of Turin students studying for their Master of Arts in Transportation Design to come up with a new Tesla concept that meets several criteria. These include being a 2+2 type everyday sports car with high levels of comfort, youthfulness and digital-age compliance. Supervising the young ones' work were designers such as Luca Borgogno from Pininfarina and Franz von Holzhausen Chief Designer of Tesla Motors. The final product is called the EYE [...]

 
The first official photos of Stile Bertone's Alfa Romeo Pandion were leaked on the internet today ahead of the concept sports car's world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in early March.

Named after a species of raptors which is more commonly referred to as the sea hawk, the Pandion was designed to celebrate Alfa Romeo's 100th anniversary.

Even though the designers of Stile Bertone would probably disagree, we can't help but note that we found a few styling similarities between the Pandion and last year's BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept model including the front fascia, the far-reaching [...]

Continuing its ‘Joy’ Campaign, BMW tonight will air a new commercial centered around the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept. Called the “BMW Joy is Futureproof,” the commercial shows how the company has integrated some part of the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept in its current lineup.

As reported this weekend, BMW’s ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ campaign has taken a vacation while the German automaker focuses on “recent trends in consumer mindsets” of driving efficiently.

Refresher: Power for the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics comes from a 163-hp 1.5L 3-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and two electric-motors. That allows for a total of 356-hp and a peak torque of 590 lb-ft. 0-62 [...]

Citroen’s GT Concept will be on display at Italy’s famous Carnival of Venice this week. The international presentation of the GT Concept takes place from today, as part of its world tour after first being shown in London. The innovative Citroen supercar will be placed on a floating platform in the middle of the Grand Canal. It will navigate up and down the canal before stopping at the Palazzina Grassi - a new, exclusive hotel designed by Philippe Starck.

Source [...]

Toyota has revealed the GRMN (Gazoo Racing Master of Nurburgring) Sports Hybrid Concept at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Based on the MR-2, the concept is a four-wheel drive hybrid which uses a mid-mounted 3.3-liter V6 and Toyota's THSII hybrid system. At slow speeds, the concept is powered exclusively by an electric motor that turns the front wheels. When more gusto is required, the V6 kicks in to motivate the rear wheels. With more than 392 bhp (total), the 1500kg concept can likely accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than 4.5 seconds.

While nothing is official, Autocar is reporting Toyota may be working [...]

To begin with, there's no official information about this short film, but unless someone managed to sneak into Aston Martin's headquarters in Gaydon, we have to assume that the British supercar maker and soon-to-become a re-badger of Japanese minis, created the viral video to ignite some online attention on its controversial Cygnet mini.

The Aston Martin-ized Toyota iQ is shown towards the end of the clip and after a minute or so of some guys practicing the French freestyle/urban sport of Parkour that involves negotiating obstacles using just the human body.

To gear heads like ourselves, this film makes as much sense [...]

In anticipation of next week's New Delhi motor show in India, Toyota has released a video teaser of its new small sedan that appears to be more pre-production than pure concept. Media reports from India suggest that the production version of the low-cost sedan will be called the Etios and will be offered with a small displacement diesel and gasoline engines when it arrives in the market towards the end of 2010.

From what we understand, the Etios is a similar proposition - both in terms of size and philosophy - to the Renault-Nissan alliance's Dacia Logan sedan.

The Japanese firm's low-cost [...]

The BMW Concept ActiveE will be released at the Detroit auto show in January. Based on the 1-Series coupe, it is equipped with an electric engine with 170 hp and lithium ion batteries. This video teaser of the Concept ActiveE, with Efficient Dynamics, focuses on the comfort and space of the vehicle.

Source [...]

The Audi A1 presentation is a long way off in February, if you consider Christmas, holidays and New Year all in the middle, but the A1 countdown has already started. The new Audi compact car will debut at the 2010 Geneva motor show from March 4 to 14, but it’s while before our curiosity will be satisfied.

The A1 launch campaign includes tantalising glimpses of the car on Twitter, Facebook and in the video above. On January 28 we should see an A1 test drive video released, followed by a project manager video on February 4. The A1 count down will [...]

Here is the official video of the Bugatti 16C Galibier Concept. The foor door supercar is in concept form and won’t be shown at Frankfurt Show this week, having been presented in Molsheim, France at centennial celebrations. The Galibier could become a production model by 2013 however, replacing the Veyron due to retire in 2012.

The engine is the same W12 as the Veyron, but with an eight-speed torque convertor automatic transmission. The body includes both alluminium and carbon fibre structure, and other features include the double opening bonnet in the style of the Bugatti’s from the 1930’s and a central [...]

MINI's US boss, Jim McDowell, has revealed new details about the MINI crossover as well as his expectations for the Coupe concept.

In an interview with Automotive News, McDowell stated "If there is a great response (to the MINI Coupe Concept), as I predict there will be, I think you will see it going into production." He added that the concept was designed to appeal to young men, who will be attracted to the car's radical design.

As we have previously reported, the Coupe Concept is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter engine that produces 211 hp and 260Nm of torque (280Nm with [...]

After all the spy shots and teasers, BMW has finally released the details of the new BMW Vision EfficientDynamics ahead of its scheduled debut; the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

BMW says that the high-performance concept study, with their ActiveHybrid technology, showcases  “future demands in sustained mobility” and is “a symbol for the future of Sheer Driving Pleasure in harmony with trend-setting ef?ciency.”  The automaker says that the aim of the Vision EfficientDynamics, is to realize “the performance of a BMW M Car and a highly emotional character combined with the fuel economy and emission management of a modern small car in the premium [...]