Meet the Hipster Dacia Concept

Dacia claims its lightweight electric Hipster Concept ‘reinvents The People’s car’ as it is designed for everyday use and offering sufficient range for daily journeys with two recharges per week, writes Trish Whelan. 

The concept measures just 3 metres long, has four proper seats and a boot that can readjusted from 70 to 500 litres. Dacia people describe its simple design as a block sitting firmly on four wheels at the four corners with no overhang front or rear. 

The concept is designed with one body colour and just three painted parts: the front and the side door entry elements. The front seat is a bench seat, the exterior door handle replaced by a strap and side windows are sliding. Your smartphone in its docking station acts as a multimedia screen and serves as the car’s audio system. The tailgate opens in two parts to provide ultra-practical access to the boot. 

Hipster Concept is 20 per cent lighter than its Spring electric car which means less raw materials and less energy used in manufacturing.

 

Electric supercar concept from Nissan

This is Nissan's concept for what many believe will be the next version of its famous GT-R sports car, writes Brian Byrne.

The Hyper Force concept was revealed at the recent 2023 Tokyo Auto Show, and previews an electric powertrain with 1,341hp and a solid-state battery which Toyota has been working on for some time — the first of these batteries are expected in production cars around 2028.

Butterfly doors, a bank of information screens, and a virtual reality helmet that will allow the owner to 'race' on a selection of tracks (while safely parked) are also features of the concept. 

Neue Klasse models from BMW will have much longer range

These are views of the future of BMW style, as shown in concept form at the recent Munich Auto Show, writes Brian Byrne.

The car is named Neue Klasse and showcased what a new model coming in 2025 might look like. The styling is much edgier than current BMW cars.

Built on the brand's next-generation electric platform, the first car in the range is expected to be of a similar size to the current 3-Series.

The Neue Klasse initiative will spawn five more EVs over just 24 months after the first one, showing how quickly BMW plans to go fully electric. The company's bosses say new EV technologies will mean range improvements of 30pc over the current systems in use.

 

  

Mazda's 'Suitcase Car'

This was a Mazda concept built in the early 1990s from an in-house competition about personal mobility, writes Brian Byrne. The engineers involved made it from a production 'pocket' motor bike, and the largest Samsonite hard-shell suitcase they could buy.

After the minute or two required to assemble, the 32kg contraption could carry its single passenger along at speeds of up to 30km/h, powered by a 34cc two-stroke engine.

It was never designed for production, but they built three for display, only one of which remains in existence — the original was accidentally destroyed, one exhibited at the 1991 Frankfurt Motor Show 'disappeared under unknown circumstances' and the surviving version is in the US.

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From a 50s dream ...

Is this not arguably the most beautiful concept car of all time, writes Brian Byrne.

It's the Buick Centurion XP-301 designed by Harley J Earl and Chuck Jordan for the 1956 General Motors 'Motorama', and apart from the beautiful lines, it featured a rear-view camera linked to a dashboard-mounted screen. It took until fairly recently for that item to become commonplace in today's automobiles, but a number of other design details did find their way into subsequent production cars through to the 80s.

The Centurion is just one of a bunch of 'Dream Cars' featured in an exhibition of the same name in the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia. If you can't get to see it directly (I can't at the moment, either), the Museum's website shows the Buick and many other fantastic for their day American and European concepts, which in this writer's view far eclipse what I'm used to seeing at the major motor shows of the 21st century.

Enjoy.

Yeti Xtreme goes hunting

Yes, you might like to have it, writes Brian Byrne. Nope, you can't. At least not as shown at the VW Group's annual Wörthersee showcase. But this is how Skoda engineers dream.

The Yeti Xtreme is a rally concept of the compact SUV from the Czech Republic brand owned by Volkswagen. Aimed at triggering testosteronic emotions, it revealed in a matt grey and green and yellow accents. Large off-road tyres on 17-inch alloys, as well as steroided bumpers, wings and door sills.

Interior rally-style includes Recaro sports seats with integrated harness, carbon-fibre door trims and aluminium floor panels. A belt cutter and fire extinguisher suggest inherent dangers in how this concept might be operated to its virtual extreme capability.

Blood-pumpin' dreams, guys.

Work and leisure on the road

Now, here's a car that might make me even more productive ... or lazy? writes Brian Byrne.

It's a concept that will be shown at Geneva next month from Rinspeed, one of these companies off the mainstream drag that pushes style, technology and sometimes power boundaries in one-off ideas.

The XchangeE concept is all-electric, and would offer autonomous driving so the occupants could relax or work, or both. The sunroof is also a solar panel to boost up the range in bright times. A 4-seater as a car, definitely only for two in lounge or office mode.

Dream on ...

Latest EV concept city car

Seeking the true minimal carThis is a new concept electric car from Toyota, designed in association with French industrial designer, JM Massaud, writes Brian Byrne.

The ME.WE is constructed of polypropylene panels on an aluminium platform, and interior trim includes sustainable bamboo.

Motive power is provided by electric motors in each wheel, with batteries stored under the floor.

The ME.WE weights just 750kg.

Merc unveils compact SUV

This is the concept of a new car from Mercedes-Benz which that company hopes will challenge BMW's X1 and the Audi Q3 on their home ground, writes Brian Byrne.

The Concept GLA is a compact SUV which will launch next year in production form. It will be the fourth model built on the front-drive architecture underpinning the A- and B-class models and the upcoming CLA saloon.

We'll see the production car at the Frankfurt motor show in September, with a choice of four petrol and three diesel engines.

New 4 Series revealed at Detroit

BMW 4 Series concept at Detroit

BMW has revealed the concept version of its new 4 Series at the Detroit International Motor Show.

The production version of the coupe will replace the former 3 Series Coupe, offering another line of vehicles that have their own distinctive personality.

Though no details are in yet about the production car, expect it to have a similar range of powertrains as the 3 Series.

Take 3! An innovative concept city vehicle for small deliveries

Everybody has two axles so why not simply take three of them instead of two - but only if you need them!

It's that third axel with two wheels that is the key feature of the innovative modular mobility system from Swiss automotive visionary Frank M Rinderknecht and we'll get to see the vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show next March at the Rinspeed stand.

'Dock+Go' is the name given to this 'backpacks on wheels' concept.

These 'packs' can be used for many purposes, depending on your requirements of the day, for work of play. They also solve the operating range problem of electric vehicles in a very clever way - neither unneeded space nor superfluous weight is carried along if they're not needed.

The vehicle would have a 120kms range, but an 'energy pack' with a combustion engine or range extender, packed with batteries or powered by a fuel cell, gives added range.

VW electric taxi concept

Volkswagen has unveiled a Taxi Concept that is a new twist on the London institution of the Black Taxi.

The concept is shorter than a VW Fox but has room for two passengers and their luggage.

The style is from the UP! concept car, and the powertrain is electric with a range of 186 miles between charges.

The Taxi Concept wouldn't get past current London taxi regulations, but it shows some elegant solutions for future public service vehicles in crowded cities.