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Daihatsu's Indonesian subsidiary Astra Daihatsu Motor (ADM) has prepared a concept vehicle never seen before for visitors to this week's 20th Indonesia International Motor Show in Jakarta. The brand new study is named UFC - and no, it doesn’t stand for Ultimate Fighting Championship but Ultra Functional Compact. ADM says it designed the crossover model after it "carefully studied customers’ needs in Indonesia". Read more »
The 20th Indonesia International Motor Show that takes place in the capital city of Jakarta from September 20 to 30, saw Toyota's subsidiary, Daihatsu displaying two concept roadsters at its stand. The D-R and D-X, first seen at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show, represent two different styles in the small roadster segment, with both cars based on the same chassis and powered by a 660cc (0.66-liters) two-cylinder turbocharged engine with direct-injection technology. Read more »
The public outside of Europe may not generally know it, but Peugeot has a long history in the motorcycle segment having introduced its first bike back towards the end of the 1800s and continues to do so today offering 14 different models including scooters, multi-gear bikes and mopeds with engine capacities from 50cc to 500cc (0.5-liters). At next week's 2012 Paris Motor Show, the French company will present a new prototype three-wheeler named the Onyx Concept Scooter, and yes, as you may have guessed already, it was inspired by the 680HP diesel-electric Onyx Hybrid Supercar Concept. Read more »
For the time being, Alfa Romeo may be tangled in the ever-changing puzzle that is the Fiat-Chrysler group product plan, but there's certainly something about the brand that ignites automotive stylists’ inspiration. With the Alfa Romeo Giulia 50GT Concept, Rome-based Italian designers Michele Di Mauro and Claudio Piccioli who run the GetShaped Studio have re-imagined the Giulia Sprint GT penned by Bertone. Apart from bringing the classic Alfa coupe into the 21st century, the two designers wanted to celebrate the studio’s centenary as well as the model’s 50th anniversary (hence the “50” in the name). 
The two studies, a GT-oriented and a sportier, more aggressive version (the red and the grey-colored examples respectively) remain faithful to the overall concept of the original Giulia, retaining its large circular headlamps and oversized Alfa “shield” at the front, as well as the hood air vent. Read more »
On the occasion of the international driving debut of its brand new XF Sportbrake that took place only a few weeks before the car arrives in European showrooms, Jaguar unveiled a bespoke speedboat concept to showcase the brand's design DNA on a completely different product as well as to inspire buyers of the estate model. "We recognise that both our existing and future customers enjoy diverse and active lifestyles," explained Jaguar Director of Design, Ian Callum. "With the launch of the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake, we had an opportunity to create a vision of how our design philosophy might be applied to an alternative product, in which speed and beauty are also priorities." Read more »
Just like carmakers in real life, independent designers drawing conceptual studies on paper or on computer screens will often revisit their work and implement styling changes to evolve their projects and/or possibly even address criticism about certain aspects of the design. This seems to be the case with Italian designer Marco Procaccini from MP Car Design and his Alfa Romeo Orazio Satta, which we first showed you back in September. Read more »
At “traditional” auto shows, car manufacturers take center stage to display their regular line-up and a concept or two with tuning and equipment companies more often than not, playing second fiddle. Geneva, Tokyo, Detroit and Frankfurt are all nice and dandy for unveiling the latest production-intent models and outlandish concepts, but Las Vegas and its Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show is a different “beast” altogether. At SEMA, there is something for everyone; from subcompacts, pickup trucks and pony cars to lavishly made hot-rods, the latest bunch of supercars and anything and everything in between. 
The 2012 show was a real bonanza of thousands of modified vehicles and tuning products for anything you could possibly think of – and then some more. Since the event is not open to the public (the reason being, presumably, that it would have to last a couple of months or so…), images will have to suffice. Read more »
While Tesla Motors started its career and gained worldwide attention through its 2008 electric-powered Roadster that was built around the Lotus Elise and which has since been retired, the Silicon Valley-based carmaker has much bigger plans in store for eco-conscious consumers. This year, Tesla launched its first entry into the automotive mainstream, the Model S electric sedan that went on sale in June, and previewed its next step in making electric cars available to a wider audience with the Model X seven-seater crossover concept that will lead to a production model within the next couple of years. 
Understandably, in order to survive, Tesla will need to expand its range in other segments as well, and here's where an old acquaintance of CarScoop comes into the picture. Dejan Hristov is an independent designer whom we came to know from his study for a Bugatti Super Sedan. This time, Hristov is proposing a smaller Tesla vehicle that he named the Model C. Read more »
On the eve of the 2012 SEMA Show, Volkswagen presented its range of customized cars that include six Beetles and one Golf Mk6 tune. The lineup kicks off with the "Ultimate Super Beetle" show car built in collaboration with performance specialist APR and the VWvortex team. The concept is based on the 2013 Beetle Turbo with the 2.0-liter TFSI, which in factory trim, produces 200-horses. Read more »
There's a very good reason why the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas is considered the biggest trade event of its kind, not only in North America, but in the world. Every year at the end of October, thousands of companies from automakers to tuners and parts providers make their way to the Las Vegas Convention Center to exhibit their production and conceptual goods, be that complete cars or aftermarket accessories and components of all sorts. Read more »
One model that is more than adequately represented at the 2012 edition of the SEMA show is the new Scion FR-S, which to be frank, was something we anticipated since the Japanese carmaker's sports coupe did not make in time to participate in last year's event in Las Vegas. Simply put, describe the type of tuning program you are looking for the FR-S, and SEMA has it, from subtle to extreme and everything in between, be that for its looks or mechanical upgrades. Read more »
After doing it the first time with the Falcatron and seeing all the attention it received from the automotive and gaming worlds alike, Ford's Australian subsidiary and High Moon Studios, the developer behind the "Transformers: Fall of Cybertron" video game, came together to create another Ford-based Autobot. The new character is named Torque and is spun off the new generation of Ford's compact pickup truck, the Ranger in Wildtrak specification, which is not available for the North American market. Read more »
This is one Chevrolet Matiz you surely won't be making any fun of; and how could you after you learn that engineers somehow squeezed a massive Corvette Z06-sourced 7.0-liter V8 that develops anywhere from 505 to 550-horses (depending on who you ask) into its miniscule body. We remember showing you a V8-powered Matiz racecar concept back in early 2009 (see the videos after the break) , and unless someone else had the same crazy idea, we believe that this car found for sale on eBay Germany by CarScoop reader "CobraV8" is the same one with the addition of a racing livery. Read more »
After recording a top speed of 216.133 mph (347.756 km/h) during the Land Speed World Finals for the Grand Touring Sports C (C/GT) class at the Bonneville Salt Flats this past August, ACAT Global's Ferrari 575 racer has now been parked at the company's SEMA Show booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center for all to see. Read more »
You can never have too much of a good thing, so while Mazda never proceeded with last year's supercharged MX-5 Super20, the concept lives on in a slightly different form as the MX-5 Super25 that made its debut at the 2012 SEMA Show this week. The Japanese carmaker tells us that the new study was "crafted with endurance racing in mind". Read more »
From day one, we all knew what was missing from the Honda CR-Z – feel free to say it out loud with us: Power, Power and Power. With the exception of some limited-run production models prepared by Honda's in-house tuner Mugen for Japan and Britain, the automaker has not addressed this problem. At the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Honda is displaying yet another concept model for a faster and more focused version of the CR-Z, which it describes as, "a further exploration of the performance potential of the CR-Z Sport Hybrid", but does not say if it has any plans for production. Read more »
With the 2012 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in full swing, Mazda lifted the wraps off three new concept versions of its CX-5 compact crossover to demonstrate the personalization choices owners have, and in one case, to highlight the diesel option that may soon be available in North America. We will start with the latter that is named after actor and Mazda racecar driver Patrick Dempsey and which uses the Japanese brand's European-specification SKYACTIV-D 2.2-liter clean diesel engine to power the all-wheel-drive system through a six-speed manual gearbox. Read more »
Honda says it is "reaching out to the enthusiast community" with two new concepts of the 2013 Accord that were built by independent vehicle tuners and which are on display at this week's SEMA Show in Las Vegas. The most impressive of the two models is the 2013 Accord Coupe "Grand Touring" developed by Bisimoto Engineering, which upgraded the stock car's 3.5-liter V6 with a supercharger system and a boatload of other goods to lift output to 401-horses. Read more »
There's a new racier pony car making its debut at Sin City's SEMA Show and it's called the Mustang Cobra Jet Concept. It's a prototype version of Ford's factory-built turnkey drag racer that replaces the 2013 Mustang Cobra Jet's 5.0-liter V8 unit that's available with or without a supercharger with a new iteration of the V8 featuring a pair of turbochargers incorporating the brand's EcoBoost technologies. Read more »
We warned you that Kia was preparing a team of DC Comics superhero cars and here are the results of the Korean firm's efforts, inspired by the members of the Justice League, just before they set off for the SEMA aftermarket show. The five DC Comic-themed tuned cars are: the Flash Forte Koup, Aquaman Rio 5-door, Cyborg Forte 5-door, Green Lantern Soul and the previously unveiled Batman Optima that was first shown in New York's Time Warner Center a couple of weeks ago. Read more »
