Cool Cars

With main focus on extreme design but keeping an eye on the environment, the graduates at the Royal College of Art have competed for the 2008 Pilkington Automotive Vehicle Design award, with several futuristic cool cars ideas.Among these graduates were Ian Callum, the Jaguar design chief, Peter Schreyer, the original Audi TT designer and current head of Kia design, Marek Reichman, the design director at Aston Martin, and many other important figures from the industry.The winners of the RCA Vehicle Design 2008 were Pierre Sabbas for the best car concept and Jon Radbrink for best using of glazing.

First comes the Phoenix concept by Sergio Loureiro Da Silva, the Spanish designer who used this innovative car concept design to express the regeneration of lost energy through movement. He said: “It’s about improving sustainability by designing every element to aspire to less energy consumption.”“The beauty of a vehicle comes from the contrast of a fluid shape with precise technical elements”, added the designer.

The winner for best concept, Pierre Sabas, created the Airflow glass car design, placing both the electrically driven engine and suspension in the wheel, this leading to a high degree of architectural freedom. Inside, the car is made of glass and has 4 capsules for the passengers.

“I’ve tried to wrap it around like fabric,” says Sabas. “It allows for a new driving sensation and it gives the occupants a new perception of the outside world.”

2010 Honda Hybrid

Spy shots of the 2010 Honda Hybrid may have Toyota looking over its shoulder.

Road & Track’s team of spy photographers caught the next-generation Honda hybrid in the scorching deserts of the Southwest performing hot-weather testing. You can immediately tell from the car’s profile that Honda’s new “green” car is going straight after the Toyota Prius. Although the car is heavily camouflaged, you can see the basic overall design that mimics Toyota’s popular hybrid and is heavily influenced by the shape of the company’s FCX Clarity fuel-cell concept that appeared at the last Tokyo Motor Show.

Back then, the FCX was introduced as a sporty hybrid, but it’s obvious from these photos that usable economy is the name of the game now. Some have speculated that this new car will replace the now-discontinued Insight in Honda’s lineup, while others maintain that it will become the new Civic Hybrid. Whichever label it wears, one thing for sure is that it will be one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles in the world, and may wrest the crown away from the Prius as the world’s favorite green car.

The price of this new car will be low, as Honda maintains it will be an entry-level car with 200,000 units selling annually — half of those to be sold in the United States. Early rumors indicate that it may be as low as $19,000. With seating for five, this 4-door, front-wheel-drive hatchback will be using an updated motor-assist hybrid system and an advanced nickel/metal-hydride system, not lithium-ion batteries.

We’re not sure yet on the gasoline part of the equation; it could be the company’s lean-burning 1.3-liter inline-4 (in the current Civic Hybrid) or something even leaner. The expectation is class-leading fuel economy, no doubt way north of 40 mpg. Look for the new Honda Hybrid to arrive at dealerships here in the Greater Toronto Area in late 2009.