Concept car 1

Concept car

1938 Buick Y-Job, the first concept car.[1]

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a carmade to showcase new styling and/or newtechnology. They are often shown at motorshows to gauge customer reaction to newand radical designs which may or may notbe mass produced. General Motors designerHarley Earl is generally credited withinventing the concept car, and did much topopularize it through its traveling Motoramashows of the 1950s.

Concept cars never go into productiondirectly. In modern times all would have to undergo many changes before the design is finalized for the sake ofpracticality, safety, the meeting the burden of regulatory compliance, and cost. A "production-intent" vehicle, asopposed to a concept vehicle, serves this purpose.[2] They are also known as prototype cars, but should not beconfused with prototype race cars such as the Le Mans Prototype.

DesignConcept cars are often radical in engine or design. Some use non-traditional, exotic, or expensive materials, rangingfrom paper to carbon fiber to refined alloys. Others have unique layouts, such as gullwing doors, 3 or 6 (or more)wheels, or special abilities not usually found on cars. Because of these often impractical or unprofitable leanings,many concept cars never get past scale models, or even drawings in computer design. Other more traditionalconcepts can be developed into fully drivable (operational) vehicles with a working drivetrain and accessories. Thestate of most concept cars lies somewhere in between and does not represent the final product. A very smallproportion of concept cars are functional to any useful extent, some cannot move safely at anything above 10 mph.[citation needed]

Inoperative "mock-ups" are usually made of wax, clay, metal, fiberglass, plastic or a combination thereof.If drivable, the drivetrain is often borrowed from a production vehicle from the same company, or may have defectsand imperfections in design. They can also be quite refined[citation needed], such as General Motors' Cadillac Sixteenconcept.[3]

After a concept car's useful life is over, the cars are usually destroyed. Some survive, however, either in a company'smuseum or hidden away in storage. One unused but operational concept car that languished for years in the NorthHollywood, California shop of car customizer George Barris, Ford Motor Company's "Lincoln Futura" from 1954,received a new lease on life as the Batmobile in the Batman series that debuted in 1966 on the ABC TelevisionNetwork.

Concept car 2

Dream CarIn the United States, the term "dream car" (a common US name for concept cars until the 1970s) is often usedhistorically to refer to concept automobiles of the 1950s and 1960s.

Notable concept cars

Model Notes

Buick Y-Job Designed in the late 1930s by the famous General Motors designer Harley Earl. Considered by most to be the first conceptcar. Inspired many other Buick vehicles, including the Buick Blackhawk Concept.

General Motors LeSabre

Built by Harley Earl in 1951, it helped introduce 12 volt electrics and the aluminum 215 ci V8 to GM. This nameplate wastransferred over to be a production vehicle.

Cadillac Cyclone Built in 1959, it is one of Harley Earl's last designs. Its futuristic styling was heavily influenced by 1950's aviation androcketry.

Chevrolet CorvairMonza GT

1962 mid-engined experimental prototype.

Chevrolet CorvetteMako Shark

Previewed the design of the 1968–1982 production Corvette.

Ferrari Modulo Designed by Paolo Martin of the Italian carozzeria Pininfarina, unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show.

Chevrolet Volt One of the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle concept cars. This vehicle was launched with limited availability in certainstates in early 2011, with availability in all of the United States, as well as parts of Europe by the end of 2012. The productioncar is the successor to the failed GM EV-1, originally leased through Saturn dealerships.

Ford Nucleon A nuclear-powered car.

Ford SYNus Reflects the modern obsession with safety.

General MotorsFirebird

A series of gas turbine-powered cars. Pontiac adopted this nameplate based on the Chevrolet Camaro. The nameplate wasretired in 2002, along with the Chevrolet Camaro, which was revived in 2010.

Holden Efijy Based around the Holden FJ, named the United States concept car of the year for 2007.[4]

MIT Car The Massachusetts Institute of Technology concept car with Frank Gehry.[5]

Phantom Corsair A 1930s concept car, developed by Rust Heinz.

Pontiac BonnevilleSpecial

Pontiac's first 2-seater sportscar that debuted at the 1954 Motorama. This nameplate carried over to a Pontiac sports car of the1950s.

Pontiac Club deMer

Pontiac's all stainless steel sportscar that debuted at the 1956 Motorama.

Porsche 989 Porsche's first 4-door car, a predecessor of the Porsche Panamera.

Rolls-Royce 1EX The first in a series of 'experimental models', the 1EX was built by Rolls Royce in 1919 on a 40/50 h.p. chassis to test anddevelop their cars. Individual EX models were produced for over 40 years ending with the 45EX in 1958.The Ghost nameRolls Royce Ghost was adopted in 2011 as a production vehicle. 1EX was also used for the concept version of thisRolls-Royce vehicle. [6]

Volvo YCC The first car designed entirely by women.[citation needed]

Lancia Megagamma The prototype for the modern MPV (minivan).[][]

Alfa Romeo BATcars

1950s aerodynamic studies by Bertone.

Chrysler MEFour-Twelve

Had an estimated top speed of 248 mph (399 km/h).[]

Concept car 3

Mercedes-BenzF700

Its Pre-Scan feature allows you to not feel any bumps and humps on the road. This design will lead to the development of thenext-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

BMW GINA A fabric-skinned shape-shifting sports car. This platform (aside from the body material and changing shape) was adopted in2012 for the BMW i3 and BMW i8 Electric Vehicles.

References[2] Chrysler "Jolts" PHEV Race; PHEV Ads; V2Green Acquired (http:/ / www. calcars. org/ calcars-news/ 1005. html), Sep 24, 2008, CalCars

(California Cars Initiative)[3] Cadillac Sixteen (http:/ / www. cardesignnews. com/ autoshows/ 2003/ detroit/ highlights/ h06-cadillac-sixteen. html), by Nick Hull, Detroit

Auto Show 2003 Highlights, Car Design News, Inc.[5] Concept Car (http:/ / www. archinode. com/ mitcar1. html) w/ GM & Frank O. Gehry

External links• Concept cars (http:/ / www. howstuffworks. com/ concept-cars. htm) at HowStuffWorks• Concept Cars (http:/ / www. conceptcar. co. uk/ concept-cars/ default. php) & Car Design Information• Information on over 250 concept cars (http:/ / www. diseno-art. com/ encyclopedia/ concept_cars/ concept_cars.

html)• Comparison of concept car and production version (http:/ / www. usatoday. com/ money/ autos/

2008-09-09-gm-chevrolet-volt-production-photos_N. htm)• Concept Cars Index (http:/ / www. roadandtrack. com/ article. asp?section_id=32& article_id=6695)• Car Concepts (http:/ / www. conceptmobiles. com/ type/ car-concepts/ )• conceptcar.cc (http:/ / www. conceptcars. cc/ )• Concept Car (http:/ / www. otoconcept. com/ )• Concept Cars at www.allcarindex.com (http:/ / www. allcarindex. com/ concept/ index/ ) - The index of concept

cars is dedicated for the showcars and concept automobiles• Concept Car (http:/ / carsconcept. info/ )

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Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Buick Y.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Buick_Y.jpg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: Liftarn, MB-one, Maksim, Thomas doerfer

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