Turbo

Filed under: Concept Cars, Europe, Paris Motor Show, Mini, Motorcycle

Mini has shared plans with its Facebook fans (all 370,702 of them, making the automaker even more popular than David Hasselhoff) to bring its latest electric concept to the Paris Motor Show. Sporting the colors and insignia of the all-electric Mini E, a trio of drawings reveal a scooter with a Vespa-esque rear end following up a somewhat less successful fascia. The Mini-style mirrors are a nice touch while the turn signals remind of the BMW Isetta, which almost saves the design from its bland headlight, but its departure still seems significantly superior to its arrival. Perhaps it will look better when we see it in the metal. Maybe even better than its Smart competition.

More interesting than its aesthetics are hints at the mechanicals. It looks like – and feel free to correct us in the comments if you think differently – that both the front and rear wheels contain motors. This arrangement could also foretell some regenerative braking, though the extra engineering might add too significantly to the price tag should the scooter ever make it to a retail outlet near you (we said outlet, get it?). Also of interest is that little box that would be located between your shins if you were astride the little beastie facing what we hope is a Mini-style speedometer. Radio? GPS? Pedestrian warning system? We’ll let you know in a few weeks.

[Source: Mini via Motorcycle.com]

Paris Preview: Mini electric concept drives on two wheels originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Classics, Coupe, Performance, Auctions, Pontiac

You never know what you’re going to find on eBay. The auction house of the interwebs routinely plays host to metal both obscure and unique – two categories the vehicle you see above satisfies without question. It’s a 1964 Pontiac XP833 Banshee Concept, and while it’s easy to think that the car is little more than a warmed over Corvette design, the truth is that this particular Poncho had widespread influence on General Motors design language for more than a decade.

Originally penned by none other than John Delorean, the Banshee was supposed to be a more sports-oriented competitor to the recently introduced Ford Mustang. Unfortunately, when the concept was completed, the higher-ups felt that the Banshee would threaten the Corvette throne and the project was scrapped. It’s a song that would be repeated time and time again in the future.

Pieces of the Banshee design would live on in cars like the C4 Corvette and Pontiac Firebird, but the actual concepts themselves were slated for destruction. Fortunately, the studies were boxed up in shipping crates and tucked away for safe keeping, eventually sold to the GM execs who had taken part in the Banshee project. This particular example has a mere 1,500 miles on the clock and sits in its original condition. It can be yours for the right price, but with almost ,000 on the auction and the reserve not met, it ain’t gonna be cheap.

[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: 1964 Pontiac XP833 Banshee Concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Spy Photos, Performance, Design/Style, Racing

Saker’s latest supercar has been caught testing and by the looks of things, the New Zealand-based sports car company has a new contender on its hands.

For the uninitiated, Sakar was founded in 1992 by engineer Bruce Turnbull and named for the Saker Falcon. In the intervening years, Sakar has been producing track-ready racecars, and in 2009 it began producing the Saker GT – its first street-legal offering. The lightweight, mid-engine sports car was available in three variations – the Saker GT220, Saker GT500 and the Saker GT Clubsport – but that was then. This is now.

The updated Saker GT appears to bring the styling into the modern era. Although it’s wearing the trendy black and white “camo” paint job, the large fenders and aggressive lines are hard to obscure.

At the moment, powerplants, chassis and suspension information is scarce, but the Dutch site Driving-Fun has more shots of the Saker GT being put through the paces, and judging by its current form, we should know more about the Kiwi’s latest entrant into the sports car world soon. Thanks for the tip, Luuk!

[Source: Driving-Fun (Dutch language site)]

Spy Shots: New Saker GT supercar caught track testing originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 17:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Detroit Auto Show, Convertible, Coupe, Videos, Paris Motor Show, Audi

Here’s what we know: Audi was doing something with a disguised and coupe (or cabrio) somewhere in Tyrolean Alps. Here’s what we don’t know: the precise nature of Audi’s activities nor the precise identity of the coupe. It has been surmised that it could be a more production-ready evolution of the Audi e-Tron Concept/R4 shown at the Detroit Auto Show in January, but a better guess might be a convertible version of the same concept.

Going through the five clips taken by an unknown and rather unsteady videocamera holder, that guess appears plausible. The lines look about the same, and an R4 Spyder was rendered as long as 18 months ago, and the R4 coupe is reportedly coming in 2013 to fill shoes below the TT. Or, knowing Audi, it could be any number of brand new things. We just hope it comes to the Paris Motor Show next month. So don your Zapruder-film glasses, have a look at the videos after the jump and tell us what you spy with your little eyes.

[Source: Carscoop]

Continue reading Video: Mystery Audi coupe spied on ski slopes

Video: Mystery Audi coupe spied on ski slopes originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 13 Sep 2010 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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