Grand Tourer concept from BMW

Like Audi, BMW chose the Shanghai Auto Show to conduct the worldwide sneak peek its latest concept car. The Concept CS is to be a conceptual study for a 4-door grand touring sedan, insists BMW but pundits worldwide are already expecting this to be the future design direction for BMW, starting with the new 7 Series. (Isn't the 7 Series a luxury 4-door sedan?)


Chris Bangle's outstanding design for the 7 Series have filtered its way down into all of BMW's model range and influenced a whole new design direction for the ultimate driving machine. The new Concept CS is expected to spawn a new generation, and it looks promising with a sporty low-slung look for the sedan. The famous kidney grille has become more prominent and front headlights features innovative headlights with LED reverse projection technology, making it looks like it has eye-lids. The famous BMW kink on the C-pillar has also been re-interpreted along with more focused lines on the sides.


BMW's design team has also reverted back to the driver-focused interior by making all necessary controls leaning towards the driver. The main highlights should be the layered design concepts which separates the main console. This design is also applied to the double circular dials to provide clearly structured information on several visual levels. A very striking speedometer dial completes the new BMW interior.

Takeaway: Promising concept vehicle that re-defines BMW's design which has so far been striking and cutting-edge.

Audi mulls over an X3 competitor

The Q7 was Audi's first real SUV which was launched to allow the company, famous for its 4-wheel drive Quattro system, to have a pie of the lucrative luxury SUV segment. After launching the Q7 last year, Audi went on further to release a Cross Coupe Quattro concept in the Shanghai Auto Show this year. The venue for a worldwide launch was interesting but well expected since China is now Audi's fastest growing market.


Exterior design of the concept is typical Audi with good looks and clean lines. According to Audi, the Audi Cross Coupé quattro was meant to combine the design and dynamism of a compact premium sports car with the spaciousness and versatility of a four-seat sport utility vehicle (SUV). Thus the market target is clearly young, active small families, putting it in direct competition with the X3.


The concept car features several nice touches like the fabric folding roof which can be opened electrically and huge chromed 20 inchers showcasing the cars huge potential. LED lights that graces the Audi R8 also makes an extensive appearance in the Cross Coupe. Audi's Multi-Media Interface is also showcased in the interior with a new dual-view technology monitor. The new monitors can produce different images for the driver and front-seat passenger as these images are visible when viewed from a specific angle. Such a system allows the driver to read data from the on-board computer while the front passenger watches a TV programme, listening to the sound through headphones. Expect to see it in future production cars sometime in the future as more video functions makes it important for individual mobile entertainment.

Takeaway: Sleek crossover vehicle that tries to build a niche market but forgot that the X3 was already in production.

Mercedes McLaren SLR gets the chop

After launching the SLR 722 edition early this year, Mercedes tries to look for more buyers for its SLR supercar by launching the new chopped-top version, the SLR Roadster. Featuring a carbon fibre and aluminium body and powered by the same AMG V8 Kompressor engine as the coupe, the roadster has the potential to reach a staggering 332 km/h top speed. All this with a fully retractable top for its drivers to enjoy 'undiluted open air' motoring, as in Mercedes' press release.


The roof opens and closes semi-automatically in less than ten seconds, thereby combining the desire for convenience with the puristic character of the roadster. To open, the roof merely needs to be unlocked from the windscreen frame and be briefly raised, after which it folds away electrically. Since an aluminium cover is integrated into its front section, the roof elegantly closes off the top when re-tracted.


The new Mercedes-Benz SLR Roadster, like the coupé, is to be produced at McLaren's Formula 1 factory in Woking, England, in accordance with stringent Mercedes-Benz quality criteria and will be available as from September 2007.

Takeaway: A roadster supercar is the ultimate in extravagance and totally irrelevant, but Mercedes McLaren needs it for the volume.

Honda launches a modular SUV in Japan

Having launched the CR-V, which is possibly Honda's best selling SUV in the world, the company has started sales of a new smaller model, the CrossRoad which has a third row of seat. This is something unique (or even puzzling) since the new CR-V only manages 2 rows of seats. The CrossRoad is particularly aimed at young adults, as even its exterior styling is heavily differentiated from its model range, with octagonal shaped windows. At first glance the CrossRoad seems like a replacement for the HR-V which was long axed, but it might actually be a new successor to the Honda Element. This is especially evident in the black plastic moldings on the wheel arches, though higher specced vehicles come with body-coloured plastics.



In order to appeal to the young, the car has been made as a front wheel drive vehicle, instead of a full time 4WD. In addition, luggage space is severely limited in the interior should the 3rd row seats be made to accommodate humans. The CrossRoad will be powered by 2 kinds of VTEC engines, the 1.8 and 2.0-litre and 4 wheel drive will be made an option in addition to a variety of accessories and kits for the car.

Takeaway: Honda targets the young adults who are active and with a range of kits available, the car might just be a success following the Element in the US.

The Gallardo Superleggera - a rival for the Stradale?

Lamborghini gave the world a preview of the latest Gallardo variant in the Geneva Auto Show 2007. Designed as more of a race-track road car (note the self-contradictory statement), the Superleggera has shed around 154 lbs (or around 70kg) by undergoing numerous structural changes to the base Gallardo's body. Key changes includes the use of carbon fibre panels for the rear diffuser, undertray, the rearview-mirror housings, the interior door panels, the central tunnel, and the engine cover.


In addition to making it lighter, the engine ECU has been remapped to release an extra 10hp for a total of 523hp, making it all the more powerful. Naturally this leads to a reduction in acceleration timing, allowing for a 0-60 time of 3.8 seconds. Lamrborghini is also throwing in the 6-speed e-gear transmission to further entice buyers. In addition, a sports package including shock absorbers; and special suede-covered steering wheel will be made available. Only four colors will be made available for this special edition and yellow is definitely one of them. A new special Scorpius forged rims adds on to the visual effect.

Takeaway: A very suitable mid-life boost for the Gallardo but makeover for a lightweight car seems to be restrained.