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.