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New York Auto Show: Chevy Beat Live Reveal [VIDEO]
Click on the photo for a gallery of high-res photos of the Chevy Beat
At the New York Auto Show today, GM Design VP Ed Welburn unveiled his trio of concept mini cars including the Chevy Beat. All three are based on GM's new global mini-car platform that will form the basis of the next generation of cars like the Opel Corsa, Daewoo Matiz and other models around the world. The Beat is designed as the sportiest of the triplets with a 1.2L turbocharged gas engine mated to an automatic transmission. Not a lot of other details are available yet but the Beat is the only one of the three with an interior. As we told you earlier, GM is allowing the public to vote for which of the three concepts is the best, with the winner ultimately influencing future small cars built off the global platform.
Check out the GM press release after the jump, as well as our live shots of the Beat in the updated gallery and a video of the concept's reveal after the jump.
You can view all the debuts and galleries from the New York Auto Show here.
[Source: General Motors]
PRESS RELEASE:
CHEVROLET BEAT CONCEPT: MICRO IMPORT TUNER
NEW YORK – Injo Kim was inspired by everyday heroes when he led the team that designed the Chevrolet Beat concept, which debuts today at the New York Auto Show.
"Every morning when you wake up, you yearn to be a hero that day," said Kim, assistant manager of the minicar exterior design team at GM's Design Center in Inchon, South Korea. And in Kim's mind, that hero is driving the Beat, Chevrolet's concept interpretation of a micro import tuner that's "simple, free and casual, with a strong heart."
The Chevrolet Beat is a front-wheel-drive, three-door hatchback wrapped in a bright Vertigo Green exterior finish that exudes energy and extends into the interior. The overall mood of the exterior and interior design is that of a high-performance, high-tech micro tuner car, with fascias, rocker panels, lamps and wheels enhanced for personalization, a strong trend among buyers in this market.
The Beat exterior lines convey speed, with a fast, dramatic, sloping rake from the top of the rear spoiler down to the hood, and elongated front LED headlamps that seem to extend from the base of the twin-port grille to the A-pillar. Integrated door handles set flush within the B-pillar give the doors a clean, uncluttered look. Big, bold, 17-inch wheels are pushed to the corners, and brake calipers in matching Vertigo Green provide a dash of drama at the wheels. The rear fascia carries Chevrolet's trademark twin taillamps; these LED lamps are set vertically, extending just under the rear glass.
The high energy continues inside the Tachyon Black/Titanium interior with a wraparound dash in Vertigo Green, and a dashboard that features color-coordinated fabric. The green is further pulled through with contrasting stitching on the fabric and mesh seats. The black headliner features fiber-optic lights that create a "star" effect.
Young buyers expect technology, and the Beat delivers, with a center stack that has a pop-up feature. When pushed up, the door reveals a navigation system and when pushed down it reveals a useful center storage compartment. The premium Alpine sound system features six speakers and a trunk-mounted subwoofer.
"The sound system and the pop-up juke box will always make you the life of the party," said Sungtae Baek, interior designer for the Chevrolet Beat.
Keeping the Beat on the move is a 1.2-liter turbocharged gas engine mated to an automatic transmission.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
K 11:48AM (4/04/2007)
You guys didn't get enough shots of the nice Blonde girl! She looks cute!
Poor America - can't they just stop copying Japanese and European designs and come out with their own? This car just looks so lazy in design, a total rip of Suzuki and Fiat/Renault. So boring. This looks 10 years old already.
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Mr. Oak 11:53AM (4/04/2007)
Every SUV made in Europe & Japan today is a copy of an America idea/design. What is your point? It's not like these cars will ever become our primary mode of transportation.
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John Neff 11:56AM (4/04/2007)
We got plenty of shots of the blonde, and she was actually one of three identical twins. We're saving those pics for the Girls of New York gallery.
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felipe 11:57AM (4/04/2007)
BEAT with an ugly stick.
it looked ok on the first,'which chevy you like best' this morning but that front view looks horrible.
it's the new Suzuki Aero ! just made crappier.
is it a CUV ?
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Todd 11:59AM (4/04/2007)
Wow! That's a cool little car. They will sell lots to young first time buyers IF they keep that trendy styling AS IS.
GM is notorious for the "bait-and-switch-show-car-looks-nothing-like-production-version" not to mention "badge engineering".
Come on GM, dig yourself out of your own hole and don't let the bean counters and bureaucrats ruin this potential sales hit!
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EnviroBob 12:03PM (4/04/2007)
They have to make them look like an Asian designed product because the target consumer for these vehicles are people who won't look at anything that has an "American" design theme.
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Katz 12:10PM (4/04/2007)
#1,
You can save your inferiority complex to relieve it to your motherland later. Thanks
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Eric Liberatore 12:06PM (4/04/2007)
John Neff:
How did you keep from laughing while those people were dancing? I was cracking up!
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Guenther 12:06PM (4/04/2007)
Don't care what you say- I dig it.
Neff- Twins come in two's, triplets come in three's- like the pedals hanging from the dashboard of this automatic transmission car.
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Atomicbri 12:07PM (4/04/2007)
I agree this could be a sales hit, but I doubt GM will build them. If this were Toyota, it would be the new Scions and we would see them in the months to come. Since it is GM, it will be years or never when these hit the streets.
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Robz4 12:15PM (4/04/2007)
Wow...That blonde girl is really hot...The car is not too bad either.
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steve 12:31PM (4/04/2007)
hard to get excited about cheapo cars. An r5 turbo successor would be nice though. Lotus is the only company that makes lightweight and fast. But the elise is totally totally impractical. Friggin german cars are cows. So anyway a screamer version of the Beat would be allot of fun.
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Tom T. 12:32PM (4/04/2007)
Great coverage AutoBlog! So do these show planners feel that people dancing around the cars adds something or makes the cars seem cooler? It's so silly it hurts.
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CJ 1:38PM (4/04/2007)
Whether I like these cars or not isnt the point, Chevy actually seems to be pushing out of the stale, please-everyone designs. The Beat is actually my least favorite designs... seems like the most impractical (and I say that as a MINI owner)
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TBlueMax 1:06PM (4/04/2007)
If some of you think the Beat looks vaguely familiar, you're probably recalling some of the styling cues from the Chevy WTCC shown in Paris.
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/28/paris-motor-show-chevrolet-wtcc-ultra-pics-and-info/
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mojojojo 1:09PM (4/04/2007)
Looks pretty good. The styling is sharp and clean and it would be an improvement over the aveo. I think it looks better than the upcoming Mazda2 (although if there's a production version, it probably won't look anything like this).
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Katz 1:14PM (4/04/2007)
#14,
The chevy wttc also was designed by Korean designers.
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100MPG ASAP 1:14PM (4/04/2007)
Auto Shows should not even allow "concept cars" -- only production vechicles.
I don't get the purpose of concept cars that are never intended for production. What am I missing?
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CaliberSRT4 1:20PM (4/04/2007)
I love this one! It looks like a mini version of that other Chevy concept, the WRC or WTC whatever it's called. I voted for the Beat and hopefully they will make a 4 door as well. It's the only one with decent looking taillights and a normal sized rear pillar.
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CJ 6:41PM (4/04/2007)
ASAP - to get the public reactions to their wacky design ideas before they shell out the really big bucks and risk them being huge design flops. Take the Pontiac Aztec for example... oh, nevermind.
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