Autoblog

To all of you Autoblog sleuths out there, it's time to go to work. The silver car in the picture above was spotted on the set of Transfomers 2 filming in Pennsylvania. The wheels (cartoonishly large out back) and lines, and the fact that GM is a major player in the film, would seem to suggest it's some sort of GM product or concept -- although not the Corvette ZR-1, as some have claimed. It's also got the same concept mirrors that GM loves to use and kind of looks like Bumblebee's evil Decepticon twin. The shooter also said that the car has scissor doors like a Lamborghini. Follow the link to see more pictures from the filming, and let us know what you think the mystery car is.

[Source: Transformers Live via Shoot for the Edit]

Click the image above for more hi-res pics of the Ferrari Concept 2008

We realize that not everyone will agree with us on this one -- passions seem to run highest over the cars that the fewest number of people will drive -- but if the Ferrari California looked like this concept, we'd put down a deposit right now. Once someone else gave us the money to do so.

Sure, from the A-pillar forward is pure Maserati, and there's no way a front intake like that could or should make it onto a Ferrari. Still, it's a good looking front end, and we don't mind design elements going up as well as down. Besides, a couple of keystrokes can get a proper Ferrari nose in place.

But from the A-pillar to the rear... those are the kind of aggressive, subtle lines we like in our Ferraris. Which is not to say we don't like the California -- we just like this a little better... A coupe, please. That color.


[Source: Sefsdesign]

It's time for Autoblog Podcast #89. Of course we run over what's been in the garage lately – you'll know what reviews to anticipate. Our big item this week is recapping what we saw in Geneva and what might actually wind up in the US. Talk of Geneva moves us to anticipatory chatter about New York, mere days away. Thanks for your 49 minutes!

SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
DOWNLOAD the show now

Click above to view high-res gallery of renderings

A few months ago, we wrote about an amateur designer who penned today's vision of a Bugatti Royale. It was all good at the front, and then things got a bit, well, funky at the rear. Now another car designing buff with a pen suite of software has created his idea of a 4-seat Bugatti GT: the decidedly gorgeous Streamliner 12-2.

Maltese designer Reuben Zammit designed the Streamliner as a 2+2 with "ample luggage space." Though we're sure if Bugatti ever created such a car it would be decidedly more expensive than the Ferrari 612, cues from Maranello's uber-GT can be seen in the Streamliner. But the nothing-but-curves approach gives it a Bugatti retro flair all its own. The car would use a twin-turbocharged version of the W12 engine and be powered by the rear wheels only. That would give the Streamliner rather un-Bugatti-like handling, which we think is even more reason to buy one. Check out additional renderings of the Streamliner 12-2 in the hi-res gallery below and let the designer know if you like his work in the comments.


[Source: Reuben Zammit via Carscoop]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Opel Meriva concept.

The Opel Meriva concept's high belt-line and hatchback shape looks like it could double as a Pontiac Vibe of the future, but recent history tells us it could one day find its way into a Saturn dealership. Automotive News quotes unnamed GM execs saying that the next generation Meriva is "being considered" for the U.S. market. The dreaded "business case" has to be made in order for the little MPV to land stateside, but the Meriva, already successful in Europe, has plenty going for it. The concept that previews the next production model was built with parts from two of GM's small car architectures that will be shared with other vehicles, and the Meriva's turbocharged 1.4L engine also rested under the hood of the Saab 9-X concept. The Meriva would also supply Saturn with a fuel-efficient family hauler, at least more efficient than the VUE CUV, another European import from Opel. Heck, it's not our money, we say build it, slap on a Saturn badge and call it a day.


[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Morgan LifeCar

For a company that still makes cars out of wood, Morgan knows not only how to hang in there, but to come up with some really neat stuff. The LifeCar divides a line that reaches well into the past and well into the future. Its lines are retro modern -- or is that modern retro? -- with all the traditional early-20th-century coupe cues done in aluminum. The hydrogen powerplant is theoretically good for a 200-mile range and "sporting" British performance. Check out the press release for the full details, and be sure to look at the gallery of hi-res images below.

Click the image above for more hi-res images of the Pininfarina Sintesi Concept

After a reveal that's been measured out by coffee spoons, the whole cuppa joe called the Pininfarina Sintesi has been caught on film in full. The car won't really take you to the moon -- but it does have 700-HP, "little hydrogen reactors" placed throughout, and it doesn't need no stinkin' stop lights... and that's got to be almost as cool as going to the moon, right? Check out the gallery of hi-res photos of the Sintesi concept below.

Click above for more pics of the Magna Mila Alpin concept

Three years ago, Magna Steyr debut what it called the Mila concept car -- Magna Innovation Lightweight Auto. Conceived as a pure driver's car, it was an environmentally-conscious single-seater that ran on natural gas up to 120 mph. Last year around this team, Magna followed up the Mila CNG with the Mila Future, a further evolution of the concept that bore two seats, completely covered wheels and an impossibly complicated folding hard top. For the next evolution of the MILA, Magna apparently thought that no one was serving the mountain climbing concept car market and stepped up to the challenge. The Mila Alpin is a chunky little off-road number that can climb 45-degree angles, runs on CNG, has 3+1 seating and what looks to be a seriously small turning radius. We hope the Magna stand in Geneva has a model Matterhorn so we can try it out. For now, you can check out images of the Mila Alpin concept below.

[Source: World Car Fans]

Bugatti has stated that it is not going anywhere, and that there will be another model, and that it won't be an entry-level model. (Never mind the fact that an "entry level" Bugatti could still cost $800,000.) What they haven't stated is what kind of model it will be, except to say that it will remain the best of the best.

We aren't sure who's responsible for the rendering above, but if Bugatti were to go the sedan/limo route, this is one person's idea of a new Bugatti Royale. From this angle, we are definitely in. It's a car in which we could see going very fast, very comfortably, on our way to Biarritz with three of those damsels we met at the craps table in Monaco.

From the rear, however... well, things go less... winningly. We can understand the concept of a shooting brake -- but a Bugatti Royale Wagon? Looking at that elegantly sloping expanse just makes us want to go shopping. Very quickly, still, and for very expensive stuff... but shopping nonetheless.

[Source: Autoweb.cz via Caradisiac]

Click the image above for more hi-res shots of the student-designed Porsche Carma Concept

Add it up: four students at the Institut Superieur de Design in France, some complex modeling software, and the desire to come up with a super slippery Porsche. What do you get from that? This: the Porsche Carma Concept. The task was to create a car that cheated the wind in new ways, yet remained a Porsche in design and engine placement.

The body of the car seems to take a lot of cues from a lot of different cars, and frankly doesn't look much like a Porsche above the beltline -- in a Cayenne/Panamera world, what does any more? -- but that's not to say it's not a good looking car. We'd take one.

Aerodynamically, the car has a flat floor with two tunnels running the length of the body. But its most interesting feature might be the 928-esque rear end cap that extends slightly at speed to let air flow into the bodywork, where it passes over an internal spoiler and exits at the rear. Not that we're against those QE2-sized planks adorning some of the faster Porsches these days, but it is a very elegant solution to rear end lift. It will also make the car feel less like overkill when you're just popping down to 7-11 at 25 MPH for some morning coffee. In fact, if it actually works, we won't take one. We'll take three. Check out the video at the Carma Concept site, and be sure to check out hi-res pics of the car below.

[Source: Porsche Carma Concept site via Autoblog NL]