Autoblog

The annual LA Auto Show Design Challenge entries have been revealed and we'll be showing off the entire series today on Autoblog. The challenge's theme this year is "Robocar 2057" and we think each team tells a story with their design of how that particular automaker views the future in 50 years. We'll tell you those stories, which are entirely fictional, written by us and not associated with the actual automakers involved in any way, as we introduce you to the cars, and at the end of the day we'll have an unofficial poll to crown our own winner.


click above image for more views of the 2057 Audi Virtuea Quattro

The Car: The Audi team's entry is called the Virtuea Quattro, which is a misnomer because it appears this enclosed cycle only has two wheels instead of four. Perhaps Virtuea Duo would be a more appropriate name. Skinned in chrome, the Virtuea Quattro is powered by hydrogen somehow (details apparently aren't required for this thought experiment) and has the unique ability of displaying the holographic exterior of any car throughout history, though Audi would prefer if you made it look like the R8.

The Future According to Audi: After designing the largest grille in modern history, Audi designers were disbanded in 2008 for crimes against taste. Now homeless and hungry, they sit on the sidewalk in New New York circa 2057 and watch as the Virtuea Quattro drives by holographically projecting every car design throughout history except their own. The future is a fickle mistress, dear friends.

Weirdness Factor (1 - I could buy that today, 10 - OMG WTF): 6

For the second year in a row, the General Motors West Coast Advanced Design Studio has won the LA Auto Show Design Challenge. Last year the General landed on top with the futuristic party van called the GMC Pad. This year's winning entrant was the HUMMER 02, a tread-lightly concept that not only met the challenge of the contest's theme this year, Enivoronmental Sustainability, but surpassed it by offering the environment a net gain. The out-there enviro-concept features a phototropic body shell with algae-filled body panels that literally photosynthesizes carbon dioxide into oxygen. That's right, it breathes oxygen into the atmosphere. The 02 is technically a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle with four hydraulic motors, one in each wheel. The greenest HUMMER ever conceived, the 02 would never be a candidate for a green washing.

More renderings and GM's press release with more details on the 02 can be found after the jump.

[Source: GM]

More pics of entrants after the jump

The major auto shows always have a lot of eye candy for the enthusiast, but few things spark the imagination like extreme and impractical concept cars. The concepts at Tokyo always seem like they jumped right out of an anime. In Europe, the designers tend to go for more sex appeal than anything else, and in the US, we almost always display some kind of reckless, overpowered death trap. We're speaking of the pure concept variety, of course. There is one exception; at the Los Angeles Auto Show you can always find concepts that represent the unique culture of Southern California. Take the Hummer 02 concept above for example. Where else but LA (except maybe Tokyo) would a designer unveil a Hummer concept that is said to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen?

These concepts are fueled by the Design Challenge that has been an annual occurence the past three years. The focus this year is to create a vehicle that is aware of its environmental footprint. Many of the vehicles feature some degree of transformation ability, as well as recyclable components.

Follow the jump for more drawings and panel illustrations of the concepts in 'action.' Some of the concepts are cool, others are strange, but none of them have any shred of feasibility. That just makes them all the more interesting. Thanks to Mike Reed for the tip.

[Source: L.A. Voice]