Auto Blitz: Chevrolet Concepts

Showing posts with label Chevrolet Concepts. Show all posts

From Concept to Reality: Chevrolet Orlando MPV

The upcoming Orlando minivan, which shares its platform with the Cruze, is another one of Chevrolet's upcoming attempts to rectify its sub-par image as a brand. How has the MPV developed since it debuted as an attractive concept two years ago to woo European car buyers? Well, it still seats seven and will get both gasoline and diesel four-cylinder engines as promised, but unfortunately, it's put on some flab over the concept's original well-toned lines. While GM has yet to release photos of the interior, expect a modern Chevrolet cabin very similar to the concept.

Plain and simple: no mid-engined Corvette, maybe a hybrid, and a statement that GM is not testing any V6s in the Corvette (yet). That's from GM's global vehicle engineering VP Karl-Friedrich Stracke, and it's fine by me. Spend wisely, slowly upgrade the program, don't rock the boat.

The Mid-Engine and Dual-clutch Transmission:

Stracke decided to finally bury the mid-engine rumors once and for all by "quashing [them]" under his corporate boot heel. Also, he decided to let PR clarify that there is no dual-clutch transmission on the way. For those of you wondering about that, Autocar heard from a Saab source that just such a transmission was developed while Saab was still part of GM.

First of all, to put your taste buds at ease, the Chevrolet Spark Woody Wagon isn't a production model nor will its woodgrained vinyl paneling and whitewall tires be available as an option from the maker. The Spark Woody is a one-off art car that recalls the surf movement in the USA of the late Fifties and early Sixties - hence the surfboard, if you didn't notice.

One of show-stoppers of the 2006 SEMA gathering in Las Vegas, the Corvette Z06-based Genaddi LSR Roadster, is now up for auction on eBay Motors. Built by the Genaddi Design Group, the one-off custom roadster ditches most of the Corvette Z06's composite and carbon fiber body panels for ones made of aluminum. It also features a rather awkward-looking new rear-end design with protruding tail lamps that bring to mind the Ferrari Enzo and a customized interior.

In sedan form, the Chevrolet Cobalt will soon be replaced in the U.S. by the not-so-new for most readers, Cruze, which was formally introduced in production guise at the 2008 Paris Show, and went on sale shortly after in numerous markets around the world aside from the States. But what about the Cobalt Coupe? Will we see GM presenting a successor to the two-door version of the compact model?

It's very likely as in a recent webchat on GM's Reinvention site, Mark Reuss, the man in charge of the automaker's core North American operations, strongly suggested that a coupe variant of the Cruze could be on the horizon.

And while most of us would assume that a coupe model would basically translate to a reshaped Cruze with two-doors less and perhaps a sportier roofline and other unique styling cues, independent designer David Cardoso has a different idea in mind.

The new roadster version of the Corvette Stingray was caught on video along with the Bumblebee Camaro and what appears to be a Ferrari 458 Italia during filming of the Transformers 3 movie. In the previous Transformers film, the tin-top Corvette Stingray coupe took the form of Sideswipe. We're still short on details, but we assume that the roadster model will reprise the same role. The next Transformers movie is scheduled for release in July 2011. Watch the video clip after the break.

After we showed you some of the designs a few days ago, the plainly-named Chevrolet Volt MPV5 crossover concept has rolled silently out of the gates.

Big things first: power comes from GM's lithium ion T-battery and a 1.4 liter engine generator, as one would expect. The battery will provide 51.5 km / 32 miles per charge, while the gasoline generator contributes an extra 482 km / 299.5 miles.

So, what is it other than a smaller Orlando with a Volt nose-job and power train? An expander, that's what. This model is GM's next step in creating a new sub-brand within GM, much like Audi's upcoming e-tron line.

GM is about to try something new: making Chevrolet's Corvette appeal to international markets. The General is soliciting designs from all ten of its styling studios, meaning that more than just American-market brains are weighing in.

The goal is to bring in younger buyers from the States, while also help gain sales in the all-important European market, among others.

"We have challenges in the States with the Corvette," Welburn told journalists in an interview at the Geneva Salon. "The average age of the customer is really rising." According to J.D. Power and Associates, the current average age of a Corvette buyer is 54.

Chevrolet officially confirmed today that it will launch five new models in Europe next year including an all-new family minivan based on the 2008 Paris show Orlando concept car, the production version of the Aveo RS concept (most likely in hatchback and sedan guises) and, yes, you guessed it, the Camaro in both coupe and convertible body styles that will serve as the firm's 'halo' car.

"After Cruze in 2009 and Spark in 2010, our centenary year 2011 will usher in five more exciting Chevrolets for Europe," said Chevrolet Europe president and managing director Wayne Brannon.

European consumers will get a taste of Chevy's future offerings at the Geneva Salon as the firm will show off the Orlando concept alongside the Camaro and the Aveo RS, which will have its European premiere after its world debut at the North American International Auto Show last month.

The 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week will host the world premiere of the Chevrolet Aveo RS Concept car handing us our first look at the next-generation Aveo that will be sold on both sides of the pond competing with superminis like the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris.

Longer, wider and more spacious than the current production Aveo, the five-door concept adopts several styling cues including the dual element grille, round tail lamps and fender flares from other Chevrolet models such as the Spark and Cruze.

Being an RS version, the concept model sports several unique features like the 19-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels that cover the large Boracay Blue brake calipers, a roof spoiler, a specific front bumper with large air vents, exposed motorcycle-inspired rear taillamps that feature tinted aluminum housings and a rear diffuser with a center-mounted exhaust and chrome exhaust tips.

Though virtually production ready, the concept model's interior has been adorned in leather with contrasting blue stitching, special decorative trim and a pair of sport front seats.

Under the hood, the Aveo RS houses the same 138-horsepower 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four Ecotec engine that will be available in the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze. Power is transfered to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

Needless to say, the series production model will be far less aggressive in the details inside and out, though there is a chance that we might see a similarly styled and powered sporty RS model added in the Aveo's range.

GM said that the production Aveo will be manufactured at its Orion Assembly in Orion Township, Michigan starting from 2011.

Twisted Tuning: 1969 Chevy Camaro SS Modded After the... New Camaro

In what could be one of the weirdest project cars we've ever shown you on Carscoop, this here is a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro SS that has been modified to resemble GM's 2006 Camaro Concept which previewed the 2010 production car. Ironically, the styling of both the concept and production versions of the new Camaros are heavily based on the 1969 model... More caricatures photos and the creator's description of the car after the jump.

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Danz Custom Description of the Camaro:

"This is a 1969 Danz Camaro SS concept car. I built the car in 2006. In 2006 the new Camaro was just a concept with no definite plans to go to production. I took a real 1969 Camaro and modified it to look somewhat like the 2006 concept Camaro.

Thinking that I would have the only one in the world if the Camaro never went to production. I combined the original 69 Camaro design with the 2006 concept Camaro design, with my own designs. Especially the hood scoop and rear spoiler design are my own. I gave GM pictures of my car in Jan 2007.

It appears that the 2010 SLP Camaro has a simular designed hood scoop and rear spoiler to my car. To power my car I went with a 427 small block with the vintage dual 4-barrel crossram manifold and carbs. I went in that direction because I wanted the legendary 427 cubic inch and also to use the vintage dual 4-barrel crossram. Backed with a 700 r transmission to a Ford 9" differential. If you're interested in learning more, call 920-830-4994."

Via: Carpictures

New C7 Corvette to get Split Rear Window According to GM Design Boss Ed Welburn

Even though the 1963 Corvette Stingray's distinct split rear window treatment lasted only for a model year, for many this unconventional styling trait became synonymous with the Corvette ever since. And now we may very well see it making its return on a production Corvette almost half a century later. In recent interview with Inside Line, General Motors' head of global design Ed Welburn told the news site that like the 2010 Camaro, the next generation Corvette's design will incorporate hints of retro styling, including the split back window.

General Motors gave us a taste of how this styling feature may be incorporated on the C7 Corvette, which will retain the front-engine/rear-drive layout of its predecessors, with the Stingray Concept that appeared in the second Transformers movie that was released this past summer.

"That car is not the next Corvette, but the split-window is something that I expect for the next Corvette," Welburn said in the interview. "With the back-up cameras and blind-spot detection systems that we have these days, the visibility issue is much less of a problem."

So what do you think about the idea of the return of the split-window treatment on the new C7; will General Motors manage to find a way to incorporate this feature without causing any rearward visibility issues? Also, what's your take on a possible retro-modern theme for the new Corvette?

Via: Inside Line