Concept cars set to wow Detroit auto show
DETROIT – Every major auto show usually has at least one concept car, an exercise in automotive design meant to ignite passions and imagination about the future of transportation.
This year’s North American International Auto Show, which opens to the public Saturday, is no exception.
During this week’s media preview, some concepts were fairly detached from reality, such as Infiniti’s Q Inspiration or Chinese automaker GAC’s Enverge. Others, such as Acura’s RDX, are likely to foreshadow the actual looks of a production vehicle due to come to showrooms soon. Here are a few concepts from the show:
Nissan
On one hand, it looks like an urban attack vehicle. On the other, it has koi fish swimming across the video display on its dash. The Nissan Xmotion combines the looks of an American offroad SUV and delicate Japanese touches referencing appreciation of nature.
It has boomerang-shaped headlights in front and a wide grille with horizontal bars meant to invoke Japanese architecture. The taillight design, according to Nissan, was inspired by Japanese woodwork and puzzles.
At its reveal, Nissan officials said the looks are likely to show up in SUVs, but they wouldn’t commit on whether the
next Rogue or Pathfinder would be based on it.
Carrying the theme inside, the dashboard and console were cut from a single Japanese cedar tree. Xmotion has some of the usual concept car touches, such as rear-facing cameras in place of rear-view mirrors.
Lexus
Lexus is the latest luxury automaker to express interest in creating what it calls a flagship crossover. That’s a fancy way of saying big and plush.
The LF-1 Limitless concept is aimed at taking on BMW’s soon-to-arrive X7 and Mercedes-Benz GLS. The luxury brand has a need for a full-size flagship crossover SUV that would be a counterpart to the LS sedan, Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken said.
Though the LF-1 was shown as a concept with only four seats, look for three rows when it comes to production.
GAC Motor
GAC Motor’s vision of the future is the Enverge, a weird silver vehicle with side-opening, clamshell-style doors.
The car’s other unusual feature is that, at least from the outside, it doesn’t appear to have side windows.
The Chinese automaker said in a statement that Enverge is meant to showcase “cutting-edge technologies.” Just how wasn’t apparent.
Infiniti
The Q Inspiration is a big car with only a four-cylinder engine.
Its shortened hood gives more space to the cabin.
The cabin has a minimalist look. It takes its inspiration from a Tokyo residential design — no surprise, considering Infiniti is the luxury unit of Japan’s Nissan. Each of the four seats has its own touchscreen, showing that the concept puts a premium on connectivity.
Acura
The RDX’s interior features more passenger room and a standard panoramic sunroof. The unusual control layout consists of a touchpad on the center console linked to a 10.2-inch display screen rising from the dashboard.