Blast from the Past: Chevrolet’s Stunning 1973 Aerovette Concept

How do you replace a motoring icon? In the years leading up to 1968, U.S. automaker Chevrolet was dealing with this very problem with their venerable Corvette. The first and second generation Corvettes, designed by Harley Earl and Larry Shinoda respectively, were stylish and innovative creations that drew countless fans from the automotive community.

The answer lies, in part, with the Aerovette: a mostly forgotten concept that made just two auto show appearances before being relegated to the GM Heritage Museum.

In the late ‘60s, GM engineer Zora Arkus Duntov and his team were toying with the XP-882, a mid-engined design and engineering exercise built on Oldsmobile Tornado underpinnings. Though fascinating from a design and engineering standpoint, Chevy General Manager John DeLorean saw no future for the XP-882 and canceled the project in 1969. It was simply too expensive and too impractical for the impending 1970s America.

When Ford announced it would be selling the Italian designed / American engined De Tomaso Pantera at its Lincoln / Mercury dealerships in 1970, DeLorean hit the roof. He immediately ordered Duntov and GM designer Charles Jordan to dust off the XP-882 and ready it for the New York Auto Show.

Renamed the Aerovette, the XP-882 was a revolution. After being re-engined for the 1973 Paris Auto Salon, the Aerovette now featured four transversely mounted Wankel rotaries, a full five years before they would be popularized in the United States by Mazda’s RX-7. Beneath that sleek glass fibre skin was a steel and aluminium birdcage that was both lightweight and strong.

Innovative features abound such as the bi-fold gullwing doors, V-shaped front windscreen and deformable plastic bumpers. Pop up headlamps, a fully independent coil spring suspension and four wheel disc brakes were also incorporated into the design.

Inside, a digital instrument panel displayed speed and engine rpm, while a switchable screen could show fuel, water temperature, oil pressure or voltage. A second digital display in the centre console could display the date, time and radio station as well as the elapsed time in minute or seconds for time trials.

Though the Aerovette / XP-882 never progressed beyond the concept stage, its design was highly influential in the third generation (C3) Corvette. Many of its ingenious design features would find their way into production cars; though in some cases this process took as long as then years(!).

So there you have it. The Aerovette: a car that was ten years ahead of its time but doomed by the ‘70s oil crisis. Gone, but hopefully, never forgotten.

By Tristan Hankins

Photos: GM / Wikipedia

_______________________________PHOTO_______________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

_______________________________VIDEOS_______________________________

Lotus CEO Says Concept City Car will Enter Production in "October 2013"

It appears that Aston Martin won't be the only British sports car maker to have a controversial small city car in its range. Lotus chief executive Dany Bahar told Car magazine that the Concept City Car, which was previewed at the recent Paris Motor Show alongside five sports car studies, has been approved for production. The comapny's CEO said the car will be manufactured in cooperation with Lotus parent company Proton and an undisclosed third party.

"Our city car has been confirmed and will be launched in October 2013," Mr. Bahar told the British magazine. "We are doing this together with Proton and another OEM [original equipment manufacturer, or car maker]. We will build three versions: one for the Asian market, one for Europe and a sportier one."

The Lotus flavored Concept City Car is based on one of the three Giugiaro-penned Proton EMAS design studies, which were first shown in Geneva earlier this year.

Built on a platform that was designed in-house by Italdesign Giugiaro, the EV concept model features a 45 kW (75kW peak power) electric motor that can be recharged by a 1.2 liter 3-cylinder engine. The hybrid plug-in drive system was developed entirely by Lotus. Unlike the front-wheel drive iQ-Cygnet, British supermini gets a rear-wheel drive setup.

With a total vehicle weight of less than 1400 kg [3,086 lbs] and 240 Nm [177 lb-ft] of torque instantly available, the City Car concept is said to complete the 0 - 50 km/h sprint in 4.5 seconds and the 0 - 100 km/h [62 mph] in 9 seconds, when operating as an EV under battery power. The top speed is pegged at 170 km/h, [105mph] with a charge sustaining top speed of 120 km/h [63 mph].

The pure electric drive range is 50 km or 31 miles, but can be extended to a total of 500 km or 311 miles when the petrol engine kicks. Lotus claims that the drivetrain returns CO2 emissions of 60 g/km.

Mr. Bahar did not say if the production model will keep the concept's extended-range hybrid drivetrain or if Lotus will offer the car with a traditional petrol engine as well.

Source: Car magazine

Lotus City Car Concept Specifications

Layout: 3-door, 4-seater, rear-wheel drive
Drivetrain Series hybrid drivetrain
Range extender engine 35 kW, 1.2-litre, 3-cylinder engine
Engine fuel Flex-fuel (methanol, ethanol and petrol)
Battery Capacity 14.8 kWh
Power/Torque 162 kW peak (54 kW continuous)/240 Nm, 0-50 km/h 4.5 seconds, 0-100 km/h 9.0 seconds
Top speed 170km/h
Range 500 km
EV range 60km
CO2 emissions 60g/km on the ECE-R101 cycle
Weight Less than 1400 kg
Transmission Single-speed transmission

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

GMC Previews Sierra All Terrain HD Concept Ahead of Detroit Show

General Motors will be presenting an ultra-tough concept study based on the four-door 2011 GMC Sierra HD pickup truck at the rapidly approaching Detroit Motor Show in mid-January. The GMC Sierra All Terrain HD study is highlighted by its rough n' tough exterior design and enhanced all-road capability.

Shorter in overall length than production Sierra HD models, the concept boasts a unique five-foot, eight-inch Crew Cab/short box body configuration with the wheels pushed to corners of the vehicle.

It also features a wider, 73-inch (1,853 mm) track for greater stability and approximately 3 inches (76 mm) greater ground clearance for a total of 21.1 inches (536 mm) at the rockers and 11.8 inches (300 mm) at the skid plates.

To improve its off-road prowess, GMC retuned and upgraded the suspension with specialized Fox off-road shocks, while the All Terrain HD also features electronic disconnection of the front stabilizer bar at the push of a button. The 20-inch alloy wheels wrapped in 35-inch-tall BFGoodrich mud terrain tires and the full composite underbody protection that shields the transmission, drivetrain, fuel tank, exhaust system and axle differentials, round off the package.

Motivation comes from GM's new production 6.6-liter Duramax turbo-diesel V8 that delivers 397 horsepower and 765 lb.-ft. of torque (1,037 Nm), and is matched to a six-speed auto.

The concept also features four-wheel drive, with automatic locking front and rear differentials, and 14-inch, four-wheel disc brake system from the production Sierra HD.

General Motors did not say if it has plans to develop a production version of the concept, but given that it is based on the 2011 Sierra HD, we wouldn't be surprised if the automaker launched a similarly flavored variant in the near future.

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

BMW’s Vision ED-based Sports Car Likely to Cost Around US $200,000

Back in November, BMW confirmed that a hybrid sports car based on its Vision EfficientDynamics Concept would enter production in 2013. However, the Bavarian automaker did not disclose any details about the price of its 'green' performance machine. Now, according to a report from InsideLine [IL] citing the BMW Sales and Marketing Director, Ian Robertson, the production version will cost a little under £150,000 [or US$234,000 / €177,000] in the UK, which suggests a price tag of around $200,000 for the States.

Speaking at the BMW 1-Series M Coupe’s launch event in London, Mr. Robertson said the price would be “less than £150,000 ($240,000)” adding that "we [BMW] haven't finalized price point yet, but it will compete with Ferraris and high-end Porsches".

Should this be the case, the Vision ED will be cheaper than the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SLS E-Cell, rumored to cost around $250,000 when it hits the market in 2012.

The concept car boasts a 1.5-liter diesel engine and two electric motors for a total system output of 328 horsepower. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) takes just 4.8 seconds, while average fuel consumption is an equally impressive 62.6 mpg US.

The company official also stated that the road legal version will “redefine how we look at high-performance sports cars”, so it’s possible that the diesel-electric setup will be kept.

By Csaba Daradics

Via: Inside Line

_______________________________GALLERY_______________________________

Citroen Survolt (VIDEO)

French concept Citroen Survolt became one of the most unusual cars of a motor show in Geneva. It is not known, whether can transfer photos all aura of this car? Probably, no. For Survolt looks rather abruptly. As always, Citroens designers managed to make something unusual (we and love this mark for it), and thus them concept does not look, how any misunderstanding. The car has turned out very integral and that the most important thing, beautiful.

When you approach to stand Citroen Survolt it seems big. But actually it is rather compact car - from a nose to a tail only 3850 mm. It even is less, than at Volkswagen Polo or Citroen C3!

With what engine it is equipped yet it is not informed. Probably, any. It after all concept which is not obliged to have a high-grade suspender or a power-plant not so. It should show, in what direction the mark in the future begins to develop. If in such as Survolt, we only for. And still we for that Survolt has gone to a batch production. And in that kind in what it have shown in Geneva.