The best so far (it literally won “Best Concept”) is the Porsche 918 RSR Coupe. It is race-bred version of the 918 Spyder Concept and is a ‘hybrid’ that puts out 572 kW of power. That’s the kind of power output wind turbine engineers are proud of, ergo, “a lot”. Just go and have a look for yourself here!

Kia has decided that they are totally over the trend of trying to make minivans “sporty”, and have opted to embrace the box, as it were. The concept KV7 is pretty darn cool, especially if you are what Kia call a “Ringleader”. The marketing spiel is that the KV7 is not made for the average soccer mom and her kids, but rather for people who are busy organising road trips, social outings and new adventures for themselves and their friends. Pretty much people like you and me. Blinder versions of us, maybe.

But just check out the lounge-like interior. Awesome. Is that wooden paneling I spy? You know it.

Hyundai unveiled their crossover concept, the Curb. The exterior resembles a sport bike motorcycle helmet, apparently? I hadn’t gotten the memo that this was a strong point.

But the coolest thing about this concept is the interior and the Blue Link technology that the Curb houses. It pretty much keeps you connected to all your electronics all the time. So if you’re cruising along Camps Bay and get a call from a friend (the only time you can call), his location shows up as a Point-of-Interest (POI). Your friend tells you that he just discovered a great band playing at a Assembly and tells you to get there ASAP. His location then becomes the destination for the turn-by-turn directions. What this also tells us is that law enforcement agencies will start using this technology to find you. Never pick up a call from a blocked number.

It will also send the Curb’s location to select members of social networking sites. “The process starts by adding friend’s email addresses to the Blue Link Location Sharing website. The driver can then let his or her friends know they are on route by sending a Location Sharing message from inside the Curb. If a friend has accepted the owner’s invitation to Location Sharing then that location will show up as a point of interest on the navigation screen.” Pretty damn cool!

And for all your green people out there, you will be happy to know that Toyota revealed a Prius v and Prius c Concept. The one is a five-seat MPV and the other a Yaris-sized supermini.

Still ugly.

[Source: carmag, autoblog]