Concept cars at the New York International Auto Show
Kia Koup Concept
Kia says its Koup concept illustrates the shape and direction of its future vehicles. LED headlights trimmed in carbon fiber and black chrome swoop into a wedge shape along the cars sides, and prominent wheel flares impart a lowered stance.
More carbon fiber adorns the front spoiler, side-view mirrors, rear bumper and wheel spokes, and inside on the shifter plate and seat tilt-adjust mechanism. Twin glass panels run the length of the roof to mimic the appearance of a fighter jet, Kia says.
Robert E. Calem (Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images)
Concept cars that promised better things to come from lesser-brand players, such as Kia’s Koup, seemed to dominate the New York stage.
BMW Concept CS
BMW introduced the Concept CS, a sleek four-door sedan that seems fast even when its parked.
Low-slung with an elongated hood up front and an intentionally short rear end, it is 200.8 inches long and only 53.5 inches high. Giant wheel arches accommodate 21-inch tires, and two recesses on the front side panels are there to help cool the brakes. Unusual headlights use backward-facing LEDs that illuminate a reflection area, which then redirects their light in a focused beam onto the road ahead.
The interior design is a composition of contrasting colors and light and shade effects created by layered surfaces.
Robert E. Calem (Stan Honda / AFP / Getty Images)
Scion Hako Coupe Concept
Scion revealed the Hako Coupe Concept, described in the companys presentation as the sporty version of a box.
The profile is a blend of contrasting shapes and edges. Flared fenders and slim race-car-inspired side mirrors are combined with a high belt line, lowered roof and black windows that wrap around to the rear. The front fascia showcases trapezoidal LED headlights and round fog lights with integrated turn signals, placed high on the front bumper. At the rear, the LED taillights repeat the shape of the headlights, and the rear bumper features a combination fog and backup light on the left, balanced by the exhaust pipe on the right.
Inside, a video-game and multimedia-entertainment theme predominates. The shifter, mounted on the center console, resembles a joystick. The steering wheel contains a trackball-like controller for the cars entertainment system, which includes two dash-mounted video monitors for navigating through the cars audio and video ranges. Additional video monitors are located on the doors and in the rear seating area, to project video captured by cameras mounted below the windshield pillars. And an editing function for this video is enabled while the car is parked, aiming the Hako squarely at the YouTube generation.
Robert E. Calem (Jonathan Fickies / Getty Images)
