Asia Comes To Europe: Geneva Motor 2007 By Feann Torr - 9/Feb/2007 
This is the Mazda Hakaze concept
being wrought from pure granite*
Mitsubishi's Prototype X is a much more
advanced design with subtle Euro influences
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Geneva, Switzerland
— They just couldn't wait. Three Japanese marques have jumped the
gun and revealed their 2007 Geneva Motor Show products
for the world to see, which for the most part are concept cars. I
thought better of going off on a textual rampage about how we see
far too many
concept cars that never make it production, because at
the end of the day it ain't cheap to take a vehicle from the motor
show floor to the car dealership. And really, some of these concepts
are foul looking things - who wants to be seen driving around in
what looks like a giant ergonomic garlic press? Honda, Mazda, and Mitsubishi
will all have strong showings at the upcoming Swiss motor show, which
as always will offer up a sumptuous feast of auto erotica, including
the new Hakaze, which has been tailor made for 35-year old kite
surfers. Yes,
it's an interesting mix that looks as though it can
replace every single car type currently on the planet; a 4-seat
coupe-style compact crossover SUV. It's a coupe that's also an SUV
that can, well, crossover. Or something like that. In
truth, it's simply another design concept that has been crafted to
shape the future design direction of the Mazda brand, and will probably
morph into the next generation compact SUV model, one that may slot in
underneath the Tribute model. Honda is also showing off a number
of ecologically friendly models, including the FCX, which is
powered by hydrogen/electricity and can travel almost 600km on just one tank
of the highly volatile fuel. There's also the Small Hybrid Sports
Concept, which is currently the frontrunner for the "Most Dynamically
Named" concept car award. Styled by Honda's German
R&D design centre, the new model looks quite sporty, which
comes on the back of news that Honda Australia will soon stop selling
its sports car models such as the S2000 and Integra. Bit of a shame
that, but market forces work in strange ways... Honda
will also being making a lot of noise around its new 'clean' diesel
engine, a next generation unit that will be one of its key allies in
increasing its European market share. Mitsubishi is
also showing off two concepts, but both of these have been seen before
at other motor shows. Still, it doesn't make them any less important,
and this is especially so for the Prototype X, which provides us with an early
look at the highly anticipated Mitsubishi Evolution X. The
10th model in the Evolution's lifespan, it promises to be the most
powerful version yet, and as the styling suggests, possibly the most
attractive too. Click the following links to see the images and read
the words: Mazda - Hakaze Concept Honda - Hybrid Sports Concept, FCX, Clean Diesel Engine Mitsubishi - Prototype X, Outlander Concept
*Not 100% Factual |
