Beijing beauty: the top concept car unveiled at the 2012 China Auto Show

As a market that has been vigorously embracing auto mobilization for more than a decade, global automakers are still striving to participate in the Chinese market more deeply. With auto factories and dealers in North America and Europe facing bankruptcy, and as well-known brands such as Cadillac reiterate their production commitments in the Chinese auto market, the Chinese auto industry is still growing.

Being held on the Year of the Dragon (a time associated with great prosperity and power), the 2012 Auto China in Beijing sees many car companies present daring designs and technology inside of a massive convention hall. Seeking immediate success with the pitch of production vehicles such as

the Ford EcoSport, automakers are also displaying concept cars projecting what could be fortunes of ingenuity and mobility for the future. This year’s presentation of concept cars at Auto China is a forward look at globally compelling shapes of motoring...

BMW i8 Concept Spyder

Chevrolet EN-V 2.0

Audi RS Q3 Concept

MG Icon

Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe

Lamborghini Urus

BMW i8 Concept Spyder

If you have found the BMW i subcategory of vehicles somewhat lacking of sporting edge, 2012 Auto China has BMW chopping the top of their i8 concept car. The BMW i8 Concept Spyder applies the technology and philosophies serving eco-friendly driving in a performance car wrapper. A concept renewing the extensive use of carbon fiber reinforced polymers in the previous BMW i concept car, the i8 Concept Spyder seems to instantly embed itself into the realm of sports cars. The strategic placement of the plug-in hybrid powertrain on the BMW i8 Concept Spyder for near 50:50 weight distribution only solidities its potential performance credibility. Collectively propelling the BMW i8 Concept Spyder with 354 horsepower, a turbocharged three-cylinder engine powers the rear wheels while its front wheels are spun by an electric motor. The 0 to 62-mile per hour acceleration numbers for the BMW i8 Concept Spyder hammers away eco-car sceptics with 5-second runs en route to a top speed of 155 miles per hour. In the two-seat cockpit, the BMW i8 Concept Spyder delivers a full assortment of connectivity and interface aids tailored to make a driving experience completely involving.

Chevrolet EN-V 2.0

As Chevrolet expands to become a more globally identified brand, China’s massive marketplace is a chance to appeal to roughly one-sixth of the world population.

Presented as an advancement on the radical conveyance introduced first at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, the Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 has been acclimatized to better accept a daily lifestyle of a user. A super compact two-seat concept vehicle designed for urban transportation, the Chevrolet EN-V (weighing just over 1,100 pounds) displayed a combination of advanced battery-powered travel and intelligent guidance systems. In making the vehicle more palatable for real-world use, the 2.0 version of the Chevrolet EN-V adds climate control and a personal storage compartment.

The Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 will be a subject of pilot studies inside China through the future, identifying the prospect of the electric vehicle in urban travel.

Audi RS Q3 Concept

Teasing no only the United States with the limited edition brilliance of their RS badged vehicles, Audi tempts China with the public appearance of a concept based on the Q3 compact crossover vehicle.

Giving the world a first-time look at what a crossover utility employing the German company’s highest level of performance tweaking, the Audi RS Q3 Concept is tastefully modified through the exterior and interior but features a powertrain that near matches the TT-RS sports car. Mated with all-wheel quattro drive, the Audi RS Q3 Concept is powered by a turbocharged and direct-injected 2.5 liter, five-cylinder engine. A 360-horsepower unit, the Audi RS Q3 Concept’s uses a seven-speed S Tronic transmission to distribute momentum across the high-performance utility vehicle. Estimated by Audi as capable of 0 to 62-mile per hour acceleration in just 5.2 seconds, the RS Q3 Concept is a rocket with all the practicality one expects from a crossover utility vehicle.

With no production set on the Audi RS Q3 Concept, the basic Q3 compact utility is said to have just been launched in China.

MG Icon

While the Morris Garage acronym is a figment of the past for North American automotive enthusiasts, the MG name has been operating under Chinese ownership since 2005, when Nanjing Automotive Group bought the company. Nanjing Automotive Group (now part of SAIC Motor Corporation Limited) effectively resurrected the historic MG brand for a new hatchback and sedan. A redesigned sports car is also in the planning stage for the new MG company that, despite China ownership, continues to be developed and built partly in Britain.

For the 2012 Auto China event, a concept of a sport utility crossover is being presented in MG form. The MG Icon radiates all the beloved styling DNA of the brand’s famous sports car but delivers passenger space and cargo room never seen inside of their cute roadsters. Modern MG proclaims the Icon concept uses rear-end design spawned from the MGB GT. Seating inside fits up to four occupants in a so-called ‘shell’ layout. The MG Icon is merely a design study (at least in the meantime) keeping the heritage of a former British motoring badge alive.

Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe

Like all luxury-geared automakers, Mercedes-Benz wants a piece of the higher-income Chinese socialite’s business. An increasing theme is for premium and exotic car builders to debut their latest design concepts in China, wanting to give the Asian country the first chance to set pure eyesight on their vehicles. At the 2012 Auto China event,

the Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe

is a four-door embodying economical luxury in a masculine, high-performance shape.

Similar to

the brand’s CLS-Class

as an example of a four-door coupe, the Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe is 11.93 inches shorter in overall length than the equally styled production vehicle. Mercedes-Benz clearly wants the audience of the Concept Style Coupe to be deceived by the actual size of the car. A long, sloping front end towards a Concept A-Class-inspired grille, a panoramic roof, and massive 21-inch wheels accomplishes Mercedes-Benz’s intent with the debonair Concept Style Coupe. The carbon fiber-laden interior of the Concept Style Coupe features high-technology items, including a multimedia system using cloud-computing power.

Powered by a 211-horsepower turbocharged engine, the Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe is driven by 4Matic all-wheel drive.

Lamborghini Urus

For a company identifying itself with a bull on its corporate insignia, it makes some sense to consider a somewhat rugged vehicle. Italian supercar builder Lamborghini has ignited some curiosity to onlookers who were long awaiting a peek at a crossover vehicle interpretation of their high-performance, ultra-exotic framework.

Shaped by the extensive use of a carbon fiber construction, the Lamborghini Urus offers a conceptual look at a modern super-performance sport utility vehicle. Debuting at the Chinese auto show in Beijing in shimmering red paint colour, the Lamborghini Urus towers over the road with 24-inch wheels as opposed to their ground-hugging sports cars such as

the Aventador. The Urus concept crossover is linked to a 600-horsepower engine that would feature the lowest possible CO2 emissions. A permanent all-wheel-drive system and dual-clutch transmission are connected to the Lamborghini concept crossover.

If Lamborghini decides the build the four-passenger Urus concept, the traditionally sports car brand will not be making its first entrance into the truck-like product market. Lamborghini actually stepped into the exotic utility vehicle arena before when they sold the LM002 in the mid-1980s

Source: Lamborghini Motors, BMW Group, Daimler AG, General Motors, MG Motors UK Co., Ltd., Volkswagen Group