Mahindra eKUV Preview

Mahindra shook everyone with an electric line-up at the 2018 Auto Expo. There was an electric bus, an all-new electric platform with two city-oriented electric concepts and an electric KUV100. The KUV100 EV will be spearheading the electric car line-up from the Indian carmaker.

Appearance wise, the eKUV looks similar to the standard car apart from the badging. The same is the case on the inside, however, the electric KUV makes do without a gear lever. The gear lever nolonger creates a hindrance to the six seat configuration. Mahindra boasts that the new eKUV comes with new connectivity features with remote diagnostics, cabin pre-cooling, and a real-time location tracking. The electric compact crossover could even monitor the driver’s driving pattern and the battery status.

Powering the eKUV would be the same 30kW lithium-ion battery pack which can be found in the eVerito. The vehicle can cover 140 kilometres between charges with a quick charging feature which can charge to 80 percent in less than an hour. However, a new powertrain is also expected to be offered when the car will be launched.

Mahindra Electric, the Indian carmaker’s electric vertical, will be responsible for the eKUV when it will be launched in the country. Prices aren’t announced yet but expect them to be marginally higher like the electric Verito.

Aston Martin AM-RB001

Aston Martin AM-RB001 The English automaker Aston Martin says it will make about 150 of its forthcoming AM-RB0001 hypercars. The street-legal machine is being developed with Red Bull Racing, of Formula 1 fame, and may debut as a prototype as soon as the end of 2017. (Consumers can start purchasing in 2020.) Expect a carbon fiber body, a powerful V-12 engine, and a reported top speed of 250 mph. Naturally, it looks cool enough for a future James Bond to drive. $3 million; astonmartin.com.

Buick Avista

Buick is a brand your grandparents loved, but future drivers may soon find a reason to covet it, too. Why? First, in October 2016, Buick became the first American brand in 30 years to make one of the top three slots in Consumer Reports’s annual ranking of reliability (it came in third). Secondly, this concept car from Buick shows the Detroit company has its head in the right place: The Avista coupe has flowing lines, an aggressive stance, exposed carbon fiber and aluminum accents, and an 400-horsepower, twin-turbo, V-6 engine under the hood. It’s not clear if the Avista will come to market on its own, but elements from its design are already showing up in other Buick models.buick.com.

DeltaWing

The DeltaWing prototype is a remarkable fixture in endurance-oriented racing (including the 24 Hours of Daytona), thanks to its odd shape: the front two wheels are placed close together to give the car an arrow-esque silhouette for aerodynamic efficiency. Now DeltaWing says it is developing two everyday road versions of the car: a two-seat GT and a four-seat sedan, both inspired by the light, energy efficient architecture of the racecar. Known for using approximately half the weight, half the drag, half the horsepower, and significantly less fuel than its competitors, the carmaker’s street vehicles may become even more appealing in a world with increasingly stringent environmental regulations. deltawingtech.com.

Mercedes Benz X-Class Pickup Truck

The pickup truck’s days as a simple workhorse vehicle are numbered, thanks to the introduction of Mercedes-Benz X-Class. The one ton truck comes in two variants: “stylish adventurer” and “powerful explorer”—the latter is the more rugged, extreme terrain version of the popular four-door, short-bed configuration. The luxury interior for both models features brown and white leather as well as many of the lush touches typically associated with the German brand. The X-Class will arrive in late 2017 in Europe. While there are no immediate plans for its arrival in the U.S, the X-Class is likely to affect future pickup introductions much the way the company’s M-Class boosted the luxuriousness of SUVs 20 years ago. mercedes-benz.com.

Rolls-Royce Cullinan Project, 4WD SUV

There’s something new in the works for the iconic, century-old English carmarker: Rolls-Royce’s first-ever four-wheel-drive SUV. Early photos show the car—known for now under its project name, Cullinan—in camouflage colors (to protect details the details from being leaked), but Rolls-Royce styling cues—like a tall, chromed grille and the thin horizontal lights—are visible. The model, due out in 2018, will be constructed with aluminum, a lightweight material that will help make it nimble in off-road driving and yield better gas mileage than might be expected from such a large vehicle. rolls-roycemotorscars.com

Chevrolet FNR Concept

Look too closely at Chevrolet’s FNR concept car and you may wind up driving it. That’s because the car—developed by Shanghai’s Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, a joint venture with General Motors—uses an iris recognition system to identify the owner and enable ignition. Power comes from magnetic, hub-less wheels equipped with electric motors that re-charge wirelessly. Matching the car’s futuristic technology is its design, with front and rear crystal laser lights, and doors that open like a sleek, sci-fi insect. Inside, the front seats swivel 180-degrees to face the rear passengers—a handy detail considering this car can drive itself, using sensors and roof-mounted radar. (The driver can resume control with gesture commands at any time.) All that said, you’ll have to wait and see if Chevrolet decides to bring it to production. gm.com.

Mercedes-Benz F015

The Mercedes-Benz F105 research vehicle offers valuable insight into what the German carmaker thinks the future of car travel will be—and it’s not just that power comes from hydrogen fuel cells instead of gasoline. With an extended wheelbase, a low-slung front end, and a streamlined roof, the F105 is designed with passenger comfort in mind, since the car may be driving itself much of the time. LED exterior lights turn blue when the car is in autonomous mode and switch to white when the car is driven manually. Inside, lounge chairs rotate so passengers can face each other and six display screens spread throughout the car offer passengers a 360-degree virtual arena (controlled by touch, eye-tracking, or gesture), giving access to information about the environment and the car’s entertainment system. mbusa.com

Lamborghini SUV

Imagine an SUV powered by a twin-turbo v-8 engine, a top speed of over 200 miles per hour, and the ability to zoom from 0 to 60 in about three seconds. Car lovers are drooling at the thought, following Lamborghini’s announcement that it will offer a new SUV in 2018—though we still can't be sure of the details. The car will likely resemble the Urus concept the car company exhibited in at the 2012 Beijing Motor Show in 2012, as opposed to the Hummer-like LM002 Lamborghini sold from 1986 to 1992—the last time it made an all-wheel-drive vehicle. Lamborghini says it will make as many as 3,000 new SUVs annually, which will make them a rare sight on the road. Expect pricing to hover around $240,000. lamborghini.com.

Lexus LF-SA Concept Car

With its silver exterior and diminutive size, the Lexus LF-SA concept car—which first debuted at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show—might look like an extraterrestrial rover, but it’s actually what the Japanese carmaker envisions for the small city car of tomorrow. The styling is rugged and confident, reflecting the car’s agility and maneuverability. Inside, a hologram-style digital display takes the place of an analogue instrument panel on the dash. While autonomous driving may be common in the future, the LF-SA is a car for the driver who would rather zip in and out of traffic on her own. lexus.com.

Infiniti Vision Gran Turismo Concept

The luxury cars of the future will be like nothing you’ve driven before—assuming you’re the one driving them at all.

Infiniti Vision Gran Turismo Concept

Infiniti’s sleek, curvy Vision Gran Turismo concept car, which made its physical debut at the 2015 Shanghai Auto Show, takes its design inspiration from Chinese calligraphy and landscape painting. The rear-wheel-drive car sports a V8-engine and fenders that wrap around the wheels. Even though the car will likely never be produced for the road, drivers can still get behind the wheel in Sony’s Gran Turismo 6 video game. gran-turismo.com.

2050 BMW M3 Concept

The luxury cars of the future will be like nothing you’ve driven before—assuming you’re the one driving them at all.

© BMW

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2050 BMW M3 Concept

By 2050, a car with hydrogen electric propulsion may be commonplace in a world worried about pollution, so the coolest thing about this futuristic BMW M3 might actually be the paint job. Envisioned by designer Daniel Nikonchik of Chicago’s Tangent Design Group, the exterior paint incorporates millions of nano-sized cameras linked to a high-definition display inside the vehicle. As a result, the driver is able to see through the body panels as if they were invisible (no blind spots in this car), while also zooming in on distant traffic signs. The vehicle’s interior is no less high tech, with full digital displays that the driver can adjust the orientation or appearance of at the click of a button. That means different downloadable color ways, style switches, and dragable user controls for a fully customizable experience.bmw.com.

Renault unveils autonomous EZ-GO ride-sharing concept

This Tuesday at the Geneva Auto Show, Renault unveiled its electric, autonomous EZ-GO robo-vehicle and ride-hailing concept. Designed for use by public or private services, it could provide both taxi and Uber drivers with some serious competition in the not-too-distant future.

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According to Renault, the idea is that people could summon an EZ-GO car from anywhere in the city via an app, or by using an interface at one of many designated EZ-GO stations. The driverless vehicle would subsequently show up at their location, opening its wide front door, lowering its active suspension and deploying a lighted boarding ramp so they could walk (or roll a wheelchair) on board.

Never exceeding a speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), it would then proceed to transport the passengers to their destination. Four-wheel-steering would allow it to be nimble, while its level 4 autonomous driving capability would enable it to maintain distance from the vehicle in front, stay in its lane, change lanes when needed, and turn by itself at intersections.

All of the sensors that it uses for autonomous driving – such as radar,LiDAR, ultrasound and cameras – are located in a removable antenna located on the rear spoiler, which automatically deploys when the vehicle starts.

The car can carry up to six passengers, who would have an unobstructed 360-degree view out the windows and self-tinting glass roof while in transit – a centrally-located screen would additionally provide them with information such as points of interest, time remaining in their trip, or upcoming stops. What's more, because ride-sharing is a possibility, Renault states that the service could offer a highly competitive price/kilometer ratio.

Described by Renault as combining the flexibility and comfort of an individual vehicle with the efficiency and safety of public transport, EZ-GO builds upon the automaker's previous SYMBIOZ concept for an autonomous private car. The company states that it plans to launch somesort of ride-hailing robo-taxi commercial service by the end of its current Drive The Future 2017-2022 strategic plan