Hyundai HED-5 Concept to debut at Geneva 08

Hyundai will be exhibiting a 6-seater MPV concept at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show called the Hyundai HED-5 Concept, a joint project with Recaro, LG and Bayer. The HED-5 Concept is an attempt at making one of Hyundai’s most environmentally responsible vehicles so far, with a 29% reduction in CO2 emissions over an equivalent vehicle. Only concept drawings have been released at the moment, but we will see the concept vehicle in metal at the Geneva show pretty soon. Are we looking at a preview of the future of the Hyundai Matrix?

Suzuki Equator based on Nissan Frontier unveiled

The new Suzuki Equator was unveiled at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show and as expected thanks to earlier leaked images and an already established relationship between Nissan and Suzuki, it is revealed that the Equator is essentially a badge-engineered Nissan Frontier, and is even built alongside the Frontier at Nissan’s Smyrna plant.

The Suzuki Equator is aimed at Suzuki bike and ATV lovers, who might want a truck with a matching badge for their vehicles. It will come in both Extended Cab and Crew Cab body styles, and power will go to either the two rear wheels or all four wheels via a selectable 4WD system.

There are no diesel powertrain options, instead you have a 2.5 liter DOHC inline-4 putting out 152 horsepower and 232Nm of torque, or a larger 4.0 liter DOHC V6 engine with 261 horsepower and 381Nm of torque. These are both Nissan engines and they are mated to a 5-speed auto for both engines, or a 5-speed manual for the inline-4 and a 6-speed for the V6.

Nissan Pivo 2 to debut at Tokyo 2007

Nissan will be displaying an updated version of their Nissan Pivo concept, rather straightforwardly called the Nissan Pivo 2 concept. It continues with the original Pivo’s fully rotating cabin design which makes the concept of reversing your car obsolete. The Pivo 2 adds In-Wheel 3D motors for the car’s four wheels. These wheels can turn 90 degrees to allow the Pivo 2 to move sideways like a crab as well as the normal forward and reverse movement.

The little robot thing you will see in the photos after the jump is what Nissan calls a Robotic Agent, which can communicate to you everything from basic vehicle functions through to the nearest available parking and can have conversations with you in Japanese and English.

For readers who are in Japan, you can see the Pivo 2 displayed before the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show on the 13th and 14th of October 2007 at the Nissan Ginza Gallery in Chuo-ku, Tokyo from 10am to 8pm.

Lamborghini Embolado

This is the Lamborghini Embolado Concept, designed by Italian design student Luca Serafini. Serafini dreams to work at Lamborghini, and he created the Embolado Concept with the same dimensions as a Gallardo.

For those who are wondering what Embolado means exactly, it comes from the Spanish festival Toro Embolado which means bull in balls - an event where balls of flammable material are attached to a bull’s horns and lit on fire. This bull is then set free in the streets at night.

The Embolado Concept features a cab forward-ish design that is not very common in the world of supercars, having only appeared on the Pagani Zonda in recent years.

Mazda Taiki Concept featuring RENESIS 16X engine

Mazda’s latest Mazda Taiki Concept will be making it’s international debut at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, and is the fourth concept car int he Nagare design series. Taiki means atmosphere in Japanese, and this concept coupe is meant to create the feeling of the flow of air in the atmosphere protecting the earth.

This is achieved via the full-glass canopy which gives the car a liberating feeling, yet you are protected from the elements within. The rest of the car is inspired by a pair of Hogoromo, which are flowing robes which in Japanese legend supposedly enable a celestial maiden to fly.

Under all that design execution lies a front engine rear wheel drive layout that uses the next generation RENESIS 16X, which has it’s displacement enlarged to 1.6 liters for the first time in a long history of production rotaries that were 1.3 liters in displacement.

Volkswagen NSF

While Tata seems to be right on track with their expected 1 lakh (US$2500) pricing of their 1 lakh car, Volkswagen’s NSF (New Small Family) project has exceeded the originally intended 8,000 Euro price and is now expected to cost about 8,950 Euro.

Volkswagen intends to sell 462,000 units of the NSF annually, with 100,000 badged as Volkswagens in Europe and another 200,000 badged as Seats or Skodas, with the remaining 162,000 units to be sold in emerging markets.