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Wed 12 Apr 2006 23:06

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - Imagos

Visited a friend tonight and he's aquired a lovely 1/18 scale model of the concept cat the Ford GT90 which has exqisite detailing, including the tyre tread that reads GT90!

..but alas I asked him a number of questions about this car and concept cars in general which he couldn't answer.

1..where is it now?

2..why spend vast amounts of cash? (a hideous waste of money)

3..where do other makers concept cars go?

4..why do they never go into production?

5..why bother?

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Wed 12 Apr 2006 23:38

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - Sofa Spud

Some concept cars do make it to production.

The oft-quoted and most celebrated examples are the Ford Ka and the Audi TT.

Also two very pretty Pininfarina styling exeercises on the BMC 1800 and 1100 came to nought with BMC but ended up as the Citroen CX and GS models.

Also a recent Jaguar concept car, the Advanced Lightweight Coupe, looks very similar to the new XK8.

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 00:00

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - trancer

They wind up in manufacturer museums I imagine. They build them to get attention at motor shows and test various styling concepts on the public. Also good creative exercises for design teams as I am sure they would all walk off the job if all they ever had to look forward to was designing yet another new bumper for a Fiesta.

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 00:07

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - bell boy

I like that trancer and i agree, or what about a new window winder for the facelift sierra etc
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 00:12

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - Lud

Some are yah-boo-sucks exercises by major constructors, which may make it to production, Porsche Carrera GT sort of things... others are design exercises as mentioned above bits of which may see production ... 'Brilliant idea, a ribbon speedometer...' while yet others are mockups powered by lawnmower engines...

Can't stand the things myself.

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 00:12

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - Stuartli

Many of the futuristic and technological ideas used to create concept cars do eventually make it into production models.

They are a test bed for such research and development.

Remember, no one thought that the Ford Focus concept saloon car in gold at the British Motor Show in 1994 would actually make it into final production.
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 00:25

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - bell boy

Many of the futuristic and technological ideas used to create concept

cars do eventually make it into production models.

They are a test bed for such research and development.

Remember, no one thought that the Ford Focus concept saloon car

in gold at the British Motor Show in 1994 would actually

make it into final production.

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- - - - - - - - - -

What\'s for you won\'t pass you by

yes but nobody would buy it in gold though
--
\"a little man in a big world/\"

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 00:32

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - Lud

Actually although everyone says it's terrific and one might even quite like one of those five cylinder slingshot specials, suitably toned down, I must confess to a deep-seated prejudice against the Focus, inexplicable. Don't mind the similar-looking Citroen C4 although I bet the fixed boss steering wheel won't last for ever... Rolls-Royces and Daimlers used to have them in the thirties.

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 00:53

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - Adam {P}

You can go off people very quickly you know.

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 01:40

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - Dynamic Dave

yes but nobody would buy it in gold though

Can we drop the ever so frequent and monotonous comments about the colour of Adam's car please.

DD.

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Thu 13 Apr 2006 10:03

Concept cars.. a number of questions? - BB

I work for Jaguar cars and carry out feasibility on potential models / concept cars. The main reason why concept cars do not make it into production is because they are not feasible economically or engineering wise! They are what they are, a concept. I can't really talk much about the light weight coupe, but it wasn't a co-incidence that it was shown off at motor shows and then hey presto 18 minths later a near identical model rolls off the production line.

Our concept cars either go on display, or in a dark room after they have been on show. I have actually seen the original DB7 -the one that was taken from Jaguar and given to Aston. It was kept in a old service room at Browns Lane.

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