Every so often you may see a car in a newspaper article or
online that strikes you as something out of the ordinary. These cars are often
made to tease you about who manufactured it, as well as contain some features
that are often too good to be true. Concept cars are the projected image of a
car manufacturer in their simplest form: their ideals, innovations and designs,
but there is also a lot more behind these radical designs.
Concept cars are nothing new, they have been on the drawing
boards of car designers the world over for the past century. The idea was to
let all of the young design teams of manufacturers create something out of
their wildest dreams on paper that would help inspire the latest generation of
vehicles that were produced.
Design: Refined
Concept car designs are based on the idea of the refinement
of good design. Designs for cars that featured innovative shapes and lines were
allowed to be refined from their original drawings to then be tested in the
real world to see how they would match up.
Some of these iconic concept cars have actually made it to
market, while others have remained a fantasy. Some of the most successful cars
that have made the switch from concept car to production vehicle include the
Chevrolet Volt, the Honda NSX as well as the formidable Kia. The Kia being the
latest example of great innovation in design as well as curb appeal.
Branding and Innovative New Concepts
The design process for a new car includes the initial
concept of the vehicle itself. This initial concept may not actually include
images of the car, but instead a representation of the car manufacturer’s brand
image, its philosophy as well as the company ethos. So, for brands like Kia
that thrive on small, sporty and innovative vehicles, the idea for the car is
already there, just a lick of paint and some stylish lines are what is needed
to put flesh to the bones of the finished product.
The concept car is featured in many automobile shows around
the world to get a feel of a car brand, as well as an insight into possible
future innovations that may appear in upcoming models. Ground-breaking features
such as all-glass construction, robotic driving and hover ability may be a
little too far down the road, but be sure to keep an eye out for the latest
innovations in safety and aerodynamics when the next round of concept cars are
splashed all over the motoring press later this year.
Image Source: KIA
