Automotive

In pictures: Concept cars of the 2015 Geneva Motor Show

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Concept cars of the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Concept cars of the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The EDAG Light Cocoon Concept uses a weatherproof skin affixed to a supportive frame (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Tata Motors ConnectNext concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The ConnectNext is an electric car concept with an advanced connected interior (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
A peek behind the large, open entry (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The ConnectedNext features a minimalistic driving interface and electronics like touch center stack, head-up navigation display, rear viewing screens and integrated co-driver display (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Inside the Tata ConnectedNext concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Tata debuts the all-new Hexa concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Tata Hexa SUV Concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The sporty MILA Plus uses eco-friendly materials like bioplastics, natural fibers and recyclable aluminum (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The MILA Plus is powered by a three-cylinder gas engine and front and rear electric motors (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Rinspeed turns the BMW i3 into a fully autonomous "friend on wheels" called Budii (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Budii's most obvious autonomous feature is the telescoping TrackView laser scanner jutting out of the roof (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Rinspeed Budii follows up on last year's XchangEin exploring the possibilities of the self-driving car (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Swiss think tank Rinspeed explores autonomous cars, inside and out, with the Budii concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The interior includes a robotic steering wheel arm, which transforms the cockpit for human or autonomous driving (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Not only does the robotic arm move the steering wheel into place, it winds the included Carl F. Bucherer Manero PowerReserve watch that sits just behind the wheel (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The steering wheel can be secured in front of either seat (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Just like last year, France's ESPERA Sbarro school has some very interesting designs on display (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
ESPERA Sbarro school at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
ESPERA Sbarro school at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
ESPERA Sbarro school at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
ESPERA Sbarro school at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Look closely and you can see the "6" peeking out from behind the grille (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Bentley previews a likely future production model (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The EXP 10 Speed 6 shows the vision for a smaller, sportier Bentley (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Bentley doesn't list powertrain details but hints that the Speed 6 could be a hybrid (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Audi styles the wagon with the Prologue Avant concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Sportspace provides Kia's idea of a sportier wagon (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Kia combines a sporty, exhilarating ride with grand touring estate comfort (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Sportspace is powered by a 250-hp 2.0-liter T-GDI engine (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Audi follows up last year's Prologue concept with the stretched out Prologue Avant (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Prologue Avant has a 455-hp diesel-electric powertrain (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Prologue Avant wears a low-sitting grille and laser-matrix headlamps (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The focus may be the interior, but the Italdesign Gea also has some interesting exterior styling (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Based on Audi's LED/laser headlight technology, the Gea's lights change colors for driving mode: white for human driver, blue for self-piloted mode (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)In
The taillights have the same color-changing LED design as the headlights (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Italdesign shifts focus away from the driver toward the rear passengers (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Passengers control settings via the LG G-Flex-powered Giugiaro crystal ball (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Gea gives the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman some competition for the title of most comfortable cabin in Geneva (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Gea dashboard includes a 12-in instrument panel flanked by dual 3.5-in side-camera screens, along with a 3D holographic display (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The B-pillarless design makes for easy entry and exit, and Italdesign even has a virtual LED-powered "red carpet" to welcome passengers (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Volkswagen pulls the cloth off the Sport Coupe Concept GTE (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Sport Coupe Concept GTE can return 118 mpg (2 l/100 km), according to Volkswagen (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Volkswagen's new concept is powered by a 374-hp plug-in hybrid drive with turbocharged 3.0-liter TSI V6 and front and rear electric motors (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Behind the wheel of the VW Sport Coupe Concept GTE (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Touring Superleggera reveals its Berlinetta Lusso (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Berlinetta Lusso is a restyled Ferrari F12 (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
While Touring overhauls the F12's body, it leaves the 730-hp V12 powertrain untouched (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Berlinetta Lusso isn't exactly a concept car as Touring plans to sell five examples (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
SEAT previews news styling with the 20V20 Concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The SEAT 20V20 Concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Nissan Sway cockpit includes a wide tablet-style display (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Nissan reveals the dramatic Sway concept
Nissan shows a potential new wardrobe for a European hatchback (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Nissan hasn't been afraid to slice and dice its recent concept cars with all kinds of curves, folds and lines (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Honda FCV concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
In addition to the global debut of the Tivoli SUV, Ssangyong uses Geneva to show the Tivoli EVR concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Ssangyong Tivoli EVR range-extending hybrid concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Lexus premieres the LF-SA concept in Geneva (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The LF-SA is the European-designed vision of a tiny, sub-B-segment, urban 2+2 (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
While some outfits are playing with self-driving concepts, the Lexus LF-SA reflects the idea that the "real driving experience will remain the ultimate luxury" in the future (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Aston Martin experiments with a GT crossover in the DBX concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The four-seat interior of the DBX uses nubuck leather (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Aston Martin surprises Geneva attendees with a different style concept car (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Aston imagines the DBX as a fully electric all-wheel drive (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
This Qoros 3 City SUV show car highlights the new QorosQloud 2.0 connectivity suite (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The open door frames are meant to highlight the interior tech, but they also give the Qoros 3 City SUV a more playful look (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Qoros 3 City SUV show car (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Citroën Berlingo Mountain Vibe concept is ready for a trip to the Swiss Alps (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
World premiere of the Infiniti QX30 Concept
The QX30 is powered by a 2.0-liter turbo (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Infiniti QX30 concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Detroit-debuted Q60 Concept appears next to the new QX30 (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Q60 is a near-production 2+2 concept car (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Q60 concept is powered by a twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 engine (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The 2012 Peugeot Onyx concept in all its two-tone glory (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Mitsubishi debuts the Concept XR-PHEV II (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Concept XR-PHEV II is a preview of Mitsubishi's second plug-in hybrid, a follow-up to the Outlander PHEV (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The XR-PHEV II uses a front-mounted plug-in hybrid system with MIVEC engine, 161-hp electric motor/generator, and power drive unit with high-efficiency inverter and variable voltage system (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The XR-PHEV II is designed to be driven largely in all-electric mode, with the engine working as a generator and kicking in when extra power is needed (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Inside the Mitsubishi XR-PHEV II (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The ED TORQ is an electric, self-driving race car concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Italy's ED Group imagines a 360-degree monitor system being used in place of windows (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
ED TORQ concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
ED TORQ concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Global debut of the Suzuki IK-2 compact hatchback concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Suzuki IK-2 is powered by a 1.0-liter Boosterjet turbo engine and will also be offered with a mild hybrid when the production model is introduced in Europe in 2016 (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Qoros plans to launch the QorosCloud 2.0 platform this month (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Concept cars of the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The world premiere of the Nanoflowcell Quant F(Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Quant F offers 1,075 hp from four electric motors (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Quantino uses Nanoflowcell's eco-friendly flow battery technology in an everyday commuting capacity (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Nanoflowcell claims the Quantino can get up to 620 miles (1,000 km) of range per fill-up (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Nanoflowcell Quantino premiere at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Mercedes shows a versatile, functional van concept in the V-ision e (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Mercedes-Benz Concept V-ision e plug-in hybrid (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Nanoflowcell Quant F (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Nanoflowcell Quant F (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Nanoflowcell Quantino (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The ARIA from the ESPERA Sbarro school in France aims to be "as light as air" (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
26 ESPRERA school students completed the ARIA project over the course of 12 weeks (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The ARIA from the ESPERA Sbarro school in France aims to be "as light as air" (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Subaru 2.0-liter turbo-powered ARIA makes its debut in Geneva (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The exposed chassis hints at the car's light build (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Like Rinspeed, German outfit EDAG has a history of presenting odd, thought-provoking concept cars at the Geneva Motor Show (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The color-changing backlighting of the Light Cocoon Concept gives the car a unique glow (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The lattice work of the body eliminates material that's unnecessary for load-bearing integrity (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Quattroruote and IED present the Syrma, a 1:1 model of a 900-hp hybrid supercar (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Syrma was developed by Transportation Design Master students at the Turin Istituto Europeo di Design (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Syrma is imagined with a McLaren F1-style 1+2 seating arrangement and a front laser projection system that signals its presence when in silent electric mode (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The Magna MILA Plus concept
Magna says the MILA Plus can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 4.9 seconds and travel up to 47 miles (75 km) on pure electric power (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Magna MILA Plus (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
Magna MILA Plus (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
The MILA Plus has some interesting design elements, including the side cameras that shoot off the fenders (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)
View gallery - 117 images

In addition to being a hotbed for gorgeous, potential world record-setting supercar machinery, the Geneva Motor Show is also one of the best shows of the year for concept cars that range from "produce it now" to "not in another 1,000 years." We already took a full look at the exotic supercar line-up, now it's time to check in on the many notable concept cars revealed and displayed in Switzerland.

Concept cars are a staple of every major auto show, but Geneva always seems to shine a bit brighter than others in this regard. Not only do the major automakers line up brand-new concept reveals for the show, but a number of parties that we rarely hear from outside Geneva – Italian design houses, automotive think-tanks, transportation design schools, et. al. – present fascinating designs that push the boundaries of what cars can be. This year's concept lineup is as impressive as ever.

Self driving cars take new shapes

Not only does the robotic arm move the steering wheel into place, it winds the included Carl F. Bucherer Manero PowerReserve watch that sits just behind the wheel (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

Vehicle designers picked up where they left off at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, exploring the future of autonomous vehicle design. Rinspeed expanded the vision it began with the 2014 XchangE, revealing the BMW i3-based Budii concept, complete with robotic steering wheel arm and autonomous driving suite.

The B-pillarless design makes for easy entry and exit, and Italdesign even has a virtual LED-powered "red carpet" to welcome passengers (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

Equally intriguing is Italdesign Giugiaro's Gea concept, a vision of a more luxurious self-driving car that greets passengers with an LED-powered "red carpet" and treats them to a comfortable cabin complete with champagne refrigerator drawer. Passengers use the strange smartphone-powered "G" orb to change interior settings between business productivity mode, "exercise in place" wellness mode and sleepy dream mode. The stylish exterior uses LED lights to communicate whether the car is currently in human or autonomous driving mode, and the windows tint to match the Obsidian Blue body color during self-driving trips.

The wagon gets serious sex appeal

The Prologue Avant wears a low-sitting grille and laser-matrix headlamps (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

We know that Europe has an affinity for wagons that markets like the United States don't quite understand. The all-new Kia Sportspace and Audi Prologue Avant deliver a very lucid lesson that should get those outsiders up to speed rather quickly. Both automakers massage the wagon into truly sensuous, desirable concept cars.

Kia combines a sporty, exhilarating ride with grand touring estate comfort (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

The Prologue Avant's 455-hp hybrid powertrain and Porsche-derived rear-steering wheels clearly win the mechanical arms race over the Sportspace's 250-hp 2.0-liter turbo, but the Sportspace's interior adds some innovation with its retractable load-floor roller balls. In terms of styling, we think it's a toss-up, so we'll just leave photos of each here and let you decide which set of curves reigns supreme.

A car, a plane, a carnival ride ...

As we've come to expect, a few outlandish and straight-out weird concept cars refuse to be ignored at this year's Geneva show. The Light Cocoon Concept from EDAG isn't nearly as off-the-wall as last year's hovering Genesis thingamabob, but the color-changing, backlit skeletal body would certainly stand out from every other vehicle in highway traffic.

The ED TORQ is an electric, self-driving race car concept (Photo: C.C. Weiss/Gizmag.com)

Weirder still is the segment-straddling ED TORQ, a self-driving race car with a sharp, pod-like body planted atop a broad chassis platform. The two-part build emphasizes the pristinely white, windowless body – a 360-degree interior monitor system displays the world just outside the body panels in place of the usual windows. According to Italy's ED Group, the electronic-view hardware eliminates the blind spots inherent in traditional vehicle design. We're not sure that a future of electric, self-driving race cars is one we want to be a part of, but ED Group sure seems excited about it, mentioning plans to use the TORQ as a jumping off point for a collaborative, open-source autonomous vehicle research effort.

We'd have awful trouble creating neat subheadings for all the category-defying concept cars we saw in Geneva this year. Instead, we invite you to the gallery to view each one individually.

View gallery - 117 images
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3 comments
Keith Reeder
"We know that Europe has an affinity for wagons that markets like the United States don't quite understand"
That's because Europe doesn't call them "wagons".
They're ESTATE CARS outside of the US.
esthero
About those self-driving cars. 1: As it was mentioned in the television program Top Gear, when you are about the crash, the car may very will decide to kill you (the passenger/owner of the car), instead of the people waiting at the bus stop near you for instance. and 2: I think self-driving cars may very well be the end of sport cars in general. It makes no sense to make a self-driving Ferrari for instance, because a self-driving Ferrari would never break the speed limit.
Riaanh
Nothing of interest to me here, the same old, move along.....What is amazing to me is that the established brands seems to continuously ignore a potential new segment..... the two seater sub 1.0 ton, 100mpg class of vehicle.
See Aptera, X-tracer, LI-ION, Edison2 etc.