2013 Sbarro Autobau Sports Cars Concept

Swiss performance car and replica builder Sbarro introduced another new concept at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show this year.  Powered by a 500-horsepower 12-cylinder engine from Ferrari, the Sbarro Autobau is certain to tear up the pavement.

2013 Sbarro Autobau

Whether you love it or hate it, the Autobau is the only car of its kind at Geneva. While we mention the three-pointed front end, a la Speed Racer, it has also been compared with the Cylon Raider from Battlestar Galactica and the Pink Panther-mobile.

Designed by Frank Sbarro, the one-off concept is just wrong from every conceivable angle. The recessed front end looks like something out of a horror film, complete with what appear to the naked eye as limb-shearing saw blades. The flat windshield. The flaring nostrils. The up-swinging cockpit entry. Wrong, wrong and wronger.

The only thing right about the concept is the 550 hp Ferrari V12 engine fitted in back. But even that waste of a good engine should be construed as indisputably wrong.

Wow, we thought we’d seen some weird, head-jerking concepts and sports cars in Geneva already, but this one takes the pie–probably the entire bakery. The car was built as a piece of hate-art an homage to Swiss racing legend Fredy Lienhard.

Some of us were just barely mastering our Big Wheels back in the 1970s, but we imagine most of the concepts at those Salon de Geneves all looked hairy and wild. You know what we're talking about. Star Trek meets George Barris design language, lower than your waist, nonsensical ingress/egress mechanisms, $5 afterthought interiors and colors pulled from the center of only the finest quaalude trips. Kinda like SEMA cars actually, but with European sensibility and sophistication.

Meet the Sbarro Autobau, a concept car we know almost nothing about but really enjoy looking at. Yes, it's totally non-conventional (hey, it's a Sbarro), and according to the Francais-only marketing material the Autobao is a tribute to Swiss racing stud Fredy Lienhard. It's also (supposedly) packin' 12-cylinders, 500 horses and weighs about 3,200 pounds.

Sbarro designed the 1,500-kilogram car in the memory of his friend, Fredy Lienhard. The Swiss driver of car races has competed since the 1970s. He has had outstanding victories at the 24 Hours of Zolder in 1997 and 24 Hours of Daytona in 2002.

2013 V Concept Ferrante Sports Car Design

2013 V Concept Ferrante Sports Car Design

The Named after its Italian designer Fabio Ferrante and his girlfriend (whose name begins with V, apparently), the curvaceous Design V is a concept you can genuinely envision seeing out and about on the roads of Italy. However, its design is largely based on American muscle cars produced during the '60s – mainly the 1967 Chevrolet Impala that has a starring role in cult TV show, Supernatural.

2013 V Concept Ferrante Sports Car Design 

The V Concept is a study of a modern four-seater sportscar that pays homage to the 1967 Chevrolet Impala, reinterpreting in a modern way the proportions and a number of styling cues of the 1960s American Muscle Cars. Though the Ferrante Design V sounds more like a posh new perfume (“For him, for her – think Ferrante”), in fact it’s the name of a luxury 2+2 sports coupé concept vehicle.

2013 V Concept Ferrante Sports Car Design 

A key similarity to the Impala can be seen in the Design V’s elongated and low bonnet, though Ferrante has added his own person touch – evident in those swollen wheel arches that are almost impossible to miss.

2013 V Concept Ferrante Sports Car Design

Sadly, the designer has no plans to put the concept into production – but he says that if it were to become a reality it would be powered by a hybrid powertrain, adding to the appeal of this already desirable car.

2013 V Concept Ferrante Sports Car Design

Let's hope Chevrolet comes across it, because we think it would sit nicely alongside the American marque's current line-up of cars.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9 - Pagani Exotic Sports Cars

A decade later, Pagani Zondas remain near the top of the exotic sports car list. They've been tested fast in a straight line, reaching 0–60 mph in the mid-3-second range and proved able to get around the Nürburgring in a video game-quick 7:27.82.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

Every Zonda features another highly prized quality among exotic cars: rarity, with fewer than 100 in existence.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

While lacking the classic, flowing beauty of a Pininfarina-designed Ferrari, the Zonda's shape is an attention-getter. It stops you in your tracks. We didn't think the design would age well, but a decade down the line it still rivets attention and holds it — from that low nose with its four small headlamps back to the big center exhaust port corralling four outlets. A photographer's dream.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

The attractive interior is a mix of modern (carbon fiber), retro (toggle switches) and art deco (the design of instruments and controls) accented with aluminum and fine leather.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

That Zonda body style is done as a sports coupe or a roadster in three levels, all with a mid-mounted 7.3-liter AMG/Mercedes-Benz V-12. The S version comes in at 555 bhp and 553 lb.-ft. of torque, the F with 602 bhp and 561 lb.-ft., and the F Club sport dynos at 650 bhp and 575 lb.-ft.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

All use 6-speed manual transmissions, Brembo disc brakes and have the sort of A-arm suspensions you'd expect in a race car. Plus the level of suspension and aerodynamic tuning that allows 210-plus-mph top speeds.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

Being in a Zonda at speed is a pure exotic-car moment. Like a Ferrari Enzo, there are nicely crafted touches from the museum-quality carbon-fiber finish to air conditioning that keep this from being a race car on the streets. Still, you are not cushioned or coddled or kept from enjoying the unfiltered fun of a truly fast machine. One with a price that likely will soak up $500,000 or more.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

Sadly, the Zonda is nearing the end of its run. But don't mourn the supercar too much as the next step Pagani takes is pointed at the U.S.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

Zonda production will round out at 100 with an added model called the R, a track-oriented version in the image of Ferrari's FXX. Looking like a still-more-aggressive Zonda — if you can imagine such a thing — the R will have a 750-bhp version of the AMG V-12.

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

While that project is being wrapped up in the original factory in San Cesario sul Panaro, both a new factory and car are being prepped for 2013. Code-named the C9, the new Pagani will be a carbon-fiber machine, possibly powered by a Mercedes/AMG V-8, so how about the SLR's supercharged V-8 with its 617 bhp and 575 lb.-ft. of torque?

2013 Pagani Zonda C9

Here's the best news: Having been frustrated in attempts to certify the Zonda in the U.S., Pagani will design the C9 for sale worldwide. We might see the new car at the 2013 Geneva show. Although there haven't been any concept drawings yet, we can count on the new Pagani being exciting...and fast. And expensive.

The Zonda nears the end of its run, but a new exotic is in the offing from Horacio Pagani.

2013 Pagani C9 Sports Car Concept

Argentine-born Horacio Pagani’s sports-car company—Pagani Automobili S.p.A., based near Modena, Italy—has been hand-building the exquisite mid-engine masterpiece known as the Zonda since early 2000. 

Pagani C9

But now Pagani says the time has come to produce “a brand new car from concept.” The Pagani Zonda has served as one of the most exotic sports cars in the world for 10 years running. Now it’s time for an all-new model: the C9.

Pagani C9

Here we have the best spy shots in the past time that we’ve seen and I bet that you will appreciate them very much because of the details that they are revealing caused by the distance that the photos were taken and also because it was not on the road.

Pagani C9

Unadulterated, bombastic carbon-fiber insanity--the current Pagani Zonda and its several variants are the embodiment of what it is to be a supercar. And its replacement, the C9, looks set to have even more more, and it'll be headed to the U.S., as well. 

Pagani C9

Sadly, these latest spy shots show the car in a very unfortunate state. The driver of this prototype managed to lose control and crash into a center barrier of a highway in Germany while testing the car at high speeds. Fortunately, he was left relatively unscathed.

Pagani C9

This 2013 Pagani C9 will come with a 6.0 liter V12 engine sourced from Mercedes-AMG which is able to develop up to 700 horsepower and also a maximum torque of 737 pound-feet. I may say that this is pretty amazing but taking a look at the shapes of this car, it is pretty understandable the power that it comes with.

Pagani C9

Thanks to a sharp eyed guy in South Africa we got some photos of the new Pagani Supercar, the C9. It will feature a 6.0 liter V12 Mercedes-Benz AMG engine delivering some 700 horsepower and 1000 Nm of torque. When the production in on in late 2013, the Pagani will cost around € 900.000 so you still have some time to save your money.

Pagani C9

BTW, anyone have a sticker for me, Highspeed testing vehicle and thats even Gouverment approved.

Planned production is tipped at just 60 cars per year, though that's an almost four-fold increase from the current 16 hand-built cars per year. The boost comes from a planned move to a new production facility. Construction will still be a painstaking process, however, as the C9 is a new car from the ground up, with 3,770 new parts. As Pagani ramps up for C9 production, the Zonda will slowly cease construction by September. Expect a debut towards the end of the year.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The result of close technological collaboration between Venturi Automobiles and Michelin, the Venturi Volage, marks a major step forward in the evolution of the Automobile. This new Venturi incorporates innovations which have enabled radical changes in terms of the vehicle’s architecture, style, dynamic behaviour and, more generally, the design of a modern vehicle. All these changes constitute several world premières which, with the presentation of the Venturi Volage, reinforce Venturi’s capability for constant innovation, as well as its position as the most advanced company in the field of electric vehicles.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The Volage takes the electric sports car concept and really runs with it — the all carbon-fiber car is equipped with the first application we've seen of the Michelin Active Wheel, the compact unit using in-wheel electric drive motors is installed at all four corners with a suspension driven by a second set of e-motors. With 4 drive wheels with active suspension, the Venturi Volage has no equivalent. “Michelin Active Wheel” technology in fact incorporates 2 electric motors per wheel (1 for suspension and 1 for drive), ie. a total of 8 electric motors piloted in real time by spearhead electronics.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

Playing down the mechanical aspect in favor of electronics, close to the concept of a robot, this car belongs to a new era, the digital era. Thanks to a dashboard touch screen, the driver can configure the vehicle entirely as he wishes. This total control marks significant progress in terms of management, particularly of the energy stored in the car’s batteries: the driver can, for example, decide to give preference in certain cases to range rather than power, comfort rather than speed, an important factor for an electric car.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The only part that the Venturi Volage shares with the Venturi Fétish is its carbon fiber bodywork. Developed by the Venturi Design Office, this body is still a unique concept worldwide, as it is the only one to have been specifically designed to be that of an electric car and thus carry batteries within its very structure. The ideal distribution of the Venturi Volage’s masses - 45% at the front, 55% at the rear – and its perfectly mastered weight of 1,075 kilos enable it to attain 100 km/hr (62 mph) in less than 5 seconds.

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

A real demonstration of spearhead technology, the car presented in its world première is entirely operational and prefigures the production of a limited series of this model, scheduled as from 2013. Like the Venturi Fétish assembled in our workshops in Monaco, the Venturi Volage will be assembled by hand, in the form of very limited production. 

Venturi Electric Sports Car Volage Concept

The technological repercussions of these two cars positioned at the very top end of the market are to be found on other vehicles bearing the Venturi brand, enabling as many people as possible to benefit from the firm’s advances in the field of sustainable mobility.

Citroen 2020 Dakar Rally Vehicle Concept Car By Chu Hyung Kwon

The futuristic Citroen 2020 Dakar Rally Vehicle concept from designer Chu Hyung Kwon came forth as the designer’s desire to have more high-tech Dakar Rally vehicles, which have technology at par with that of F1 racing. The basic theory behind this structural skin is that the core is the strongest part of the vehicle, while the outer extremities (the structural surface) displays relative flexibility. This is the basic concept behind the reduction of shock from external elements. A main feature of the concept appears to be elasticity; also, I’m totally in favor of elasticity, the more, the better. But that’s beside the point. The concept uses elasticity for safety and to some point, for stability.

Citroen 2020 Dakar Rally Vehicle Concept Car By Chu Hyung Kwon

An elastic capsule surrounds the driver and works to reduce/ prevent injuries in event of a collision. Elastic working at the concept’s rear helps it to get back on its wheels if it is ever knocked off upside down. The wheels are a special arrangement, each with a number of sections. In case of a puncture or damage, only the said section needs to be removed, rather than having to deal with the entire wheel.

Citroen 2020 Dakar Rally Vehicle Concept Car By Chu Hyung Kwon

Shock resistance. With modern advances such as the following, even the most severe of impacts will be dissipated: AeroGel, Carbon/Kevlar composite, and liquid metal. along with the formentioned simple self-righting system and the ability to climb right up the side of a pit make this Structural Skin car quite the formidable foe.

2013 Citroen Sports Coupés Survolt Concept

CITROËN is proposing a new automotive vision with Survolt. Initiated by the Revolte concept car revealed at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, Survolt is the continuation of CITROËN’S exploration of distinctive and original electric vehicles. Survolt Concept turns received notions through its radically new vision in a consummate blend of high-fashion glamour and motor-racing extravagance.

2013 Citroen Survolt Concept

Citroen makes a car a typical electric vehicle to answer the wishes of the customer to overcome one’s limits, take things further and dare. It takes the genetic material of Revolte and adds an extroverted sports dimension to the mix. The Citroen Survolt Concept has been declared at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

2013 Citroen Survolt Concept

Citroen Survolt Concept is powered by electricity, thus combining sports performance with environmental respect and sustainable development. Still particularly rare in the racing world, this technological solution also embodies a previously unthinkable alliance. But Citroen dares and creates, transgressing conventions to better sublimate them. With irreproachable ecological credentials, the drivetrain blends driving pleasure, thrills, performance and vitality, and all in extreme comfort, since the car is silent in operation.

2013 Citroen Survolt Concept

Survolt features two-tone paint, hues of fuchsia and charcoal grey, and plays with materials and volumes. It is further characterized by the strong contrasts between the voluptuous bonnet and and sculpted flanks with emphatic wheel arches. At the front, the distinctive Citroen badge reigns above the large oval-shaped grille, while its slim and horizontal head lamps are inspired by sports coupés. At the rear, Survolt features the elegant light signature of Revolte together with a spoiler in an essential reference to motor sport. Inside, Survolt’s cockpit is designed like a floating cell with a glass setting held between chrome-finished roll bars.

2013 Citroen Survolt Concept

Citroen Survolt Concept activated by electric drivetrain and equipped with luxury accessories. It’s has compact dimensions – 3.85 m long, 1.87 m wide and 1.20 m high so the display is sporty and elegant style supermini. At the front, the distinctive vehicle badge reigns elegantly above the large oval-shaped grille, its centre home to the striking double chevron. The body is slim, horizontal head lamps, inspired by high-performance sports coupés, exert a magnetic appeal, while an LED light signature adds a contemporary, high-tech touch.

2013 Citroen Survolt Concept