Probably everything on this car except the fuel filler cap is custom or has been customized. A how-low-can-you-go custom-designed fiberglass body wraps itself around a 6.0-liter, 400 hp Cadillac engine. The engine cover runs from that hot-rod nose all the way to the bulkhead and then continues in one sweep to form the center console. The console works much like your phone, going dark when not in use and lighting up again when you touch it. And yes, that’s an iPhone slotted in there. And at the corners are 20-inchers up front and 22-inchers out back suspended by aircraft strut suspension arms and wearing six-pot calipers front and rear.

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Whilst under the DaimlerChrysler Corporation the Dodge Charger was rescued from obscurity and relaunched with a brand new model in 2006 following its debut at the Chicago Auto Show. Sales figures have so far proved to be positive but there have been lingering rumours circling the internet that it could well be axed as it competes with Crysler’s other full-size vegicle – the 300. If the boffins at the Pentastar do decide to continue with the Charger, development should be well under way for an all new model for launch possibly in 2012 or 2013.

As a helping hand for the next generation model we present a series of renderings of the 2010 Dodge Charger Concept – the brain child of artist/designer/illustrator Michael Leonhard.

“The Dodge Charger is a muscle car legend. The sound of the 1968-1970 Charger was my starting point to rebirth/redesign the legendary Dodge Charger for 2010. A bad-ass two-door Coupe that pays Homage to the days using the design characteristics and styling cues from the original with a touch of 21st century refreshment. Modern and futuristic incorporating today’s styling and design standards. The result is a car that could rule the road like Darth Vader rules outer space.” commented Leonard.

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BMW’s supercar icon, the M1, blew out the candles at the Concorso d’Eleganza at Villa d’Este this weekend. In honor of the car’s thirtieth birthday, BMW rolled out the new BMW M1 Homage, a concept/design study that pays tribute to the original M1 and shows what could be possible if BMW were to produce a new mid-engined sports car. Follow the jump for the breakdown.

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Last November at the 2007 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Hot Wheels unveiled a troop of concepts to celebrate its 40th anniversary. These new Hot Wheels cars were not designed by everyone’s favorite 1:64 scale model toy maker, but rather were all new designs penned by designers from Lotus, Chevy, Ford, Mitsubishi, Dodge and Honda. The Lotus Concept, Mitsubishi Double Shotz, Dodge XP-07, Gangster Grin from Ford, Chevroletor (GM), and Honda Racer, along with Hot Wheels’ own HW-40, are going on tour around the United States in August, so keep an eye out.

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Global car makers are showing off their latest models at the ongoing Beijing International Auto Show. Exhibitors are trying to grab the attention of more viewers.

Global car makers are showing off their latest models at the ongoing Beijing International Auto Show.

Audi has led all the exhibitors to hold a media conference, bringing its high-end sports car A5, which is now available in car showrooms. It also made the first public introduction for its strategic model, the compact crossover Q5.

US car maker Ford has got the largest booth at the exhibition. The company’s famous brands, such as Ford, Mazda and Volvo, have all gathered here. It made the global debut for its Ford Carnival, which will start selling later this year in Europe and China simultaneously.

Zou Wenchao, VP of Changan Ford Mazda, said, “This model was designed with a dynamic concept. We have taken the domestic market into consideration. It will be a good choice for young people.”

The company also showed its latest achievements on energy saving, handling and safety.

Home grown brands are not lagging behind. Chery has brought 26 models here, 12 of which are making their debut. Meanwhile, Brilliance Auto has designed its booth in a unique traditional Chinese style.

Global car makers are showing off their latest models at the ongoing Beijing International Auto Show.

Yang Bo, VP of Brilliance Jinbei Auto, said, “We are home grown brands. Our design is telling the public that we want to enter the international market.”

More than 220 overseas companies and 18 hundred domestic companies have attended the auto show, while over 8,000 journalists are covering the event. For both car makers and media reporters, this year’s auto show is not only a platform for performance, but also an arena for competition.

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Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, the nation’s biggest automaker, introduced two Chinese local editions of its latest models at the 2008 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition, Sunday, in a move to tap into the market with the most potential. Hyundai Motor launched its luxury sedan, Genesis, on the kick-off day of the motor show at the China International Exhibition Center. It will be launched in China as the “Rohens.” “All (of Hyundai Motors’ philosophy) is integrated into the Rohens. I am sure this vehicle will become a representative sedan in the Chinese market,” Eom Gwang-heum, managing director of Hyundai Motor, said. Hyundai launched the sedan earlier this year in a move toward the high-end market segment to take on leading marquees like BMW and Lexus. A total of 16 Hyundai vehicles will be on display at the Beijing motor show, including Rohens, as well as a concept coupe model of Genesis and Yuedong, a local model of the maker’s steady seller compact car Avante. The motor company’s other division, Kia Motor, also presented its large-scale SUV Mojave, renamed “Barui” locally, at the show. Kia is expecting the launch of Barui, which means “the best sharpness” in Chinese, to facilitate the company’s sales there in its trademark SUV lineup, including Sorrento and Sportage. The flagship sports vehicle will be on sale in China from July. “Mojave (Barui) is our best-ever recreational vehicle model, full of style and high-end technology. We hope the model will attract lots of Chinese drivers pursuing active and vigorous lifestyles,” Kia Motors said. At Beijing, Kia is presenting 13 vehicles, including KOUP, a coupe concept car that was first introduced at the New York Motor Show earlier this year. Hyundai-Kia is set to make the exhibition a stepping stone for the brand to be better recognized in China amid recent efforts for the market. Hyundai Motor started production at its second manufacturing plant in Beijing this month, doubling the company’s production capacity to 600,000. Kia is also putting more weight on China, and broke ground for a second plant in Jiangxu Province last year. It aims to sell 200,000 vehicles this year and 440,000 in 2010, when the new plant is completed. Hyundai, which advanced into China in 2002, five years later than Kia, has sold 958,000 cars so far. Sales of Kia vehicles are at about 470,000. The Chinese car market is expanding ferociously _ now second in sales and third in production. The automobile frenzy is being fueled by the country’s skyrocketing economic growth. The new middle class spawned a social tendency to stress consumption as well as quality of life. Vehicle sales in China are expected to exceed 6 million units this year and 10 million in 2013, with demand increasing as well for full-scale cars. Last year, the luxury sedan market grew to 200,000 units, up over 34 percent year-on-year, and 357,000 for SUVs, which soared nearly 50 percent. Almost 900 vehicles, including 55 concept cars, will be on show at the biennial automobile exhibition. The motor show, one of the three biggest Chinese automobile exhibitions, continues through Monday.

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By most accounts, Honda originally planned to show off the next generation NSX to the seething throngs at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. But due to the less-than-positive reception the Advanced Sports Car concept garnered at the Detroit show, Honda’s designers headed back to the drawing board to redesign the front clip housing the 550 hp, 4.5-liter V10.

Now, Autocar has gotten word from a Honda insider that the NSX is bound for the 2009 Tokyo show, sporting a new front end that “has Chevrolet Corvette undertones” and is slated to for production in the fall of 2010.

The new NSX will supposedly kick off Honda’s first serious attempt at producing rear-wheel-drive vehicles to rival BMW, Mercedes, Lexus and Infiniti, including new platforms that will underpin Acura’s larger sedan offerings and an S2000-based Acura sports car that takes aim at the Mercedes SLK. The launch of Acura’s 7-series fighter isn’t due to make an appearance until 2015. For Honda’ sake, let’s hope they can expedite development to make it happen around the turn of the decade.

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