Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

making them prototypes, not concepts.

what come first? the chicken or the egg?

a concept car is generally a car manufacturer show-boating technologies.
a prototype is more of a work in progress or the early visions of a new model.

there hasn't been a recent ferrari 'concept' car that has made it into production.
(maybe the fxx, but it's a limited track use only car based on an enzo)

what come first? the chicken or the egg?

Think this one deserves a thread of it's own =P

a concept car is generally a car manufacturer show-boating technologies.
a prototype is more of a work in progress or the early visions of a new model.

there hasn't been a recent ferrari 'concept' car that has made it into production.
(maybe the fxx, but it's a limited track use only car based on an enzo)

a bit of a fine line to be honest, for instance would you call this an concept or an prototype?

http://www.motortrend.com/future/concept_cars/112_0603_aston_martin_rapide_concept/index.html

here´s another example of a concept car that actually went into production eventually (it was labelled as a show car, i.e. a concept)

An AMC AMX which later after some prototype, became the AMC Gremlin.

a bit of a fine line to be honest, for instance would you call this an concept or an prototype?

http://www.motortrend.com/future/concept_cars/112_0603_aston_martin_rapide_concept/index.html

Neither, that's a production car. It started as a concept, then moved to a prototype, and is now going to be produced for the public to buy.

a bit of a fine line to be honest, for instance would you call this an concept or an prototype?

http://www.motortrend.com/future/concept_cars/112_0603_aston_martin_rapide_concept/index.html

Neither, I'd call it bland...

here´s another example of a concept car that actually went into production eventually (it was labelled as a show car, i.e. a concept)

That's the key word, it is now a production car.

If it gets as far as the concept stage, it's a concept car, if it gets to the prototype stage, it's a prototype, if it finally gets produced, it's a production car.

Neither, I'd call it bland...

Along with the Panamera.

That's the key word, it is now a production car.

If it gets as far as the concept stage, it's a concept car, if it gets to the prototype stage, it's a prototype, if it finally gets produced, it's a production car.

that make sense, so a concept car isn't entirely useful when it spark some idea and reaction.

Along with the Panamera.

Well let's face it, it's no oil painting is it? ;)

that make sense, so a concept car isn't entirely useful when it spark some idea and reaction.

Well to me, the concept shows the perfect idea of the car, the prototype is a little more realistic with regards to building the thing, the production is once again watered down to comply with rules and regulations. It's the reason I never really pay attention to concept cars.

what come first? the chicken or the egg?

Think this one deserves a thread of it's own =P

What comes first, the post or the thread? :}

Well to me, the concept shows the perfect idea of the car, the prototype is a little more realistic with regards to building the thing, the production is once again watered down to comply with rules and regulations. It's the reason I never really pay attention to concept cars.

The difference between a concept and a prototype is that a concept is done for other people to look at, and a prototype is done for the carmaker's own internal testing and is generally secret.

A concept car will show off a new design direction or some new technology, will appear at all the big motor shows and on the covers of car magazines and will, they hope, generate lots of excitement. A prototype (in the car industry at least) is generally a secret, handbuilt and very expensive early version either of a whole new model or an individual component/system used for testing and development. If it's just a component or system being tested you might not be able to spot that it's a prototype, but if it's a whole new model it will generally be swathed in black bin bags to keep the styling secret. These are the things you see in 'scoop' pictures in car magazines. I've driven lots of them and the reaction you get from other drivers is hilarious - they try to chase you while fumbling for their camera-phones, especially in Italy...

it's nice to see some volkswagen love on the thread.

not strictly porn, but here are two of my previous dubs:

and some porn to keep from going too far off track:

what come first? the chicken or the egg?

Which did you shag first?

johnnyhotdog - seeing your posts (and others) reminds me of how much I want to buy an old classic heap to restore from the ground up. Problem is everything that ever catches my eye turns out to cost about £50k for a crappy shed-rotted shell. I'm at the stage now where I don't even want to say the name of the car I want for fear of the price going through the roof.

I'll probably end up with a Renault 5 at this rate...

what come first? the chicken or the egg?

Think this one deserves a thread of it's own =P

What comes first, the post or the thread? :}

johnnyhotdog - seeing your posts (and others) reminds me of how much I want to buy an old classic heap to restore from the ground up. Problem is everything that ever catches my eye turns out to cost about £50k for a crappy shed-rotted shell. I'm at the stage now where I don't even want to say the name of the car I want for fear of the price going through the roof.

I'll probably end up with a Renault 5 at this rate...

Like this?

I had one as my second car. Bought for £100 pounds I sold the number plate to a snooker geek for £300. 147MAN

I'll probably end up with a Renault 5 at this rate...

no bad thing in my opinion. it's a car i wouldn't mind owning:

it's nice to see some volkswagen love on the thread.
My old Mähle rims ended up in Denmark on this cool patina ride (here with a small test engine):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNnrXcdPXBU&fmt=18

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLmbfD1QqMk&fmt=18

And just in case you can't get enough
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHySrTzyEyg

no bad thing in my opinion. it's a car i wouldn't mind owning:

It's not a Renault 5 Turbo unless it's got an exhaust you can fit your head in.

Old shape VW Corrado VR6

Old shape VW Corrado VR6

Yum yum. I almost bought a Corrado last year. Always liked them.

if we're playing the corrado game......