Lamborghini

was in the off-road business before the cult classic LM002

, cooperating with MTI

on a military vehicle concept dubbed Cheetah

in the mid-seventies that it hoped to sell to the U.S. armed forces. The 4,500-pound, fiberglass-bodied troop carrier used a 5.9-liter, 180-horsepower Chrysler

engine mounted in back. Hardly Cheetah-like, the vehicle delivered lackluster performance and didn't handle well.

Even worse, it was a badly translated copy

of a vehicle already made

by another firm, which landed MTI and Lamborghini in court when the Cheetah was revealed at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show. The U.S. military tested the sole prototype and totaled it.

Perhaps this is the worst part: the Cheetah was such an expensive failure for Lamborghini that it was one of the reasons the company was unable to follow through on its commitment to BMW

for the M1

project.

And with that history lesson digested, you'll get even more wry satisfaction from the narrator's dialogue in the Cheetah promo video, which you'll find just below

.

Continue reading Watch a vintage Lamborghini Cheetah SUV promo

Watch a vintage Lamborghini Cheetah SUV promo

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

Say goodbye to the Maserati Kubang

, and say hello to...well, we don't know what it'll be called yet, but we'll be seeing it come January 2014.

According to Automotive News Europe, Maserati

will unveil the production version of its SUV - complete with a new name - at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show

, a little over a year and a half from now. In the meantime, however, the Kubang concept (pictured above) that previews its form will be put into retirement.

This after the concept has made the rounds on the international circuit including the Frankfurt Motor Show

(where it was first unveiled back in September), in Dubai (where it was shown to a large portion of its target market), at the Detroit Auto Show

(near where it will be built alongside the Jeep Grand Cherokee

on which it is based, with engines shipped in from Italy) and at the Beijing Motor Show

, where it is currently on display for what is reportedly the last time.

Maserati retiring Kubang concept ahead of production debut at 2014 Detroit show

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

Hey look! A red version of the Acura NSX

Concept for the Beijing Motor Show

. Because it's China, you know. Get it? Red. As in "Red China."

And if that doesn't prove Acura

is too clever by half, take a good look at the new photos of the red car in the gallery

, then check out our related gallery

, which has the first series of official images Acura PR released for the car's debut in January at Detroit

.

If you're thinking that all that happened here was that someone clicked a few buttons in Photoshop, well... they wouldn't do that, would they? Well, yes, they probably would, but the NSX is actually on display at Auto China in crimson

, too. Nifty.

Acura NSX concept turns red in China

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

There's a certain German sports car

that the designers at CH Auto

might have been dreaming about before they penned the Lithia. We don't think this kind of inspiration is anywhere near criminal, though, and before anyone broaches the topic of Chinese design, they should know that the CH Auto's design chief

is an ex-General Motors man: Dan Darancou

, who has work on the Buick Invicta Concept

and the SEMA Chevrolet Camaro Black

on his resume.

CH Auto helps automakers prepare cars for sale in China, from design through to engineering - part of Darancou's brief is to make sure those two departments work together. The Lithia, showed off at the Beijing Motor Show

, has probably been done as a company calling card. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, the spec sheet claims a 150-kilometer range (93 miles).

CH Auto's Lithia EV strikes an Audi-like profile in China

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

The venerable Isetta

was tiny, cheap and nimble transportation in post-World-War-II Europe. In this day of $4-a-gallon gas, could a similar car be an attractive alternative? That's the question University of Applied Arts graduate Tony Weichselbraun

asked as he endeavored to imagine a modern Isetta.

Tony calls his interpretation the eSetta, with the "e" indicating an electric motor in place of the original Isetta's gasoline-powered motorcycle engine. Such a small package couldn't hold much of a battery pack, but it doesn't need to in Tony's plan. The eSetta would be part of a car sharing system where the little cars would be charged via induction stations where the eSetta could be borrowed and returned.

For now, the eSetta is only a concept, but its familiar retro look and frugal philosophy could do well for short trips in a compact urban center.

BMW Isetta gets reimagined as the eSetta

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

Details on the pair of Dear Qin concepts that Toyota

unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show

this week are sparse, but they do hint at something interesting coming to every market where the Japanese automaker sells cars.

Calling them "global-strategic concepts," Toyota says the sedan and hatchback versions of the Dear Qin models have "a design aiming to attract more people to the user base." With that curious statement in mind, the first promotional video for the Dear Qin models (which you can watch by scrolling below

) is both language- and information-free, emphasizing the design of the cars for a global audience. With explosions and lightning, of course.

Reports have said that Toyota is working on a new global, front-wheel drive model that is supposed to be launched in 2013. We can imagine these concepts foreshadowing those cars, and hope we get a pair of highly efficient compacts out of the design process. We'll skip the explosions and lightning, though.

Continue reading Toyota Dear Qin hatch, sedan foreshadow new global FWD models [w/video]

Toyota Dear Qin hatch, sedan foreshadow new global FWD models [w/video]

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

It's not the most pronounceable model name, but that's not our problem, is it?

Toyota

debuted its sharply styled Yundong Shuangqing hybrid concept at the Beijing Motor Show

today, announcing that a production version will be sold in China at some point in the future. The Yundong Shuangqing was joined on stage by the Dear Qin compact and the GT 86 rear-wheel-drive sports car

.

Toyota developed the Yundong Shuangqing's hybrid powertrain mainly at the automaker's research and development plant in Changshu, China. "We would like to put smiles on the faces of our Chinese customers with hybrid technology," Toyota President Akio Toyoda said in prepared remarks at the show. "I want the people of China to be able to experience the beauty of hybrid technology through a hybrid car born in China."

In 2005, China became the first place outside of Japan where the Prius

hybrid was built when Sichuan FAW Toyota Motor Co. Ltd. started making the third-generation model. And two years ago, GAC Toyota Motor Co., which is in China's Guangdong Province, started making the Camry

Hybrid.

Earlier this month, Honda said it would launch at least four hybrids

specifically for the Chinese market under either its moniker or the Acura

brand in order to capitalize on what's likely to be surging car sales in that country. Honda will introduce the CR-Z

, Fit

and Insight

Hybrids in China later this year, and will likely sell its promised hybrid-powered Acura NSX sports car

in China as well.

Continue reading Toyota debuts China-only Yundong Shuangqing hybrid concept in Beijing

Toyota debuts China-only Yundong Shuangqing hybrid concept in Beijing

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

In keeping with the CUV-crazy theme of this year's Beijing Motor Show

, Peugeot

has introduced this Urban Crossover Concept penned by the French lion's design studios in Paris, Shanghai and São Paulo. Eight inches shorter and three inches narrower than a Ford Focus

hatchback, the concept is meant to be the ultimate expression of the company's decades of popular small cars, crossovers and design.

It is also said to show off Pug's new design cues, but we aren't told exactly which cues those are. At the moment, Peugeot isn't talking about what (if anything) powers its UCC, but perhaps we'll learn more as the vehicle continues to make the rounds of the auto show circuit. In the meantime, check out the press release by scrolling below

and admire its angles in the high-res gallery.

Continue reading Peugeot Urban Crossover Concept barges in to AutoChina

Peugeot Urban Crossover Concept barges in to AutoChina

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.

Following the debut of the Lamborghini Urus

SUV in Beijing

this week, it's only natural to ask: What happened to the Estoque

?

At the 2008 Paris Motor Show

, Lamborghini

unveiled the striking sedan concept as a way to preview a new model line for the brand, but since then, nothing has come to fruition. AutoWeek sat down with Lamborghini CEO Stefan Winkelmann, who shed some light on the decision to move forward with a sport-utility vehicle rather than a rakish sedan.

"It was placed on hold because of a number of reasons, including the lack of a suitable platform. We haven't given up on the idea of a sedan entirely, but we see more potential in a sport-utility vehicle encapsulating typical Lamborghini attributes."

Lamborghini Estoque not quite dead yet

originally appeared on Autoblog

on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

.