Japan's ASI Working on Ferrari 458 Italia Tuning Proposal with F430 / Modena-Like Front

The tuning folks over at ASI have published teaser photos of two styling packages that are under consideration for the Ferrari 458 Italia that made its world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show earlier this month. The final design has yet to be decided, but in both proposals, the 458's front intake has been replaced with larger twin air inlets that mimic the styling of the outgoing F430. The photos also show that the package includes new side skirts, a rear wing and different alloy wheels, all finished in black. Not bad, not bad at all.

Lorinser Presents Two Design Studies for Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing

It's only been a week since Mercedes-Benz showed the kinky SLS AMG to the public for the first time in Frankfurt, but the tuning industry is already working on the development of various cosmetic and performance packages for the gullwing-supercar. One of the first tuners to release details for its SLS AMG plans is Lorinser. The Mercedes-Benz specialist published teaser renderings of two different styling packages that the company is currently considering for production.

The first design study is more in line with Lorinser's usual offerings. The somewhat aggressive aero kit includes an unpainted carbon-fiber hood, a front-apron with a pair of lights on each side, a new grille with the firm's family crest replacing Merc's three-point star (yes, we could all live without that) and side skirts.

The retro-inspired wire-spoke alloy wheels that appear to look pretty cool and fender eyebrows that hark back to the original 300SL along with various other carbon-fiber tidbits complete the package.

The second proposal, which looks better in our books, takes a more subtle approach paying homage to the original Gullwing model with fender eyebrows, twin humps on the hood and double air-vents on the sides. There's also a new front apron and different side skirts as well as wire-spoke alloy wheels.

Lorinser said that it has yet to decide if it will go ahead and produce a small-batch of either of the two studies.

Buick Avant Project: Six Official Design Proposals for a Small Premium Model

Downsizing seems to be the name of the game these days - or at least segment-wise and in theory if you consider the fact that, for example, at 3,721mm / 146.5'' in length, the first gen VW Golf is significantly smaller than today's 3,970mm / 156.3'' long VW Polo, let alone the Golf VI... But anyhow. GM released a bunch of design proposals for a small premium Buick model developed under the project name 'Avant'.

All-in-all, the automaker's designers came up with six different exterior themes ranging from a MINI-style three-door hatchback to a '350Z-esque' coupe as well as four interior concepts as proposals.

GM's team said that while the company hasn't arrived at a final solution yet for a small Buick, it hopes that "it's onto something".

Via: GM Labs

Audi R7 Concept Study: CGI Designer Creates Uber Cool Porsche Panamera-Like Sports Sedan

We don't know if the VW Group's takeover of Porsche will eventually lead to a Panamera spin-off, but if Audi does gets the green light to develop such a model, Gabriel Rhabi's R7 design study would be a really great point to start from. The French artist has captured the essence of the brand's design DNA creating a sporty four-door sedan that is clearly recognizable as an Audi yet refreshing in a first-generation TT sort of way.

Maybe even more importantly, Rhabi avoided any concept-style gimmicks as the design is totally acceptable for a production version.

This isn't the first time we've hosted a conceptual proposal from the talented French designer who has a thing for the brand with the four rings. You'll be surprised to know that, despite the amazing quality of his work, Rhabi isn't a professional car designer but a CGI artist, video game and graphical software programmer with a passion for anything on four-wheels.

Merci for the photos Gabriel! - You can see more of Rhabi's work here

BMW Blue Dynamics Land Yacht: A Conceptual Proposal for a Wind-Powered Sail Car

While BMW has its eyes set on its 'EfficientDynamics' programme, designer Stefan Radev decided to take a different approach to environmentally-friendly vehicles with the creation of a conceptual wind-powered bimmer. Dubbed Blue Dynamics, the concept study is similar in design to Richard Jenkin's Ecotricity Greenbird that smashed the world land speed record for wind-powered vehicles in March 26, 2009, achieving a top speed of 126.2 mph or 202.9 km/h.

The renderings show a three-wheeler land yacht (or so to say) equipped with a rigid sail that can be moved either automatically according to the wind direction or manually by the driver via a special control unit inside the cockpit. All of this in theory, of course.

"The challenge was to incorporate the style of a premium vehicle with the exclusiveness of a yacht, powered by an environmental force-wind," says Radev. "It is an interpretation of the idea through the eyes of a premium automobile brand like BMW, which has taken a path of creating environmentally-friendly cars that carry a distinctive style and emotional character."

Source: Stefanradev , Via: Autobloggreen

Hyundai sketches out 2011 Sonata YF, Official Presentation Pegged for Sep. 10

This just in from Hyundai: the South Korean automaker published a pair of teaser sketches previewing the all-new 2011 Sonata YF. Unfortunately for Hyundai, the drawings were released only a few hours after a set of official shots leaked all over the internet. And even though the actual production model is very close to the vehicle depicted on the drawings, let's just say that it's not as aggressively styled as the design sketches imply.

But, you shouldn't just take our word for it, so click here to check out the leaked photos and judge for yourselves.

According to Korean media, the next-generation model of Hyundai's mid-size sedan will be fully revealed on September 10, so stay tuned for more details.

Toyota Rumored to Present Prius Based Hybrid Coupe to Challenge Honda's CR-Z

If you believe that a coupe version of the Prius sounds like a good idea, then you'll be happy to know that reports coming in from Japan say that Toyota is actually working on a dedicated sporty hybrid model. Best Car magazine went one step further by publishing an artist's impression of the Prius-based coupe in its latest issue.

Needless to say that the illustration is nothing more than a speculative take on the Prius coupe and shouldn't be taken very seriously. For what it matters, the Japanese magazine claims in its report that Toyota is considering to employ a famous Italian design house like Pininfarina or Guigiaro's Italdesign for the coupe's styling.

If the reports turns out to be true (now don't go making plans yet...), the Prius based sports car would compete head-on with Honda's dedicated hybrid coupe, the CR-Z (pictured below) that is set to be introduced in final production form at this fall's Tokyo Motor Salon with sales expected to begin the following year.

Via: Best Car

Nissan R-TX Concept Study for the Race-Track Enthusiast

One of the concept studies that caught our attention at the 2009 Degree Show at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, UK, was the Nissan R-TX that was penned by design student, Matt Jones. While the sports car's styling is heavily influenced by the Nissan GT-R, what makes this concept proposal pretty interesting is its modular construction.

What we, or rather Jones means is that the driver can remove the vehicle's front, rear and roof panels along with the wraparound front windshield transforming the R-TX from a road-going sports coupe to a KTM X-Bow-like track car.

The designer says that aside from lowering the weight of the sports car and (supposedly) improving its aerodynamics, a key aspect during the design development of the R-TX concept was the driver's emotions.

Source: Swansea University , Via: Carbodydesign