Send this page to a friend!
Fill in the form bellow

news

Starring: The Concept Car

In their visionary, futuristic and spectacular character, concept cars are the perfect vehicle to inspire the imagination of a worldwide cinematic audience. Especially in science fiction, comic and action genres they have an essential role to play as powerful gadget of the superheroes or even as the superhero incarnated.

Autoviva presents you here some of the finest examples of cooperation between car and film industry, partnerships that combine commercial interest and smart product placement with the power of imagination.

Lincoln Futura - It Started With A Kiss and ended up as Batmobile

The Lincoln Futura was a concept car, hand build by Ghia in Italy, and first presented to the public in 1955. It was a very successful show car that earned Ford positive publicity and was even sold as toy car and model kit. The car was fully operational, featuring a 368 cubic inch Lincoln engine and power train, but not of practical design with a double, clear-plastic canopy top, exaggerated hooded headlight pods, and very large, outward-canted tailfins at both ends of the vehicle. The traces of its design can be found in Lincolns of the years 1956 and 1957. In 1959 the car made an appearance in the movie It Started with a Kiss, starring Debbie Reynolds and Glenn Ford. For the movie its original colour (pearlescent) was changed to red. After that the car fell into oblivion until 1966 when George Barris used it to design the first Bat Mobile for the famous TV series Batman. In this sense, the Lincoln Futura is the predecessor of all Bat Mobiles that still today are highlights on the big screen.

To see scenes starring the Lincoln Futura, click to the links: It Started With A Kiss and Batman

The Lincoln Futura - futuristic concept car with a movie career

Audi RSQ - Futuristic vision resembling the brand

In 2004 the Audi RSQ concept car made an appearance in the science-fiction movie I, Robot personifying a futuristic car on the streets of Chicago in 2035. The concept was on the one hand extremely visionary, on the other hand still resembled the characteristics of the Audi brand. It was designed as a mid-engined sports-coupé, featuring the trapezoidal Audi Single-Frame Grille, the company's trademark logo and the Multi Media Interface (MMI) driver-to-car control system. Futuristic elements were the use of spheres instead of wheels and two reverse butterfly doors.

To see a trailer featuring the car, please click here: i, Robot

The Audi RSQ alongside Hollywoodstar Will Smith

Lexus 2054 - Driving in the year 2054

The Lexus 2054 was designed for the 2002 film Minority Report directed by Steven Spielberg. In the movie, the car is being built at an automated factory, driven by Tom Cruise and used as a getaway vehicle in several action sequences. It was Steven Spielberg himself, who owns a Lexus, who turned to the company for the design of a vehicle that reflects driving in the year 2054. The Lexus designers suggested a car running on fuel cells and featuring safety elements such as a crashproof structure and biometric security systems. Later the car also played (in blue not red, though) in the 2005 movie The Island.

To see an animation of the Lexus 2054 Concept, please click here: Lexus 2054

The Lexus 2054 Concept

Corvette Stingray Concept - Supercar transformed

The Corvette Stingray Concept is also known as the Corvette Centennial. The 50th Anniversary Stingray show car debuted at the Chicago Auto Show February 2009 and starred as "Sideswipe" in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. The Corvette Stingray Concept was designed to embody legacy and future of the Corvette. It was developed as an internal design challenge to combine classic Corvette cues with high-tech features, modern materials, and a new appearance. The car features a clamshell hood, scissor-style doors, ergonomic seats, rear-view camera with night vision enhancement, and a high performance hybrid drive. Interactive touch controls allow the driver to customize the power and efficiency of his or her ride and share it with friends via the in-car camera system and telemetrics. There are rumours it is the basis of the C7 Corvette.

To have a closer look at the Corvette Stingray Concept, follow this link: Design Stingray Concept

The Corvette Stingray a.k.a. Sideswipe

Infiniti Kuraza - The future of comfort

The Kuraza is a SUV concept produced by Nissan under the Infiniti brand and it made an appearance in the Japanese animation movie Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society.
The car is designed as a six-seater with six doors and was presented at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. The idea reflected in the Kuraza was the priority of space over utility, focusing the design on the creation of a social atmosphere that passengers can enjoy with friends. All passengers of the luxury vehicle should enjoy the same level of comfort which is provided by individual seats and extra doors. Beyond the comfort, the Kuraza is characteristically Japanese, combining the use of natural materials with modern technology.

To see a part of the movie starring the Kuraza Concept, please follow this link: Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. Solid State Society