It was bound to happen. After all, where’s the real excitement in modern Formula One? With its rev caps, engine development freezes and lack of ground effects, turbochargers and winglets.

Instead of race car standbys carbon fiber and titanium, Montreuil’s Ferrari X-Racer is made of pure unobtainium. His renderings are peppered with all sort of crazy specs, including that glowing orifice in the rear, exhaust tube for the twin turbostator engines.

They also come equipped with “Xtrem FireForce”. Whatever that is, I bet Kimi Räikkönen would like to have it installed in his underperforming F60 on a hurried schedule.

The human nervous system is perhaps not equipped to deal with race speeds in excess of twice the speed of sound. Still, we can dream. Of gung-ho drivers with genetically modified visual cortices racing across the surface of an alien planet in winged cars. If one assumes correctly from Montreuil’s sketches, one such grand prix will be held on the ice planet of Hoth.

Source: Yanko Design

We got to show you the Geneva Motor Show-bound Kia No 3 concept earlier this week, but that's not the only thing the South Koreans are letting out of the bag. These two teaser sketches of the 2010 Kia Sorento popped up on Kia-World late last night and they give us a pretty clear look at what's in store design wise for the upcoming small SUV.

Details on the upcoming SUV are scarce, but we do know that the next-gen Sorento will get slightly bigger overall due to a shared platform with the Hyundai Veracruz, making the SUV quieter, giving it a more compliant suspension and much better fuel economy. It's expected that the Sorento will carry on with the current model's 3.8 liter V6 and a collaborative effort with Hyundai will net a 3.0 liter diesel V6 with both engines swapping gears with a six-speed automatic transmission.

The 2010 Kia Sorento will make its official debut at the 2009 Seoul Auto Show in April and is expected to go on sale in the U.S. later this year.

(Hat Tip To Mike!)

[via kia-world]

Here at Jalopnik, we're fans of all things strange, disturbing and intriguing. Technical illustrations, or cutaways, have long been something that have absolutely stumped us. What incredibly anal person could sit there and actually create one of things? What methods do they use? How come it looks so damn awesome and makes me feel so damn stupid? Continue on to see and learn what it takes to be a true master at the craft of technical cutaway illustrations.

With very little formal training and work experience, Inomoto began his professional career in 1952 at Toyo Kogyo Co. Ltd, which later became Mazda, working in the styling studios. He moved to Nissan's advertising group in 1957, while making illustration contributions to Automobile Quarterly as a side job. He hit a pivotal point in 1976 when he finally left Nissan to pursue a career in freelance illustration. The results of his newly found career, below.

Inomoto has been hired numerous times by Formula One teams to create a technical illustration, but due to the extreme secrecy of the inner workings of the race car, he sometimes has to make up the inner components of the engine, chassis and suspension systems. Based on his vast knowledge, he's able to recreate these components and implement them in a realistic fashion.

Inomoto prides himself on creating the illustrations using only freehand sketches and in turn creates an impression of what the subject looks like rather than creating an exact replica. He's also been known to take certain liberties with the creation of his cutaways:

"If I feel the car is powerful, the engine may be a little larger than reality, or if the brakes are very good, I will draw them a fraction bigger or exaggerate their appearance. Consequently, my drawings always contain the feeling I have for the car"

As we mentioned earlier, all of Inomoto's illustrations start with very rough freehand studies of the vehicle's body, chassis, suspension and interior and are tightened up as he progresses. When he's reached a point where he feels every component is in its exact position he'll re-sketch each and every line into a final construction drawing on paper. He then mounts this final sketch onto an illustration board to ready it for painting.

Inomoto's been doing technical illustrations for more than 40 years, which means he hasn't always had the use of modern equipment like Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. Instead, he relies solely on his paintbrush and acrylic paints to realistically paint all of the vehicle's components including the fine gradients needed to represent the exterior sheet metal.

He has now spent some time to learn the modern tools of digital illustration, but still prefers to work with the basic tools he'd learned to use so many years ago. Yoshihiro Inomoto is a true master of his craft and has inspired the popular modern technical artists such as David Kimble and Tony Matthews. While many manufacturers use computer 3D models to cut away at a vehicle, they'll never touch the magic that Inomoto has embraced with his technical illustrations.

(all images © Yoshihiro Inomoto)

[via ridelust]

The regular series production 2010 Mustang and 2010 Mustang GT were unveiled last November at the 2008 LA Auto Show only a few short months before the Shelby, but their development went hand in hand over the course of 3 years. Ford has literally been in the stink for a while now, and to task its engineers and designers with creating a new Mustang halo car without giving them a new chassis to work with proved to be difficult, but as evidenced, was entirely possible.

SVT engineers did their part, by making the 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500 virtually invisible once you hit the go pedal. With 540 HP and 510 lb-ft of torque, the Shelby envelops itself in enough white tire smoke to make your eyes water; or are those tears? Don't be ashamed, this is the type of power that'll make a grown man weak in the knees; make him forget about his wife and kids; possibly even kill. Trust us, we've seen it happen.

We had the chance to sit down for a few minutes with SVT elitists; Jamal Hameedl, Chief Nameplate Engineer and Kerry Baldori, Chief Vehicle Engineer; while we were at the Detroit Show. They walked us through some of the engineering challenges that arose when trying to squeeze an additional 40 horsepower and 30 lb-ft of torque from the existing supercharged and intercooled 5.4-liter dual overhead cam V-8 engine while aiming for an additional 2 miles per gallon. The biggest and most enhancing addition was through the use of a cold air induction system that relocated the Shelby Cobra emblem to the left side of the front grille.

They also told me about the suspension tuning that they performed on the car, lessening its skateboard like ride, replacing it with a more seated, controlled ride. This was helped with the addition of Goodyear F1 Supercar 19-inch tires (18-inch on the 'vert) and re-tuned spring and damper settings that have been optimized for better roll control, giving the driver more confidence when doing anything but sitting there and looking pretty.

When it is sitting there looking pretty, it's doing it with reason, history and passion. Just ask Rob Jensen, 2010 Mustang Shelby GT500 Lead Designer. His job, and the other legions of designers that worked on the car, was the biggest challenge and one that Ford has been asking its designers to tackle on a number of recent programs. We mentioned before that Ford was in the stink, meaning one thing when it comes to new vehicle development; cut costs. The biggest cost cutting measure; one that likely has the Mustang faithful cheering, but the rest of us sulking; is the re-use of the existing chassis. This limits the designers greatly by predetermining most, if not all, hard points in the design. This sort of re-use strategy happens all the time in the auto industry; look at the 2010 Taurus, it looks great but would you know by looking at it that it's based on the old Ford 500 that debuted in 2005? They did a great job with the Taurus, but it was no visceral muscle car that Ford needed in order to compete with the upcoming 2010 Chevy Camaro and 2009 Dodge Challenger. It was no Mustang.

We tip our hat to you Mr. Jensen, for taking the Mustang to heart and truly giving us something that fits within the rehashed retro pony car wars as well as aiming its sights at the new 2009 Nissan 370Z and 2009 Hyundai Genesis Coupe. Jensen took an equal blend of retro, high-tech and badass and put in the Blendtec blender to ask the question, "Will it blend?" Hell yeah, it'll blend. One look at the 2010 Shelby GT500 and you know something is different, yet eerily similar. Take a closer look and you'll start to see the little nuances that separate the new car from the old, the Shelby from the GT and the GT from the base model. It's lost weight in all the right places, it's gained a hint of GNC-induced muscle mass and it just doesn't look as clumsily large as the other two domestic ponies.

As with any design; vehicle, product or otherwise; it all starts with a sketch. Whether it be with a pencil or pen; napkin or paper; stylus, tablet and computer; it has to be translated from the designer's head into a language that all can understand and read. Below is an assortment of Rob Jensen's sketches and renderings that eventually led to the development of 3D math models that live entirely in the tube, scale and full size clay models used for styling validation and then to the final tooling for the car that we'll eventually see tearing up the streets and causing massive headaches for the Mopar and Bowtie boys. This definitely isn't the same old Mustang and we've just proved it.

[robjensendesign via idsketching, Ford]

Nissan has already shown what the new 370Z roadster in an official patent office drawing, but they're decidedly boring. GlobalMotors has taken the game a step further and digitally replicated what ragtop version will look like in full frame.

Word is the roadster will be powered by the same 332 HP 3.7 Liter V6 found in the Z coupe. Expect it to show its toothy grin at the next New York Auto Show.

[GlobalMotors]

Racer X Designs, of KC-427 and RZ Formula fame, have decided to try their hand at restyling the current BMW M6 coupe to fall more in line with the classic BMW 635CSi. Although these are just renderings, they show an aggressive restyling treatment to the front and rear fascias as well as a 55mm wider track to allow for more aggressive rubber. The obvious inspiration for the schnoz comes from the recent BMW M1 Homage Concept, but we see a little 2010 Chevy Camaro in there too.

Racer X is currently looking for a partner to bring their BMW RZ-M6 concept to life, so if you've got tons of cash or are a BMW fanatic that's willing to refinance your home, please get in touch with these guys because we'd love to see this car in the flesh.

Racer X Design Press Release
BMW RZ-M6

Inspired by the earlier generation E24 6 series, the RZ-M6 captures the stylish and aggressive looks of the older generations of BMW’s and puts them in the current 6 series . This is what the current 6 series could look like, by replacing body panels, yet keeping the basic structure intact. The body is 50mm wider to offer wider rubber for better grip.

The current M6 already offers a high level of performance, with upgrades for even more power available worldwide. The RZ-M6 is designed to show how a 6 series should look like to reflect that pedigree. While aggressive, it’s not over the top, keeping the lines of the current M6 structure flowing and factory like. It’s not a boy racer’s car, it’s more mature, more elegant, yet not to be messed with. All this was evident in the older generation BMW’s. This is a tribute to the E24 6 series.

Started as a small indipendent body styling company, Racer X Design has a history of designing and building conversions based on top of existing cars for competitions, togather with designing cars and such conversions for international clients. We are looking for partners who have the same passion for the BMW brand and would like to see the RZ-M6 hit production. For more information go to www.racerxdesign.com

History of the E24 6 series

The early BMW sport coupes had monumental performance and style with the added luxury of design and technology. Showcased at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 1976, the 6 Series E24 sport coupes were the successor to the E9 3.0 CSi coupe. The coupe tradition in the early and mid seventies had been so widely successful, that BMW decided the era of 1965-75 coupes needed a successor. Transferring the tradition and image created by BMW with beautiful models like the 2000 C/CS and the 3.0-3.5 CS/CSi/CSL coupes, the E24 coupe captured this same image and effect. The E24 635 CSi touring car was BMWs entrant in Group A touring car racing from 1983 until the introduction of the BMW M3 in 1986.

[Racer X via Serious Wheels]

Henrik Fisker’s little coachbuilding shop will take the wraps off of the Fisker Karma production car at the Detroit Auto Show and will have a little something extra to show off their range of abilities. Fisker’s little something extra will actually be a little less by removing two of the doors and the roof from the Karma sedan. Officially dubbed the Fisker Karma S Sunset, the concept will feature the same plug-in Q-DRIVE lithium-ion battery powertrain good for 50 miles on a single charge and roughly 408 horsepower from two electric motors. A small gasoline engine turns the generator and should allow for extra range, though it’s not yet been determined what that range will be.

The Karma S Sunset Concept will feature a very similar design to its production sedan sibling, though the four-door setup will be replaced by two larger coupe-like doors and the roof will be missing, instead replaced by either a retractable soft or a hard top convertible. Other changes will occur to the lower rocker area with a newly sculpted body side and detailing. The front end design will likely remain the same in order to share the Karma family face, but could receive unique treatment if there should ever be a production version. The interior will be similar to the Karma production sedan, but rear seat occupants will be a little more squeezed due to the packaging of the convertible top.

The Fisker Karma S Sunset will officially make its debut on January 12th at the Detroit Auto Show, until then take a peek at the illustrations from KORSdesign.

Codenamed VI, the 2010 Equus is an all-new full-sized flagship sedan from the Korean manufacturer, Hyundai. The all-new Equus will ride on an extended-length version of Hyundai’s rear-wheel drive platform first seen on the Genesis Sedan and Genesis Coupe. It replaces the old Mitsubishi co-developed front-wheel drive Equus sold in Korea.

The 2010 Hyundai Equus will receive the first vehicle in the line up to receive the in-house developed 8-speed automatic gearbox and will be mounted to the 4.6-liter V8 engine already on duty in the Genesis Sedan. Six months after the Equus goes on sale, Hyundai will release a direct injection 5.0-liter V8 capable of putting out 400+ horsepower. For the sake of fuel efficiency, it’s rumored that Hyundai will include a cylinder deactivation system to the larger engine.

Along with the new 8-speed transmission and 5.0-liter V8, the 2010 Equus will feature many new safety technologies including a Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), Vehicle Stability Management System (VSM2) and a Pre-Safety Seatbelt System which predetects a front-end collision and automatically initializes the seat belt tensioners.

We’re not sure when Hyundai will first show the new flagship Equus Sedan, but it’s likely that it’ll hit South Korean showrooms in February 2010, with a U.S. release date shortly after. In the meantime, check out our gallery showing the first design sketches of the 2010 Hyundai Equus Sedan.

[via Hyundai-Blog]

This time we get the rear view which, JPCN points out, sadly differs from the attractive version of the concept. But this is all in someone's head... we think. Hey buddy, can you spare some speculation? [BestCar via Japanese Performance Car News]