Category Archives: CONCEPT CARS

CONCEPT CARS

Škoda Felicia Fun is Back… but Only in Pixels

Once upon a time, Škoda made a subcompact pickup that was… well, fun. Literally. Meet the Felicia Fun, a bright yellow, slightly bonkers leisure vehicle from the mid-1990s, now resurrected as a virtual concept that’s almost too cool for reality.

The original Felicia Fun was Škoda’s cheeky nod to playfulness. Based on the 1994 Felicia hatchback—which itself was Škoda’s first real collaboration with German engineering—the Fun was a 2+2 pickup with a sliding rear partition, canvas roof, and just enough quirks to make your weekend trips to the beach feel like a mission in a retro video game. Only 4,216 were ever made, each adorned in sunshine-yellow paint with optional green or orange highlights. It had a rear spoiler, open-air seating, and a vibe that screamed “holiday, not homework.”

Fast forward nearly 30 years, and the Felicia Fun is back—though you’ll need a VR headset to enjoy it. Part of Škoda’s “Icons Get a Makeover” series, French designer Julien Petitseigneur has reimagined the Fun in the brand’s Modern Solid design language. The result? A contemporary two-seater pickup that nods to its 1990s roots while oozing a cool beach vibe.

Inside, nostalgia reigns supreme. The dashboard is checkered, screens dominate the cabin, and graphics channel the pixelated charm of old-school video games. Gone is the 2+2 layout; the modern Fun is a pure two-seater, prioritizing cargo space over rear passengers. It’s a clever experiment that reminds us Škoda can still be playful in a world dominated by SUVs, crossovers, and spreadsheets.

Of course, this Felicia Fun will never hit the roads. Škoda hasn’t made a pickup since the original left the market, and projects like their would-be Amarok never saw the light of day. That said, the company’s students have recently shown they haven’t lost their sense of adventure—turning a Superb into a one-off pickup with sliding trunk lids and bike racks earlier this year.

So, while we can’t buy one, we can enjoy a digital dive into Škoda’s whimsical past. The Felicia Fun reminds us that sometimes, automotive joy is measured not in horsepower, but in pure, pixelated playfulness.

Source: Škoda

CONCEPT CARS

Corvette CX and CX.R VGT – America’s Sports Car Goes Sci-Fi

You’d think after seven decades of building loud, V8-powered, tire-vaporizing icons, Chevrolet would be content to sit back, sip some bourbon, and let the Corvette coast on its legacy. Nope. Instead, they’ve taken America’s sports car, put it on a diet of space-age materials and electricity, then hurled it straight into the future. Meet the Corvette CX and its unhinged sibling, the CX.R Vision Gran Turismo.

Unveiled at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering – the sort of place where billionaires compare carbon-fiber weave patterns while wearing $10k loafers – these two concepts aren’t destined for showrooms. Not yet, anyway. Instead, they’re Chevy’s wild, unfiltered ideas about what the Corvette might look like if nobody in finance got to say “no.”

The CX: Corvette Unplugged, Overclocked, and Over 2,000 hp

Look at it. The CX is lower than your Instagram likes after a breakup, with a roofline under 41 inches tall and a cockpit canopy nicked straight off an F-35 fighter jet. The nose lunges forward like it’s late for a track day, while the trademark twin taillights sit under a set of bodywork creases that trace Corvette DNA all the way back to 1953. It’s futuristic, yes – but still, unmistakably, Corvette.

And then there’s the tech. Fans – literal vacuum fans – suck the car into the ground like a giant automotive Dyson, generating ridiculous downforce in real-time. Active diffusers and wings twitch and flex like a caffeinated hummingbird, all to make sure 2,000 electric horses don’t immediately turn the tires into black smoke. Yes, two-thousand. Four motors, one at each wheel, serving up torque-vectoring wizardry and AWD grip that would embarrass a hypercar.

Inside? Think “Top Gun: Corvette Edition.” The fighter canopy rises automatically when you walk up, like the car’s saluting you. Inferno Red ballistic textile seats clamp you in place for cornering forces that’ll redecorate your insides, while a digital windscreen turns the entire windshield into a sci-fi display of speed, g-force, and probably how much courage you’ve got left.

The CX.R VGT: Because Racing Games Need Nightmares Too

But Chevy didn’t stop at “road-going spaceship.” No, they made a race version for Gran Turismo 7 – the CX.R Vision Gran Turismo – because even your PlayStation deserves to suffer.

This one ditches the plush touches for pure aggression. Yellow-and-black livery nods to 25 years of Corvette Racing, while the aero package looks like it was designed by a mad scientist with a wind tunnel and zero adult supervision. Inside, it’s raw carbon fiber, suede-wrapped seats, and enough headrest padding to suggest you’ll need a chiropractor after every lap.

And the engine? Oh yes, the CX.R refuses to go fully quiet. Behind the driver sits a 2.0-liter twin-turbo V8 – revving to a shrieking 15,000 rpm – paired with three electric motors. Total system output: another neat 2,000 horsepower. But this time, it’s burning renewable e-fuel, because saving the planet is cooler when you’re doing 200 mph.

Not Just Vaporware

Normally, carmakers wheel out this sort of madness and then lock it in a basement. But Chevy’s actually gone further, sketching out the drivetrain, chassis, and aero in detail. And, thanks to a partnership with Polyphony Digital, you’ll be able to drive both concepts in Gran Turismo 7 later this month. Which means, yes, your console will get a 2,000-hp Corvette before reality does.

Corvette has always been about democratizing performance – big speed for less money than the Europeans demand. The CX and CX.R VGT? They’re not democratizing anything. They’re Corvette unleashed, a neon-glowing love letter to the future. Will we see a production version? Maybe, maybe not. But one thing’s clear: the future of America’s sports car is going to be loud – even if the noise is just electric motors and your own heart trying to escape your ribcage.

Source: Chevrolet

CONCEPT CARS

Cupra Tindaya Concept Debuts – Less SUV, More Spaceship

Cupra has a habit of giving its cars names that sound like ancient gods, and its latest concept is no exception. Meet the Cupra Tindaya, a show car named after a volcanic mountain in Fuerteventura – because, naturally, nothing screams “driver focus” like a giant lump of molten rock. Apparently its copper-toned cliffs are a nod to Cupra’s brand signature. So, not just a mountain, then. A lifestyle choice.

The Tindaya will make its grand entrance at the Munich motor show on September 8, and Cupra insists it’s going to be a sneak peek into the brand’s future design language. Translation: prepare for another round of triangular lights, angular creases, and the sort of aggressive stance that makes even parked cars look like they’ve just finished a Red Bull and a triple espresso.

But here’s the twist – while the exterior will no doubt be suitably pointy and mean, Cupra is making a song and dance about the interior. The concept is billed as “the maximum expression of driver focus” – which sounds like something you’d find in a yoga retreat brochure. Early images suggest a yoke-style steering wheel, a chunky central spine nicked from the electric Tavascan, and racing seats that look like they’d happily eject you into another dimension if you so much as sneeze mid-corner.

If it all feels a bit déjà vu, that’s because the Tindaya’s cabin takes more than a few cues from the DarkRebel concept Cupra showed off last year. The idea, according to Cupra, is to fuse “human and machine, where the driving experience and emotions reach their fullest expression.” In other words, they want you to feel like Iron Man every time you slip behind the wheel.

This shiny concept arrives hot on the heels of Cupra’s recent range-wide makeover, where everything from combustion to electric models got the same angry new face, complete with broader grille, sharp nose and those trademark triangular LEDs. And Munich won’t just be about the flashy Tindaya: Cupra will also roll out a camouflaged production version of the new Raval, its baby EV hatchback twinned with the Volkswagen ID 2. Priced around £25k, it’ll go head-to-head with the reborn Renault 5 when it lands in 2026.

So, what is the Tindaya really? A design statement, a rolling mood board, and a very loud announcement that Cupra is doubling down on emotion, attitude, and triangular light signatures. Whether that translates into something you’ll actually want to drive remains to be seen. But one thing’s certain: it’ll look furious about it.

Source: Cupra