Cool Hunting

The 40th Tokyo Motor Show 2007 will be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City from 26 October-11 November. In preparation, the big Japanese automakers have begun rolling out some of their futuristic concept cars. If it's any indication of what's to come, we're excited to see what else is in store. Here are our two favorites so far.

More of a personal transportation device than automobile, Toyota's new i-Real makes the Segway look like an old Saturn. A futuristic wheelchair of sorts, the i-Real builds on the previous i-Swing model producing a faster (tops out at 20mph), more agile and more energy efficient prototype. All of the three-wheeler's controls are located close to the armrests and the wheels can extend, reclining the passenger for high speeds or contracting inwards for more maneuverability.
via Electro Plankton
Toyota's main Japanese competition, Honda, might have one-upped them on the concept front with the Puyo. Instead of traditional aluminum or sheet metal, Honda uses a strong but flexible gel-like material that is supposedly safer in collisions. I love the scissor wing doors that open up and out and the back-lit headlights. Even better, the Puyo can turn 360º in place and is completely transparent from the "belt line" offering better visibility. With no right angles or corners, it is a smooth, cute design and, powered by a fuel-cell, it's environmentally friendly too. A minimalist pod-like interior and joystick steering cement its place in the future.
via Jalopnik.
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Art Center College of Design student Jake Loniak combined motorcycle technology with an exoskeleton form for what is essentially a wearable motorcycle. Named Deus Ex Machina and branded by Yamaha, it's intended to serve as an extension of the body. Loniak found inspiration in Biomechatronics and used 36 pneumatic muscles, seven artificial vertebrae and two linear actuators to mimic human motion. He introduced the...
In celebration of the M1's 30th anniversary, BMW quietly introduced a new model at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este last weekend. An aggressive, low-profile sports car, aspects of the design hark back to the original M1. The wide stance, louvered rear window and pentagonal rims combine an '80s retro look with a contemporary, almost sinister feel for a car that pretty much every boy...
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Having spent weeks talking to students and looking at the annual Royal College of Art degree show, Exhibit-K, a London-based art tour service, came up with five hot design picks exclusively for Cool Hunting. Doodle Dudes Andrew Haythornthwaite's Doodle Dudes gives the characters that children create in their drawings a 3-d life by using rapid prototyping to print their drawings in 3 dimensions. Children’s...
