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Volvo Tandem: A four wheel motorcycle

Volvo Monitoring and Concept Centre (VMCC), the company's Southern California design studio, has come up with a car that captures the attitude and functionality of a motorcycle. Their explorations have led to two forms of a car referred to as the Tandem, for the inline seating of its two occupants. One body (in yellow) is a far-out, separate-fendered notion with strong aircraft echoes about its ‘fuselage’. The other (red) is a slightly more automotive approach to the same package. As they sit, these models are 1450mm wide and the VMCC guys say they can take that down to 1300mm.

The small size and light weight could raise safety concerns, but this is Volvo, and the VMCC team thinks the Tandem's crashworthiness is well in hand. The occupants are packaged quite tightly fore and aft, with the rear passenger's feet well up alongside the driver. And locating the humans on the car's centerline gives luxurious amounts of side-impact crush space, compared to situating them shoulder-to-shoulder. With a long-stroke collapsible steering column, four-point belts criss-crossing the chest, airbags, and proper engineering of the structure, Tandem's designers are confident the car would be more than just acceptably safe.

Toyota iQ
The Toyota iQ is a small environmentally friendly concept car that aims to impress urban, fashionable drivers with a spacious and high-quality interior. The iQ can seat three adults and one child and has a panoramic glass sunroof, which helps make the cabin of the 117-inch car less claustrophobic. Toyota claims this is the world's smallest four-seat passenger concept car.

Subaru WRC
The Subaru WRC concept car shows the future direction of the rally car, and its five-door shape is not by chance. Subaru says the five-door body style gives the driver a greater sense of control and reduces the moment of inertia during high-speed cornering. Tail slides are also easier with the five-door body. Pushing the wheels out to the corners helps reduce body overhangs and the potential for an accident during a rally. The 18-inch wheels are housed beneath widened front fenders.

Mini Clubman
For those who must have a Mini but need just a bit more space, Mini has the Clubman. Much like the doors on the Mazda RX-8 and the Saturn Ion coupe, the Clubman features a small rear-opening door on the passenger side that will help rear seat passengers gain access. The vehicle features rear barn doors designed to make loading access easier.