Lexus LFA Car:

Perhaps the most glamorous and most anticipated launch in the Tokyo Motor Show 09 was the Lexus LFA. The LFA concept has been around since 2003 and now after 6 years of waiting, the Lexus LFA is finally a reality.

However, don't expect to see too many on the road as it is priced at Euro 361000! For that amount of money, one can get a Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 plus a Ferrari F430!

The LFA comes with a bespoke 4.8L V10 pumping out 552bhp and 480Nm of torque.

The Lexus LFA does 0-100 kph in 3.7 seconds and has a top speed of 323 kph. It's kerb weight is 1480kg with a power-to-weight ratio of 373bhp per tonne.

Lexus says only 500 units of the LFA will be built. With its exorbitant price tag, the Lexus marketing team would need to be really creative. LFA chief engineer, Haruhiko Tanahashi, said that the target buyer is one who is not as extrovert or showy as the traditional supercar customer, and someone who is interested in technology.

Honda CR-Z Car:

Not one to be left out, Honda launched their new CR-Z sports car at the Tokyo Motor Show. We wrote an article about the concept a few months back and now the concept is becoming a reality. Honda has confirmed its production and it should be in showrooms in Japan as early as February 2010 and by June 2010 for the rest of the world.

The CR-Z is the successor to the Honda CR-X del Sol which was a targa convertible 2-seater coupe. Production of the CR-X was stopped in 1997 and now with the CR-Z, the CR series has been revived.

CR-Z is the acronym for "Compact Renaissance Zero" and it will be a hybrid sports car. It is tipped to be endowed with a 1.5L iVTEC engine in combination with Honda IMA hybrid system and power is estimated at a modest 130-150bhp.

The Honda CR-Z will come with a manual or automatic transmission and the battery will be nickel metal hydride units.

Castagna Aznom Car:

One of the most exciting recent developments in the industry, by this writer’s account at least, is the re-emergence of the coachbuilding industry.

Cars like the Fisker Latigo and Zagato Ferrari 575 GTZ have heralded a revival of the long-lost segment that inherently gives birth to some of the most unique automobiles on the road. It was only a matter of time until the Italians picked up where they left off by crafting unique Corvette-based sportscars.

Italian coachbuilder Castagna Milano, originally founded way back in the 1850s and revived in the 1990s, has created a number of bespoke models, including the Imperial Landaulet concept and a slew of custom Minis.

The carrozzeria’s latest offering, the Castagna Aznom, was previewed in skeletal form back in April at Monaco’s Top Marques show, and the firm has now released further details and images.

Based on the Corvette Z06, the Aznom also draws on retro Corvette styling elements, blended with thoroughly modern design features to create a heart-stopping supercar. The egg-crate grille is drawn from the original ‘53 Vette, slab-sided flanks from the ‘58 Stingray and fenders from the ‘56 SR-2 Sebring race car.

On the contemporary side of things, LED rear lights, retracting rear wing, three-section rear diffuser and F1-style fender-mounted carbon-fiber wing mirrors round out the design.

Those sharp five-spoke wheels measure 20 inches, shod in 285/30 and 335/30 Pirelli PZero rubber front and rear respectively, housing 356mm cross-drilled discs with six-pot calipers fore and 340mm discs with 4-pot calipers aft. The cockpit even features a Google Earth-powered sat-nav system.

Whether you love or hate the unique styling, the Aznom has the “go” to back up the “show”. Castagna has thoroughly massaged the Z06’s 7-liter V8 from 500 horsepower to a whopping 750, and with the use of carbon fiber, aluminum and magnesium bodywork, has trimmed the weight down to 1,400 kg.

With that magical formula of more power and less weight, the carrozzeria puts the performance figures at 0-60 in a scant 3.4 seconds on its way to a claimed top speed of 217 mph.

Paulin VR Concept Car:

Paulin Motor Company, founded by well-knowned designer Daniel Paulin launches its first vehicle. This concept car aims to demonstrate Paulins vision of future design directions aiming for the market requirements of 2012 and further.

Daniel Paulin have a background as designer at FORD Motor Company where he among other projects where responsible for the exterior design for the 2004 Ford Focus concept car, the exterior Ford Focus C-Max 2003 and also designer for the FAB1, Thunderbirds the movie.

- I have studied the development of the last decennium and believe this is a logical development where I have tried to create shapes where controlled sculptural surfaces meets dynamic graphical break-ups, says Daniel Paulin, CEO and Creative Director of Paulin Motor Company.

Paulin Motor Company has used Opticore visualization solutions to produce images and real-time presentation environments.

- Opticore Real Time Ray Tracing has helped my product to come to live, Daniel Paulin says. Since there is no physical mock-up, Opticore solutions have given me a great solution to demonstrate my vehicle for prospective partners.

Its very interesting times for the high end visualization business. With Opticores tools, the boundary in-between virtual reality and real life is now removed. The quality has reached a level where many design decisions can be made with out the need of physical prototypes.

Paulin currently involved on several design projects around the globe will continue to launch concepts to highlights trends and ideas of where automotive are and should develop.

The concept car features several creative solutions both from a design and a technical perspective.

With its proportion the car is a pure 2 seated GT concept. Cockpit feeling is inspired by modern jet-fighters. The windshield/roof is hinge in the cowl area. In open position, the doors can be open independently.

The rear wing is integrated in body with a flush condition. In use it moves up and rotates to create appropriate down force. Camera mirrors in the shape of blades, located above the rear fender for best visibility. The view can be seen on a wide display just above the instrument panel.

In the interior, less is more - 2 bucket seats, steering wheel, gear shifter and a control unit. Paulin continues. This concept car is a pure driving oriented vehicle where the design intent is all about simplicity and functionality in true Scandinavian fashion.

What Bugs Me About Concept Cars:

The auto shows are amazing. They show all of these super cool looking cars that are to come and some of the new features on the current model cars. They also show new designs that will be implemented on current cars. As amazing as it is, there is one thing that gets me about these shows. It's the concept cars.

Concept cars are cars that are seriously being thought about publicly selling. When they show off a concept car they are getting feedback on the car they are thinking about releasing. Concept cars are usually not in final form but they can be almost completed as far as the body work goes.

One thing about concept cars is that they look really awesome. The new styling on some of these cars is just amazing to look at. Even if all you see are the pictures online! Now here lies the problem with concept cars. They are not done yet. They are like a teaser of the real car that may or may not be made available and produced for the public.

Take for instance the new Chevy Volt. A lot of buzz was created when GM introduced a concept car, the Chevy volt a few years ago. The car not only looked amazing it had some great features. It could run on all battery power and it did not use its gas engine to power the wheels. Instead it used its motor to power a generator to charge a set of batteries which then ran the car. Each wheel has an electric motor built in.

It has yet to be released, but it could be the style of car for the future.The future in which cars are electric. The problem is they ruined it! General Motors teased us with a beautiful looking car only to change its body style almost completely compared to the concept version. Now it looks like a Chevy Impala/Toyota Yaris smashed together. It is a bit different than the impala but it's too similar for my liking. There is nothing wrong with the impala but what GM had was a totally new style, a body for a new never released car. It looked great and would have stood out a lot. Now for the preview of the production car we get half of what we wanted.

So that's what bugs me about car shows and the concept cars. Just don't fall in love with a concept car too much as you may be disappointed by the production version.