On the eve of the 2019 LA Auto show, Karma Automotive debuted the battery electric SC2 concept, which looks a lot like the SC1 concept with a roof.
Plenty of eye candy on the showroom floorHyundai always seemed embarrassed by its past and its start as a mass producer of the Pony in North America. But 45 years after it showed the 1974 Pony concept coupe, it uses the Frankfurt auto show to unveil the 45 concept that pays homage to the Pony while signaling future design.
![]()
Concept cars tend to be outlandish, but few are as over the top as Karma's SC2, which was unveiled earlier today on the eve of the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show .
The company says this SUV concept will use a plug-in hybrid powertrain and an electric four-wheel-drive system. The PHEV setup is described as being low-weight, but no other details were given. Mitsubishi was one of the first manufacturers to offer a plug-in-hybrid SUV for sale -- the Outlander PHEV -- and this concept could preview a new hybrid setup for future production crossovers. While the shadowy image only shows the top half of the rear of the car, we can see a number of intriguing details. The surfacing is sharp, the trunk lid is short, and part of the taillight is visible above the rear bumper.
![]()
This futuristic-looking hypercar is all-electric and supposedly gives a preview of where the California-based automaker's designs are heading in the future. With beautifully exotic bodywork and a lengthy dash-to-axle measurement, this machine is a sight to behold, even when dressed in a hand-applied, rather subdued paint color called vapor gray.
See more news from the Los Angeles Auto Show
A pure-electric vehicle, the SC2 features an I-shaped battery pack housed in a tunnel that runs down the car's centerline. With a capacity of 120 kWh, it should provide 350 miles of driving range.
That battery juices front- and rear-mounted motors that deliver a claimed 1,100 horsepower. That should be enough to get the SC2 from a standstill to 60 miles an hour in less than 1.9 seconds. Helping keep things under control are a racing-style suspension system and carbon-ceramic brakes.
“No more boring cars.” That was the mandate from Toyota boss Akio Toyoda a few years back that sent Lexus on a journey to explore a more extreme, even outlandish, design language. The Lexus LF-30 Electrified concept is meant to be a glimpse of where that journey could take Toyota’s premium brand by 2030. ButThe LF-30 has been unveiled as Lexus is moving forward with plans to reveal its first production battery electric vehicle (BEV) next month. A new plug-in hybrid Lexus model and a dedicated BEV platform designed to support a range of Lexus-branded electric vehicles, are scheduled to appear in 2020-2021.
![]()
This concept car's interior is lavishly trimmed with rich leather, impressive stitching and what appears to be a boatload of exposed carbon fiber. Access is gained via fingerprint and facial recognition sensors that should unlock the SC2's winged doors, which rise upward and forward as they open.
Self-driving capability is a key attribute of any futuristic design study, and this Karma is properly equipped. A phalanx of long-range radar sensors, cameras and lidar arrays are sprinkled throughout, in theory allowing the car to operate autonomously.
One intriguing element of the SC2 is something called Drive and Play. This feature allows people to relive past drives they've taken. A special high-definition camera mounted under the windshield and other sensors capture the car in motion in a 3D environment. This system records the entire driving experience in real time. This includes braking and acceleration events, turns, sounds and even the air temperature.
Because waku is the new wacky, and we love it.In Suzuki-speak, that means five very different small concept cars—known as kei cars—ranging from off-road and customizable family vehicles, to a mobile breastfeeding station and a living room on wheels.
![]()
An adaptive laser projector allows you to replay a recorded drive while the vehicle is parked. Using a special mount, a smartphone even acts as the rear-view mirror. Making the experience more social, users can share their Drive and Play experiences.
See more news from the Los Angeles Auto Show
The Karma SC2 is a beautiful piece of rolling sculpture, but it's unlikely anything like this will ever be mass-produced, at least in the near future. Hopefully some of its design cues and innovative features will make it to market sooner rather than later.
Karma SC2 concept backs sharp design with bold 1,100 horsepower claim
This was originally published on Roadshow.
The Cars of CES: The EVs, Autonomous Cars, and More You Need to Know About .
CES 2020 might have been the most car-heavy iteration yet.Heavy hitters like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, and Honda showed off fancy wheels, but the vehicles most grounded in reality came from lesser known names like Fisker, Byton, and Sony. (Yes, that Sony.) For all the details, check out our alphabetically arranged list rundown of the CES cars you need to know about.