The F700 is the latest in a series of far-fetching concept cars that flaunts the company's luxury products yet, surprisingly, continues to wear the three-pointed star emblem rather than the Maybach nameplate. Called a research car, the F700 features an 'aqua dynamic' design theme with smooth flowing lines that resemble a dolphin leaping back into water.

Claimed to be the 'new touring saloon of the future', the front face is dominated by the signature Mercedes-Benz grille, flanked by large, practically upright headlamps bearing the concept's name in the lower portion of the three row LED units. The hood plunges down sharply following the lines of the front wheel arches, which protrude to enhance the dynamic stance of the car. In profile, the exterior styling of the F700 is accentuated by a sweeping DLO which juts down toward the front of the car before rising slightly again to meet the A-pillar, while the pronounced rocker panels emphasize the bulging wheel arches front and rear, further accentuating the vehicle's dynamic attributes. The rear door is conventional on the driver's side but opens in a suicide manner on the passenger side for easier ingress and egress. The rear wheel itself is shielded by a clear tinted plastic cover to improve aerodynamic efficiency.

The interior, designed at Mercedes's Advanced Design Center in Como, Italy, is the most interesting aspect of the design. Offering both space and flexibility - with a 'reverse' seat behind the front passenger seat that can be made to face forwards or backward - it also introduces novel materials such as cork. The seats feature a metal backbone - visible through horizontal slats shroud in leather that increase in spacing as they rise along the back - and there is a refrigerated storage compartment in the center console for sushi. At the front, the electronic instrument panel uses mirrors, allowing it to be placed at close proximity to the windshield, and the steering wheel is square to easily view the display.

The iQ concept is a near-production ready development of the Endo concept seen two years ago and is an interesting counterpoint to the VW Up! concept seen here today. At 2980mm, it's a proper '3-meter' car that offers a versatile 3+1 seating layout in a package that is only 200mm longer than a Smart ForTwo and 425mm shorter than an Aygo yet in width and height is close to a Toyota Yaris.

Designed in ED2, the design theme is inspired by the manta-ray and the triangular motif is used in the tail lamps, headlamps, hood form and even the exhaust outlet. What's really interesting about this form language is the way that careful folding of surfaces allows dominant lines in one view to be surpressed in other views. For instance, as you move around the rear of the car, the S-shaped curve from the rear window down to the rear corner of the car has disappeared, to be replaced by a more dominant slashed line from the taillamps. The same thing occurs at the front of the car, where intersecting lines of the hood and the lower cheeks of the car swap over in significance as you walk around it.

The manta-ray theme continues in the interior, where the instrument pod sits brooding atop the main IP like the body of the manta, with its menacing silver tail reaching down to form the center console. The clever 3+1 seating is achieved through a front seat that can be in a more forwards position to allow a third adult to sit behind the passenger and the fourth place can accommodate a small child or, more typically, is used for luggage. Rear seats or trunk - you choose, you cannot have both.

The iQ represents new territory for Toyota and if this promising design theme is anything close to the final production car, we're about to see a significant new contender in the 3-meter car market.

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Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer and his Frankfurt design team - headed by Gregory Guillaume - admit it's no coincidence that the Kee name plays on the word 'key' because that is how essential they believe this concept is for the future direction of Kia design. Kee also acknowledges the Chinese and Korean word 'Ki'- the cultural concept for life-force or spiritual energy.

This low 2+2 coupe develops some of the design themes seen on earlier Kia concepts and the car is notable for its clever play on surfaces and shutlines and its use of interesting detailing. For instance, the clamshell hood shutline runs directly through the front wheel arch, then kicks up in a zig-zag to become a hard-edged recess that loops back on itself into the lower door, not unlike the recess that adorns the cee'd and Kia Kue concept seen at Detroit earlier in the year. The side DLO is characterised by a door and rear window that are linked by a horizontal Lexan panel with three exposed architectural studs, termed the 'keystone panel' according to the designers. The huge rear tailgate parallelograms up over the roof but retains a neat sub-roof panel to protect rear passengers from rain. At the front, the grille is deeply recessed with a hexagon lozenge texture and chrome frame with a keystone motif and the headlamps comprise a dark housing with a string of LEDs that begin in the center of lamp, trail down to frame two vertical side slots and then turn in to frame the bumper chin.

The interior is dominated by a solid milled aluminum center console and a new approach to toggle switches, here used for the main display and navigation controls. All the main interior surfaces are covered in a semi-suede-like micro-fiber materials and the body-hugging sports seats use a hard-wearing but distinctive metallic-finish silver cloth.

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