Present indicative, future perfect

Concepts cars are, well, concepts - but they are more: an interface of testing designs on the public, reports Michael McAleer from Geneva

They represent all that's weird and wonderful in the world of motoring, but concept cars can also offer the best indications of the styling direction of future models. Several of the concepts on show at Geneva are thinly disguised prototypes of cars that will soon take to our roads.

No cash-strapped company is going to allow designers to endlessly doodle and spend valuable resources on unlikely prototypes. So what you see at this stage of development as "concepts" have jumped various hurdles to get to the show stand and represent - admittedly to varying degrees - what that firm believes could one day be a viable new model; for them the hope is sooner rather than later.

Mazda has been consistent of late in introducing new products initially as concepts. Over the last three years it has introduced concept studies that became production models. So the MX-Flexa unveiled yesterday is a likely future production model. The six-seater concept may even make its production debut as early as the Paris show this autumn.

If proof were needed that Toyota is now taking design seriously, its new hybrid supercar should be evidence enough. Developed by Italian design house Italdesign-Guigiaro alongside Toyota, the mid-engined concept houses the same mechanics as the new Lexus RX400 hybrid, offering 38 mpg while at the same time capable of achieving 155 mph.

The supercar currently carries the name Alessandro Volta, in honour of the Italian scientist who invented the battery. It's powered by the 3.3-litre V6 transversely mounted and working in conjunction with two electric motors to give a total of 402 bhp - enough to get you from 0-62 mph in a claimed 4.1 seconds. Despite the extra weight from the batteries, the use of carbon-fibre means the car weighs just 1,250 kg.

Then there's Nissan and its strangely-named Qashqai (the name comes from a Saharan tribe), another entrant to the crossover segment, aimed at the likes of the Mitsubishi Outlander and combining 4x4 features with a normal passenger car. But the star of the show for us has been the Fiat Trepiuno - or 3+1 in Italian - which will be Fiat's new microcar, due for production in late 2007. The modern version of the original 1950s Bambino or 500 range, it's a welcome sign to see Fiat getting back to what it does best, building small cars. Clearly the success of the Smart on the streets of Rome has been a wake-up call.