Best cars & vans

Concept cars: the greatest concept car designs of all time - pictures

We take a look at the greatest concept car designs of all time in pictures

by: Auto Express team

4 Mar 2020

Go to: Concept cars: the all-time greatest designs

The reveal of a concept car can be just as exciting as the announcement of a brand-new production model. So here we’ve highlighted some of greatest concept car designs that have gone down in history as the cars that shaped our motoring world.
The name BAT stands for Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica, but it also describes the look of this trio of winged Alfas pretty well, too.
Advertisement
All three cars were designed by Nuccio Bertone to study the effects of aerodynamics, and were revealed in 1953, 1954 and 1955 respectively. Under the skin they’re based on the modest Alfa 1900, with 90hp engines.
The distinctive rounded nose and prominent rear fins meant they were bat-like in appearance, while BAT 7 had a drag coefficient of 0.19, which still impresses today.
Advertisement
All three cars still exist, and are part of a collection based in the US, although they are often seen together at classic car shows such as the Pebble Beach Concours.
When James Bond needs a car, he’s going to turn to Aston Martin. But with a new V12 model still a couple of years away, and the rest of the range feeling its age, Bond would need something special for the movie Spectre.
Advertisement
So the film’s producers commissioned Aston to build an all-new model, called the DB10.
Under the skin, there’s the modified running gear of the V8 Vantage, and the DB10 is good for a top speed of 193mph. To make it even more exclusive, Aston only built 10 DB10s, making it a rarity even in the exclusive world of Aston Martins.
Advertisement
Back in the 1990s, Audi was on a crusade for lightness, which it displayed in its concept cars. One such model was the Avus quattro, a mid-engined supercar study that featured aluminium bodywork over an aluminium frame.
Designer J Mays took inspiration from the Auto Union land speed record cars for the supercar’s low-slung body, while the polished panels made a highlight of the car’s aluminium construction.
Advertisement
Named after Auto Union’s famous grand prix driver Tazio Nuvolari, this coupe concept will look familiar because it was the precursor to the original Audi A5 Coupe.
The Nuvolari’s low roof and small glass area was ditched for the A5, while the headlights increased in size and the grille was toned down.
Advertisement
Also dropped was the show car’s 591bhp 5.0-litre V10 - the closest the A5 got was 444bhp for the RS 5, although quattro four-wheel drive did carry over.
With the current SUV arms race in full swing, it was good to see Bentley counter the controversy of its Bentayga SUV with this stunning two-seater coupe concept.
Advertisement
The EXP 10 wowed crowds in 2015, so much so that Bentley is on schedule to put it into production.
Unlike most concepts, the EXP 10 is likely to get through to production without many changes, seeing as it already looks like a variation on the Continental GT which it shares a platform with.
Advertisement
More than 20 years before the BMW i3 hit showrooms, BMW’s first attempt at an electric city car was the E1 concept.
This Fiat 500-sized machine featured the design cues of other BMWs of the era - including a comically large window area - and had light weight built into it to boost its driving range as much as possible.
Advertisement
Claimed range for the 900kg machine was 155 miles, which is quite something when the i3 claims a similar distance today with higher tech batteries on board.
When designers are given free rein, they can come up with some weird stuff, including names. GINA stands for Geometry and functions In 'N' Adaptations.
Advertisement
When it comes down to it, the GINA is unique thanks to its fabric ‘skin’ stretched over a metal frame. That skin was made from waterproof Spandex, a fabric more commonly associated with big-haired heavy metal bands from the 1980s.
Of more concern was the slightly risque way in which the bonnet opened, with the two sides of the bonnet separating to reveal the engine.
Advertisement
With the Veyron in production, it was time for Bugatti to think about a second model. And as it had gained a reputation for luxury with cars like the Royale, it seemed fitting that this car should be a luxury machine to compete with Rolls-Royce.
Cue the 16C Galibier, named after an earlier Bugatti, which in turn was named after an Alpine pass. Power was planned to come from the same quad-turbo W12 as the Veyron, and a 235mph top speed was mooted.
Advertisement
Production numbers for this luxury five-seater would have been far higher than the Veyron or Chiron, but the model has still yet to appear in showrooms.
Widely regarded as the first concept car, the Y-Job was the creation of General Motors design boss Harley Earl, and went on to dictate the design of Buick’s cars throughout the 1950s.
Advertisement
It featured smooth bodywork with hidden headlights, electric windows, wraparound bodywork and flush door handles.
With an ageing customer base and a range of stodgy designs, General Motors needed a concept car to revive interest in luxury brand Cadillac.
Advertisement
And what better way than with a supercar concept? Cien means 100 in Spanish, and the concept was revealed in Cadillac’s centenary year.
Power came from a 750bhp V12 that featured cylinder shutdown for light loads - although why anyone would care much about that from a 12-cylinder concept supercar is anyone’s guess.
Advertisement
Sony’s Gran Turismo racing game on the PlayStation has pushed the boundaries of collaboration between car and game makers. The GT by Citroen was a huge step in this partnership, as it was co-designed by Citroen and GT developer Polyphony Digital.
Not only did it look radical, it also injected some extra desirability into the Citroen brand.
Advertisement
In-game, the original GT by Citroen concept car was all-electric, but there have since been petrol-powered roadgoing and race versions created, while the real GT by Citroen is powered by a Ford V8 with nearly 650bhp.
In an effort to revive Citroen’s profile in the 1980s, the Karin was created to cause a stir on the concept car scene.
Advertisement
It was largely unconventional, with a triangular-themed design that resulted in a pyramid-shaped body, which only had room for three people to sit abreast in the cabin, with the driver in the middle.
The roof tapered to a point - so who knows how comfortable or cramped the passenger seats were - although under the skin the positively ancient DS suspension would have ensured that the Karin had a plush ride.
Advertisement
Almost a decade ago, years before the electric revolution began, Citroën was pioneering electric supercar technology. The Survolt is a carbon-fibre bodied, twin-electric-motored, go-kart-like racer with 300bhp and 480Nm of torque.
Whilst this may not sound like much by modern standards, the Survolt is sprightly enough. We had the chance to drive Citroën’s concept back in 2010, and got it up to 134mph on Thruxton circuit in Hampshire.
Advertisement
Given enough space, the Survolt would have kept going to a maximum of 162mph, and it could cover the 0-62mph sprint in five seconds.
Ferrari was due to compete in the 5.0-litre Sports Car class at Le Mans and, to be eligible, the Italian mark had to build 25 examples for private sale.
Advertisement
TThe Modulo was one of these homologation models, which Ferrari handed to Italian coachbuilding company Pininfarina to turn into a concept car.
It’s fitted with a 550bhp 5.0-litre V12, and has a claimed top speed of 220mph; but it never saw the open road. Curiously, when the Modulo was built Ferrari neglected to supply a steering system.
Advertisement
The Mythos is a two-seat sports car based on the Testarossa, which featured on Ferrari’s show stand at the 1989 Tokyo Auto Show. It’s powered by the Testarossa’s 4.9-litre flat-12 engine, producing 384bhp and 354Nm, and has a projected top speed of 180mph
Like all the best concepts, the gas-powered Fiat Turbina comes with a rather good story. It was designed and constructed in secrecy by a three-man team in disused corner of Fiat’s famous Lingotto factory in Turin.
Advertisement
The Turbina was powered by Fiat’s own Type 8001 turbine engine, developed especially for the project, producing 291bhp at 30,000rpm.
Styled by furniture and watch designer Marc Newson, the Ford 021C made its debut at the 1999 Tokyo Motor Show.
Advertisement
It featured suicide doors, a carbon-fibre body, LED headlights, swivelling front seats and a boot which opened like a bedside table drawer. Also, in place of conventional height-adjustable seats, the 021C’s dashboard moved vertically.
This was supposed to be the successor to the legendary Ford GT40. The GT90 borrowed the GT40’s door-mounted roof cutaways and rakish lines, but everything else was supposed to be an improvement on the original.
Advertisement
Instead of the original GT40’s carbureted 4.2-litre V8, the GT90 used a 6.0-litre V12. The engine was built by lopping two cylinders off of two 4.6-litre modular Ford V8s, and welding the resulting V6s together.
The result was 720bhp and 895Nm of torque, a 0-62mph time of around three seconds and a top speed of 253mph.
Advertisement
The GT90’s exhaust used to get so hot that it would melt the surrounding body panels. To remedy the issue Ford’s engineers developed ceramic tiles, similar to those used on the Space Shuttle, to insulate the exhaust from the bodywork.
Ford wanted to capitalise on the nuclear power craze of the 50's, and built the Nucleon prototype; a nuclear-powered car, driven by uranium fission.
Advertisement
In the early 2000s, hydrogen power was being touted as the next big step in automotive propulsion. A fuel source that’s plentiful, reasonably cheap and produces efficient power was a tempting prospect, spawning a handful of hydrogen-powered cars.
The GM Hy-Wire belonged to this strain of automobiles and, whilst it never made production, it was forward-thinking for its time. It was built on a “skateboard” platform like many of today’s purpose-designed electric cars.
Advertisement
The hydrogen fuel cell could supply anywhere between 94kW and 129kW of power. Also all the controls were drive-by-wire. One large electric motor powered the front two wheels, controlled by an electric-throttle.
The GM Impact would eventually spawn the EV1 electric production car in 1996, GM’s first electric car and a model so advanced that its demise sparked conspiracy theories about forces behind the scenes working to hold back the electric car.
Advertisement
Trailing in the wake of the jet-powered revolution in 1950s aviation, automotive manufacturers produced a wave of ‘jet age’-inspired concepts, such as the Fiat Turbina and this, the General Motors LeSabre.
Even though it was powered by an largely conventional 3.5-litre V8, its styling was influenced heavily by jet-powered aircraft, setting the trend for 1950s car design.
Advertisement
Like the Urban EV beneath, the Sports EV Concept is another nostalgic design exercise based on Honda’s back catalogue. The Sports EV Concept borrows styling cues from the famous Honda S600, and blends them with modern technology.
It uses the same platform as the Urban EV, borrowing its technology. However, as the Sports EV was marketed as a sports car, we suspect the drivetrain was reconfigured, with drive being sent to the rear of the car rather than the front.
Advertisement
Fewer details were revealed about the Sport EV’s interior, but it seems to feature the same infotainment system, and the bench seat from the Urban EV was ditched in favour of two sports seats.
Styled to look like a modern interpretation of the original 1972 Honda Civic, the Urban EV is an all-electric, retro-styled three-door hatchback. Much like its grandfather, Honda’s EV Concept is designed to be a vehicle for short-distance journeys.
Advertisement
Performance figures were never announced, with the focus placed instead on the Urban EV’s technology. For example, between the car’s headlamps, a large dot-matrix-style screen displays messages and greetings to other road users.
The interior is a blend of retro and modern styling, with occupants being seated across two bench seats, much like the 1965 Honda L700 estate. The dash has a old-school wood-grain finish and houses a new-world infotainment screen and control buttons.
Advertisement
Yet another blend of old-world style and new-world engineering, the Prototype 9 is a 1940s-style racer, outfitted with a modern electrically-driven powertrain. It was revealed at Pebble Beach, California in 2017.
It was built as an after-hours project, and is designed to show how a 1940s Infiniti racer would have looked, despite the company being only 30 years old. Every panel on the Prototype 9 is hand-beaten, using the same techniques employed by 1940's racers.
Advertisement
Underneath, the Prototype 9 is thoroughly modern, powered by a 146bhp single-speed electric motor. The concept is rear-wheel drive, and can dispatch the 0-62mph sprint in 5.5 seconds and achieve a top speed of 105mph.
Another product of joint enterprise, the 4200R was collaboratively designed and built by Lotus and Isuzu. Penned by the legendary Shiro Nakamura (the designer behind the Nissan R35 GT-R), it’s a four-door, four-seat sports car, designed for everyday use.
Advertisement
It’s powered by Isuzu’s own 4.2-litre V8, mounted mid-ship in a transverse configuration for increased interior space. It produces around 350bhp, which is sent through a five-speed gearbox to all four wheels.
Lotus fitted the 4200R with active suspension which could, in theory, be configured for either handling or comfort. Other forward-thinking technology included a colour satellite navigation system and a digital instrument cluster.
Advertisement
Developed in tandem with Williams Advanced Engineering, the Jaguar C-X75 was supposed be an all-wheel-drive, PHEV supercar to rival the likes of the Ferrari LaFerrari.
It was primed to go into production in 2012 but, due a worsening economic climate, the project was shelved.
Advertisement
It’s powered by a F1-inspired 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, which is turbocharged and supercharged, producing 502bhp at 10,000rpm. The petrol engine is mated to a pair of electric motors, which throw an additional 385bhp at the chassis, produci
In 1967, Ferrucio Lamborghini was looking to expand his model line-up, wanting a true four-seat sports car to join the two-seat Miura and two-plus-two 400GT.
Advertisement
The Marzal was the result. Built on an extended version of the Miura’s chassis, this wedge-shaped icon featured two huge, all-glass gull-wing doors which allowed access for front and rear passengers, along with a set of honeycombed rear louvres.
It was powered by a 2.0-litre straight-six, which was in essence a Lamborghini 4.0-litre V12 that had been sawn down the middle. Fed by three side-draught Weber carburetors, the Marzal had a power output of around 175bhp.
Advertisement
Lamborghini is quite possibly the undisputed king of making far out concept cars that are as impractical as they are astounding. The list of wild Lambo concepts is endless with a new one being unveiled seemingly every year.
Take this, the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio, as a prime example. Built in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, this concept is what Lamborghini believe their supercars will look like in the third millennium (hence the name)
Advertisement
This is the concept which spawned the legendary Stratos. Built by the Italian styling house Bertone, and powered by Lancia’s V4 engine, it was designed to be a replacement for the aging Fulvia, tasked with reasserting the company’s dominance in rallying.
The project almost didn’t come to fruition. It was built in secrecy by Bertone in a bid to win Lancia’s affection as the firm preferred the rival Italian styling house, Pininfarina, at the time.
Advertisement
Ugo Gobbato, the chairman of Lancia, asked to see the Zero. So, Bertone personally drove the car to the headquarters of the Lancia works racing team, parked it in the forecourt of the garage and exited via its hinged windscreen to a crowd of Lancia staff.
Back in 2011, Land Rover chose the Frankfurt Motor Show as its preferred launching ground for the DC100, the concept car that many people took to signal the imminent replacement of the Land Rover Defender.
Advertisement
What the DC100 did do is stoke up the anticipation for a new Land Rover utility vehicle that retained the essential off-road DNA of its forebear but brought the model line into the modern era in terms of comfort, refinement and technology.
The concept, combined the Defender’s tough, upright stance with its essential off-road accoutrements. It was even followed up at the same Frankfurt show by the less convincing DC100 Sport concept.
Advertisement
While Land Rover has always been known for its sensible, luxurious, and capable mud pluggers, in 2004 its designers really let their hair down with the outrageous 180mph Range Stormer.
Complete with a supercharged V8, Lambo-style scissor doors, and laminated plywood seats, it was like no other SUV we’ve seen before or since.
Advertisement
While the Range Stormer was clearly never intended for production, it did set the tone for the much more mundane Range Rover Sport which entered production a year later. Thankfully, the wooden seats were ditched but that glorious V8 did survive.
The low, dramatic Lexus 2054 still looks incredible today, but sadly the hydrogen fuel cell, crashproof structure, and biometric security systems weren’t actually functional. It did, however, foresee a future of autonomous driving and voice control.
Advertisement
Designed by Ford’s lead stylists, and hand-built by Ghia, the Futura was primarily a styling exercise, intended to drum up some publicity for both Lincoln and parent company Ford, and provide a rough indication of the two brands' future design plans.
Debuting at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, the Maserati Birdcage was built to both celebrate the 75th anniversary of Pininfarina and to pay homage to the lightweight Maserati racing cars of the 1950’s.
Advertisement
Built predominantly from carbon fibre and based on the carbon fibre chassis and 700bhp V12 from the Maserati MC12 GT1, the Birdcage still ended up weighing 1,500kg.
Following its success with the Maserati Bora, Italdesign built the Boomerang concept for the 1972 Turin Auto Show.The Boomerang has around 300bhp and 460Nm. Power is sent through a five-speed gearbox to the rear wheels, and the top speed stands at 170mph.
Advertisement
The Furai was revealed at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Named after a Japanese phrase meaning ‘the sound of the wind’, it was designed as the final model to use Mazda’s “Nagare” design language.
The Furai took its inspiration from the world of motorsport. It was built on a modified version of the French-made Courage Compétition C65 Le Mans Prototype chassis and was powered by a 450bhp three-rotor wankel engine.
Advertisement
The engine ran on E100 Ethanol, and was mated to a six-speed sequential transmission, which sent its power to the rear wheels. The Furai was no trailer queen, either; it was regularly taken to the track and thrashed by Mazda’s test drivers.
Some concept cars are little more than an exercise in shocking motor show goers into dropping their champagne flutes but the Mercedes C111s were a whole series of concept cars that were as much about technology as they were eye-catching design.
Advertisement
From 1969, the basic C-111 platform served as the foundation for Mercedes to showcase innovations including multi-link rear suspension, gull-wing doors, Wankel rotary engines, advanced diesel technology and futuristic interior concepts.
The original C-111, with its 280bhp three-rotor Wankel engine and gull-wing doors, appeared at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 1969 to huge critical acclaim.
Advertisement
Big Mercedes-Benz has frequently used concepts to showcase tech that will feature on production cars of the future. The grand F200 previewed the styling of the W220 S-Class and the C215 CL-Class, but many of its systems would hold much greater influence.
The suspension, for example, introduced Mercedes’ Active Body Control system, compensating for body roll through corners. An electrochromic sunroof, which could be switched from transparent to opaque at the touch of a button, later appeared on the Maybach
Advertisement
It still continues to influence cars today, too: the F 200 featured video cameras in place of rear view mirrors - an idea that made it to production for the first time on the Audi e-tron.
The Mercedes Vision GT was designed initially as a virtual concept car for exclusive use in the Gran Turismo 6 racing game. However, Mercedes’ design team was so proud of its digital handiwork, that it also brought the car to life with a life size model.
Advertisement
It was built around an all-aluminum space frame, clad in carbon fibre and borrowed a handful of components from Mercedes’s AMG parts bin.
As a result, the Vision’s performance figures were considerable; with an AMG-sourced 577bhp 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 propelling a car weighing only 1,385kg, it easily had enough grunt to outpace the SLS supercar of the day.
Advertisement
When the MINI was first re-introduced under BMW ownership back in 2003, it had gained some noticeable weight over its predecessor. With each generation since, the MINI has gained inches in every direction and spawned bigger variations such as the Clubman.
Launched at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the Rocketman was designed to show that a modern MINI could indeed be ‘mini’. It measured just over three metres in length, which meant it was just 400mm longer than the 1959 original.
Advertisement
The Rocketman used a carbon-fibre space-frame chassis and featured several unique design touches such as a large glass floating roof, stirrup-shaped rearlights and double-hinged doors for easier access to the cabin.
Every now and then, the designers like to take a break from scaling up hatchbacks, and in 2014 they blew us away with this, the MINI Superleggera Vision.
Advertisement
Inspired by classic racers of the 1950s and 60s, the two-seater roadster was handcrafted by Milan-based coachbuilders Touring Superleggera, injecting some Italian flair into the quintessentially British design.
No standard MINI parts were used on the concept, yet it remains unmistakably on-brand. The iconic bonnet stripes are embossed into the metal, and the spotlights are replaced by LED rings blended into the grille.
Advertisement
Nissan chose its home motor show to unleash the IDx concept on the world in 2013 and the world lapped it up.
The cars are very much of the retro school of concept car design. Rather than vainly attempting to predict the automotive future, designer David Beasley cast his eye back to Nissan’s past and hit upon the Datsun 510.
Advertisement
We were first introduced to the compact, ultra-manoeuvrable Nissan Pivo electric city car back in 2005 and at first glance, one could have been forgiven for thinking it was just another “vision of future mobility” that would be forgotten.
Designed purely for city driving, it featured four-wheel steering and great all-around visibility. On top of a battery-filled deck, the electric Pivo featured a unique 360-degree rotating cabin, eliminating the need to reverse.
Advertisement
Sadly, however, the third iteration of the mould-breaking EV did away with the car’s one unique feature, the rotating cabin. While more feasible for production, it lost the original car’s imagination.
The Aerotech’s chassis was borrowed from the series-winning 1985 March Engineering Indycar, while the body was built entirely from carbon-fibre, after being shaped in a wind-tunnel for maximum aerodynamic efficiency. In total, it weighed a meagre 726kg.
Advertisement
The e-Legend is a modern take on the classic Peugeot 504, and was unveiled at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. Interestingly, even though it was a concept, it was designed with “realistic,” showroom-friendly proportions.
Throughout, the e-Legend blends next-generation technology with 1960s materials. The 49-inch dash-width infotainment screen sits alongside retro wooden trim and velour upholstery.
Advertisement
The e-Legend is powered by a 100kWh battery pack, feeding an all-wheel-drive, all-electric drivetrain. Performance figures stand at 456bhp and 800Nm of torque; enough for a 0-62mph sprint of under four seconds and top speed of 137mph.
Peugeot has a proud history of supercar concepts, including spectacular efforts like the Oxia, 907 and Onyx, but the 1984 Peugeot Quasar stands out.
Advertisement
The Peugeot took the heavily turbocharged 600bhp 4-cylinder engine from its legendary 205 T16 rally car and applied the Quasar’s sci-fi inspired bodywork and interior over the top.
nside, the Quasar’s striking red leather and blue carpets were an acquired taste but it also featured a Clarion stereo and an early satellite navigation system that could send and receive teletext messages.
Advertisement
"If you built the fastest racing car on land, one that throws aside all rules and regulations, what would that car look like, how would it perform, and how would it feel to drive?”. The answer was the Red Bull X2010.
Aerodynamics are at its core with enclosed wheels and fan technology designed to suck the car to the road. A 1,479bhp engine provides the power with the aims of launching the 545kg machine to a 292mph top speed and pulling 6g in lateral forces.
Advertisement
Renault has developed a bit of a habit for creating bedroom poster concept cars and the Dezir, shown at the 2010 Paris Motor Show, certainly falls into that category.
The Dezir concept was one of six concept cars designed by Renault to showcase the different stages of life that it customers might encounter but they also hinted at the future design language of the brand.
Advertisement
The Dezir never made it to production unfortunately, although you can clearly see elements of its design in current Renault models - particularly that full-width grille.
What do you get when you cross a typically French MPV with the engine of a Formula 1 car? The one-off, madcap Renault Espace F1.
Advertisement
Back in 1994, Renault was celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Espace MPV, a car so practical and versatile it went on to define the MPV sector for another two decades.
Instead of having a simple birthday cake and some balloons, Renault decided to team up with its Formula 1 operation and insert one of its competition engines into the Espace.
Advertisement
The people at Rinspeed have long been the kings of the bizarre concept car, and the Swiss firm arguably hit peak weirdness in 2002 with the Presto.
One push of a button stretches the Presto by 746mm - turning it from a two seat, three-metre long micro car into a four seater with more rear legroom than a typical family hatch.
Advertisement
Rinspeed’s madcap engineers didn’t stop with the design, either: they altered the Mercedes-sourced 1.7-litre engine so that it could run on a mix of diesel and natural gas.
The Mini Spiritual concept aimed to succeed the original British motoring icon - not from a styling point of view, but by taking inspiration from its groundbreaking approach to the small car concept.
Advertisement
As a result, the Spiritual promised exceptional packaging, thanks in no small part to its - at the time - revolutionary mid-engined layout and compact ‘Hydrogas’ suspension. The Spiritual was tiny at 3,000mm - the same length as the original Mini.
The Tango makes a strong case to be one of the prettiest cars that SEAT has ever designed. The gorgeous shape was penned by Walta da Silva - a man also responsible for the Alfa Romeo 156 and the original Audi R8.
Advertisement
Trotting out of the same VW Group stable as the TT meant that, even in concept form, the Tango seemed like a plausible production prospect. Power came from a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine, sending its 178bhp to the front wheels through a six-speed gearbox
Sadly, SEAT, or its VW Group bosses, didn’t see the potential for big sales and pursued the Altea MPV instead.
Advertisement
‘If Suzuki designed a modern day Caterham Seven’: that’s the concept behind the wildly-styled Suzuki GSX-R/4, which wowed onlookers when it was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show back in 2001.
The GSX-R name tag is a reference to the brand’s motorcycle range, and as such this little track-day toy was powered by the same 1,299cc four-cylinder engine used by the Suzuki Hayabusa - at the time the fastest production motorcycle in the world.
Advertisement
An aluminum spaceframe chassis kept the weight down to just 640kg, so while the power-to-weight ratio couldn’t match a Suzuki superbike, it was still phenomenal by road car standards.
The FT-1 was Toyota’s return to its performance car roots. It was a front-engined, rear-wheel-drive sports car unveiled at the 2014 North American International Motor Show andit was a first look at Toyota’s planned replacement for the legendary Supra.
Advertisement
It was visually striking, with an F1-style nose-cone moulded into the bonnet and bumper (like a McLaren-Mercedes SLR) and a wrap-around “glasshouse” cockpit borrowed from the old Toyota 2000GT.
The interior was equally dramatic, featuring a wrap-around dash and centre console, an F1-style steering wheel which housed most of the FT-1’s major controls and a digital instrument binnacle.
Advertisement
The ’pod’ is a common theme at motor shows today, urban transport bubbles that promise to autonomously whisk people around the cities of the future. Well, back in 2001, Toyota was on the pod bandwagon early with the aptly named Toyota Pod concept.
It made no claims of autonomous driving but instead promised to sense your moods by collecting biometric data and have a gentle word to calm you down if your pulse or perspiration rates got too high.
Advertisement
the Pod lets others know its mood by changing the colour of the lighting on its frontal ‘face’ (red for angry, blue for sad and orange for happy) and in a move of pure genius on the part of the designers’, wags the rear window ‘tail’.
In unveiling the S-FR back in 2015, Toyota hinted that the compact, rear-wheel drive roadster format might not be hogged by the Mazda MX-5 forever.
Advertisement
Under the skin was a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre petrol engine producing 130bhp. That might not sound like much but, tipping the scales at just 980kg meant that the S-FR weighed roughly one large human less than the current entry-level MX-5.
The dashboard design was a showcase of beautiful simplicity; featuring all of the major controls stacked on a single tower beside the steering wheel.
Advertisement
There’ll be something naggingly familiar about the 1979 Volvo Tundra concept to anyone with a soft spot for French cars of the 80s and early 90s.
The Volvo 343-based Tundra, with its angular, wedge-inspired shape, gold colour scheme and blacked-out pillars, was at odds with Volvo’s line-up of staid estates and saloons.
Advertisement
Nostalgia is a force that should never be underestimated by any concept car designer and few concept cars capitalise on that fact better than the VW Microbus concept that graced the Detroit Motor Show in 2001.
VW essentially concocted a modern interpretation of the classic Microbus that was sold in the 1950s and based on the Type 2 VW Transporter.
Advertisement
In 2002 it announced that the Microbus would indeed be built, based on the then current T5 Transporter van. It never happened, and in 2005 the project was officially axed.
Some concept cars lack the mechanical bite to back-up their show-stopping looks but the VW W12 Nardo is an exception.
Advertisement
When it appeared at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, the 591bhp 12-cylinder engine was fully plumbed-in and the 1,200kg supercar was good for a 221.8mph top speed plus a 3.5s 0-62mph time.
The Nardo would go on to set the world 24-hour speed record twice, covering 4,809.8 miles in 24 hours at an average speed of 200.6mph in February 2002. The W12 engine tech would appear in various VW Group production cars from the Phaeton to the Conti GT.
Advertisement
What would happen if you designed a Formula 1 car for the road? That's the question that Yamaha tried to answer with the outlandish OX99-11.
Back in 1992, atmospheric 3.5-litre engines of varying cylinder configurations were mandated by F1 rules, and Yamaha’s V12 powered the Brabham team in 1991.
Advertisement
Throttled back from the race car’s 660bhp for the road, the OX99-11 produced 400bhp, yet still revved to an astonishing 10,000rpm red line.
Then there was the way it looked: a remarkable carbon chassis wrapped in aluminium body panels, gave the OX99 the look of a mini Le Mans prototype.
Advertisement