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Too often, the term ‘concept car’ is now used to describe a thinly veiled production model that’s about to hit showrooms.
But it wasn’t always like that; there was a time when the description was reserved for the most cutting-edge designs that showed just how fertile an imagination could be. Here we take a look at more than eight decades of some of the most forward-thinking concept cars ever created, but even with 10 times as many entries we could only ever hope to scratch the surface...
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Volvo Venus Bilo (1933)
This car was so radical when it was first shown, the company behind it refused to be linked to it. In an era where full-width styling was very much in the future, the Venus Bilo embraced it, but it wasn’t until years later that Volvo admitted it had bankrolled the project. It’s generally agreed to be the world’s first concept car.
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Buick Y-Job (1939)
Six years after the Venus Bilo made its debut, the Y-Job appeared; this is now considered to be the world’s first concept car; it wasn’t, but it did put the ace stylist of General Motors (GM) Harley Earl (1893-1969) on the map. Undeniably forward-thinking, the Y-Job featured hidden headlights, electric windows and a powered roof, concealed under a hard tonneau.
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Buick LeSabre (1951)
For an encore to his Y-Job, Harley Earl came up with the LeSabre, which perfectly captured the optimism of the jet age. Sitting a foot lower than contemporary production cars, the 335bhp V8-equipped LeSabre came with a wrap-around windscreen, hidden headlights and huge tailfins that set a trend for America’s Big Three throughout the 1950s. It also incorporated a powered roof that could be activated automatically in the event of rain.
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Oldsmobile Starfire (1953)
Taking its name from the contemporary Lockheed F-94B Starfire jet fighter, this concept featured a plastic bodyshell – something that was revolutionary at the time. In the same year, GM stablemate Chevrolet would launch its plastic-bodied Corvette and more than six decades later there would still be just such a model in the GM line-up.
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Oldsmobile Golden Rocket (1956)
Nobody could keep up with the Americans in the 1950s, with one space-age creation appearing after another. The Golden Rocket packed a 275bhp punch from its 3.2-litre V8, and it introduced us to powered steering column adjustment. Its party piece though was the seats rose up and swivelled outwards when the doors were opened – and at the same time, the roof panels hinged upwards so it was easier to get in and out.
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Bertone BAT cars (1950s)
During his time at Bertone in the 1950s, Franco Scaglione (1916-1993) designed three of the most jaw-dropping cars ever seen. The Berline Aerodinamica Technica 5 (pictured), 7 and 9 took wind-cheating to extremes; the BAT 7 had a drag co-efficient of just 0.19 for example – in 1954.
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Lamborghini Marzal (1967)
Few sixties concepts were as glassy as this one; the Marzal featured 48.4 square feet of the stuff. Designed by Bertone and clearly leading to the Lamborghini Espada, the Marzal featured an abundance of hexagons in its design. Power came from half a Lamborghini V12; a 175bhp six-cylinder unit mounted over the rear axle.
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Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968)
Penned by Marcello Gandini (born 1938), the Carabo (Italian for Beetle) was based on the mid-engined V8-powered Alfa Romeo Tipo 33. This was essentially an updated Lamborghini Miura, another Gandini design. The Lamborghini suffered front-end lift at speed so this car fixed that. It also introduced the world to beetle-wing doors, first put into production on the Countach that arrived in 1974.
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Mercedes-Benz C-111 (1969)
We call it a concept car – Mercedes would term it a research vehicle. First unveiled in 1969, the gull-winged wonder sported a 280bhp three-rotor Wankel engine. In 1970 a refreshed car was wheeled out with a four-rotor powerplant then in 1978 an all-new car emerged, with diesel power.
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Lancia Stratos Zero (1970)
The seventies was the decade of The Wedge and this was one of the wedgiest concepts ever dreamed up. It was also one of the lowest at just 830mm. Another Marcello Gandini confection, the Stratos Zero featured a 1.6-litre V4 from the Lancia Fulvia, good for just 115bhp. So it wasn’t fast – but it certainly looked it standing still.
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Maserati Boomerang (1971)
Taking the styling themes set down by the Carabo and Stratos Zero, the Boomerang showed how a wedge-shaped car could be packaged for real-world use. It led directly to cars such as the Lotus Esprit and DeLorean DMC-12. The 4.7-litre V8 drivetrain was borrowed from the Maserati Bora.
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Ford Probe (1979-1985)
Over a six year period, Ford dreamed up a series of five concepts that tested aerodynamics to the limit. Some were more inspiring than others; the third iteration led directly to the introduction of the ‘jellymould’ Sierra while the 1985 Probe V (pictured) still looks ultra-modern, with its drag co-efficient of just 0.137 – the same as an F-16 fighter jet.
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Ghia Cockpit (1981)
Revisiting the Messerschmitt formula of the 1950s, the Cockpit could seat two in tandem and it was designed as an economy car for urban streets. Small, easy to park and ultra-frugal, power came from a 200cc single-cylinder motorcycle engine that peaked at 12bhp, and which could deliver 75mpg around town.
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Italdesign Capsula (1982)
It may have looked more than just a bit weird but the Capsula really pushed the boundaries when it came to packaging. Here was a car that could be a car, van or just about any other type of vehicle, just by plonking a different bodyshell onto the chassis that contained all of the Alfasud boxer engine and running gear.
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MG E-XE (1985)
It was a rare occurrence for British Leyland, Austin Rover or MG-Rover to create a concept, but when it did do so it tended to hit the spot. You’ve only got to look at the CCV coupé and E-XE for the proof, with the latter clearly unfluencing the MGF that arrived a decade after the E-XE made its first appearance, complete with Metro 6R4 rally car running gear.
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GM Sunraycer (1987)
Some concepts are non-runners but not this one; GM sent it on a 1,950-mile journey across Australia fed by nothing but sunshine. Weighing just 177kg and fitted with 7,200 solar cells, the Sunraycer could seat just one so it wasn’t massively practical, but it was a technical tour de force with its lightweight construction, regenerative braking and an electric motor that was the size of a drinks can.
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GM CERV III (1990)
GM showed its first CERV (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) concept in 1962 and followed it up two years later. The third iteration was a very different beast and while it was a looker, it was the engineering that set it apart. The car’s raison d’etre was to be capable of being driven at massive speeds (200mph) without the need for super-human skills – even if driven on tricky or slippery surfaces. It also previewed the production car design language that would appear on the Corvette C5 in 1996.
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BMW E1 (1991)
The smallest cars are often the most innovative, and so it was here with a concept first seen in 1991 then reimagined for 1993. While the first iteration came with electric propulsion only, a redesign two years later led to three powertrains being engineered: petrol, electric and petrol-electric hybrid. With a lightweight aluminium bodyshell to cut weight the E1 could have been the Audi A1’s nemesis.
Some assert that this car would have made production had the company not instead decided to pursue small cars via its acquisition of Britain’s Rover Group instead, which gave it Mini.
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Volvo ECC (1993)
When the first-generation Volvo S80 went out of production in 2006 it didn’t look especially dated – yet it aped the ECC (Environmental Concept Car) that had first been seen as far back as 1992. Designed to save the planet in use and its occupants in a crash, the ECC was light, slippery, strong and frugal; motive power was courtesy of a gas turbine combined with an electric motor.
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Dodge ESX3 (2000)
For a 21st century car the Dodge ESX3 may not have looked cutting-edge, but underneath that sober skin was something rather interesting – a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain. Honda and Toyota hadn’t long introduced their Insight and Prius respectively, yet as far back as 1996 Dodge had shown its first ESX hybrid concept – with the sequel following in 1998.
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Jaguar F-Type (2000)
Jaguar has done a pretty good job with the production F-Type that arrived in 2013; the coupé was previewed as the C-X16 concept in 2011. But this is what the F-Type could have looked like; this concept made its debut in 2000 and looked utterly sensational. Though not exactly production-ready with its lack of weather gear and an almost complete lack of practicality.
Its design was started by Geoff Lawson, and then finished after his sudden death in 1999 by Ian Callum, who succeeded him as Jaguar’s design chief.
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BMW X Coupé (2001)
BMW came in for a lot of stick at the start of the 21st century thanks to design chief Chris Bangle (born 1956) and his radical styling ideas. One of the most obvious was the ‘flame surfacing’ that played tricks with the light down the car’s flanks. The X Coupé also featured swivelling headlights, directed by GPS and a 3.0-litre diesel engine – a form of propulsion almost unheard of then in a sporting coupé. It previewed the first BMW 1 Series that arrived in 2004.
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Cadillac Sixteen (2003)
GM has come up with some outlandish concepts over the years, but few can top the Cadillac Sixteen, with its 13.6-litre V16 that was reputedly good for 1000bhp. Nothing like it was ever going to enter production, but it did introduce a new design language for Cadillac that’s still current, albeit by now much evolved.
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GM Hy-wire (2003)
One day all cars will be like this. Thanks to everything being controlled through drive-by-wire tech there were no mechanical linkages in the cabin, allowing it to be completely opened up. The fuel cell tech was all enclosed in the sandwich chassis; the three-phase motor provided 126bhp when running continuously, but 173bhp could be summoned for short bursts.
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Holden Efijy (2005)
Concept cars are supposed to look forward, not back. But the Holden Efijy looked so fabulous that it didn’t really matter. A tribute to its legendary FJ (hence the name), the Efijy was based on a C6 Corvette and utilised that car’s supercharged 6.0-litre LS2 V8. Yet another reason to feel sad about Holden’s forthcoming death.
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BMW EfficientDynamics (2009)
It led directly to the introduction of the i8 but the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is much more than that. It pioneered a new type of performance car that mixed high-tech lightweight materials with a hybrid powertrain – and the best part is that now, if your pockets are deep enough, you can buy one of your own in the BMW i8.
You’ll need to be quick though; production stops in April 2020, and the car won’t be directly replaced. Boo.
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Renault Dezir (2010)
You’ll have to look long and hard to find a concept car that looks as beautiful as this one. First shown at the 2010 Paris motor show, the Renault Dezir was a pure-electric concept that offered a glimpse into an eco-friendly future where you could have beauty and brains in one compact package. Ten years on, the Dezir still looks stunning.
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Jaguar C-X75 (2010)
We got so close to being able to buy one of these gorgeous 778bhp hybrid supercars, but in the end the business case just didn’t stack up. Built in conjunction with Williams Advanced Engineering, the plan was to build up to 250 examples at around £1m apiece, but it wasn’t to be – although a baddie got to drive one in the film Spectre, chasing James Bond in his Aston Martin DB10 round the streets of Rome.
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BMW Next 100 (2016)
Launched to mark its centenary, BMW pulled out all the stops with this one. The self-driving Next 100 pioneered new design and construction techniques that incorporated carbonfibre structures for lightness and strength. It was super-slippery too, with a drag co-efficient of just 0.18 Cd.
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DS E-Tense (2016)
So far, the DS brand has brought us mainly reheated Citroëns, but this all-electric concept that made its debut at the Geneva salon in 2016 showed just what the PSA-owned brand was capable of. Looking like a mid-engined supercar, the 400bhp luxury coupé was the car of the show for many – so it’s a shame there are no plans for production.
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Lexus LF-30 Electrified (2019)
With its dramatic diamond-like shape, roof-mounted doors, flush surfaces and glowing front ‘grille’, the LF-30 Electrified uses all the tricks in the concept car playbook to create a truly dazzling vision of the future. There’s substance to match the style; under the skin is an all-new, all-electric platform that will be the basis for Lexus and Toyota EVs from around 2022.
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