Which Concept Car Are You Happy Never Hit Production?
Concept cars let designers push boundaries and explore freaky ideas.
Some studies become groundbreaking, while others fall flat on their face.
When it comes to concept cars, automotive designers are like the kids in art class who get to splatter paint without worrying about making a mess. They don’t have to bother with crash tests, safety regulations, or any of those pesky engineering constraints that make production cars so, well, boring sane.
They can let their imaginations run wild, sometimes with jaw-dropping results, and other, well, with things that should never have left the sketchbook. Sure, some concepts turn into icons, but plenty of others make us wonder how they even got greenlit. So, today you tell us what concept cars are you thankful never made it to production.
For example, our lead image, the latest official Corvette concept, is stunning, but it’s also devoid of a V8. In fact, it doesn’t have a combustion engine at all, and no doubt, some fans simply can’t stand that. They’re surely happy that this is purely a design exercise (at this point at least). As you can tell, we’re not limiting you to design alone. GM UK’s concept looks amazing, but an all-electric Corvette is not exactly a true petrolhead’s cup of tea. Unquestionably, it’s far from the only example of this sort of thing, though.
Consider the Bertone Genesis. Under the hood, it has a Lamborghini V12 – which is great. On top of that, it has gullwing doors. It’s getting better and better, doesn’t it? Except… it has a minivan body. Yeah, you read that right: Bertone thought hard and in 1988 decided that the world needed a Lamborghini-powered one-off minivan with gullwing doors. As much as I love fast wagons, this thing just had no business ever existing.
Then, there’s the Buick Signia from 1998. It’s a crossover before crossovers were cool, but it goes far beyond everyday duty. It’s basically a Park Avenue from the day, but with all-wheel drive, a super-tall cabin, and both a hatchback and a Mini Clubman-style tailgate. It almost looks like a Daewoo crossed with a Pontiac Aztek. The idea sounds fascinating, but the execution is terrible.
Just look at the back end of this thing. It has a beautiful wooden bed floor that slides out to extend its utility. I’m not sure, but the bed surface being highly polished but also built for serious utility is an oxymoronic idea if ever I’ve seen one.
Oh, and we haven’t really talked about the cabin, have we? Every inch of it is hilarious, from the Star Trek-esque dash to the… is that the head of a golf club as the shifter? Yeah, it apparently is. Anyway, the end result is a mess and I’m very happy automotive design didn’t get influenced by this thing making it to production.
Turns out that it’s not just the ingredients that count, but the execution is equally as important – and, at the end of the day, while experimentation eventually leads to progress, some ideas are just better left on paper. So, what about you? Which concept are you glad stayed in the design studio and never made the transition into a production model?
