When a car company comes up with a concept vehicle, they don’t often put it into production. They usually showcase the creative minds of those within the company and push the boundaries of design.
However, sometimes, these concepts become more than just showing cars; they are real-life working prototypes. Some are also so good that we wish they had gone into production.
Our selection of the best concepts carefully evaluates their aesthetics, performance capabilities, and, in some cases, practicality. These are the ones we believe should have gone beyond the concept stage.
Ferrari Modulo Concept
The Ferrari Modulo is probably not the most practical concept car, but it deserved to enter production based on its looks alone. Sitting on a Ferrari 412S chassis, Ferrari introduced the Modulo at the 1970 Gevena Motor Show, with the design created by Paolo Martin of Pininfarina.
The Modulo had a 5.0-liter V12 under the hood and had radical features such as the canopy-style glass roof and its low, wedge-shaped body. After decades of static display, James Glickenhaus bought the car in 2014 from Pininfarina, who would restore it to operating condition, making it road-legal.
Opel Manta GSe ElektroMOD
The Opel Manta is one of the European manufacturers’ most well-known models. So in 2021, Opel made it even more famous by turning it into the ultimate electric restomod. Opel developed the Manta GSe ElektroMOD, a fully electrified version of an original 1970s Manta.
Opel modernized the design with features like the digital front fascia, tweaked lights and styling, and the 134-hp electric motor and 31 kWh battery. Safety regulations would prevent Opel from implementing this concept in production. Still, a Manta EV is coming in 2025, so this concept may become a production vehicle, albeit with a few tweaks.
Porsche 919 Street
Many of us have been hoping for a successor to the Porsche 918 Spyder, but it has yet to come to fruition. However, recently, Porsche took the covers off the 919 Street, a secret concept based on the 919 LMP1 hybrid race car that Porsche raced in the WEC, including the Le Mans 24 Hours.
The 919 Street would have had 900 hp and a carbon fiber monocoque, just like the LMP1 version. Ultimately, Porsche decided not to put the 919 Street into production, which makes little sense given that it desires to produce a 918 successor.
Hyundai N Vision 74
Hyundai’s stunning N Vision 74 is one of the best concept cars of recent years. The manufacturer revealed the N Vision 74 in 2022, restoring a 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe and fitting it with a new hydrogen fuel cell powertrain and a 62.4 kWh battery.
Combined with two electric motors, the sports car concept produces 670 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque, making it one of Hyundai’s most powerful creations. Worldwide acclaim followed for the N Vision 74 and demanded that the manufacturer put the radical concept into production. Something Hyundai has not conclusively ruled out.
Ford Nucleon
While the Ford Nucleon would not have been the most practical concept, we think it should have gone into production just for the heck of it. As the name suggests, the Nucleon was a Ford concept to discover how nuclear propulsion would work in automobiles.
Under the hood would have been a uranium-fuelled nuclear reactor, and during an age of scientific discovery, this made perfect sense. Yet rival Chrysler predicted that the nucleus could weigh around 36 tons, and the safety implications of a nuclear car would be very complicated. Ford would abandon the Nucleon concept, while Chrysler pursued the Turbine Car instead.
2010 Jaguar C-X75
In 2010, Jaguar pushed the supercar concept to an extreme level and came up with what could have been the world’s first mass-production hypercar. The C-X75, the spiritual successor to the Jaguar XJ220, promised considerable power and fantastic fuel economy.
Jaguar planned to use four electric motors at each wheel and add two diesel-powered gas turbines to power the battery pack, resulting in up to 778 hp for the concept. Jaguar built five prototypes, except these had a 1.6-liter twin-turbocharged inline-four under the hood, plus two electric motors to produce 890 hp. Yet, thanks to the economic recession and lack of interest in hybrids, the C-X75 never entered production.
Lamborghini Bravo Concept
In the 1970s, Lamborghini was looking to replace the Uracco supercar and tasked Bertone with aiding them in this venture. Bertone and the manufacturer developed the Bravo, a smart-looking concept based on an Urraco chassis that looks modern even in 2024.
Under the hood, the Bravo had a 300 hp 3.0-liter V8, and Lamborghini took the covers off the car at the 1974 Turin Motor Show. Despite the excellent promise, Lamborghini would dial things back and not put the Bravo into production. However, some design elements would make their way onto the Countach, and the sole prototype now resides at the Bertone Collection.
Renault Espace F1
Sometimes, a manufacturer produces a concept car that is so crazy that it just has to go into production. That is precisely what the Renault Espace F1 is. Renault took its family-friendly MPV, which celebrated its first decade of production in 1994 and decided to shoehorn the 1993 3.5-liter V10 F1 engine into it.
That was the same engine that had powered Alain Prost’s Williams FW15C to the 1993 F1 drivers championship. This resulted in a swift Espace, with around 800 hp and a top speed that jumped from 100 mph to 193 mph. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Renault never produced a production version of the Espace F1. It probably didn’t help that the engine now sat where the kids would usually be!
BMW Nazca M12
German engineering rarely meets Italian design. Yet that precisely happened when BMW produced the radical Nazca M12 concept. Designed by a young Fabrizio Giugiaro of Italdesign, the M12 was a striking supercar inspired by the Group C Le Mans racers and Formula 1 cars of the time.
The M12’s body was of carbon fiber and it had a glass roof and gullwing doors. Under the hood was a mid-mounted BMW 5.0-liter V12 producing 295 hp. BMW created a pair of M12 prototypes, the Nazca C2 and C2 Spider, with an extra 49 hp thanks to modifications to the engine. Sadly, the radical supercar would remain a concept.
Toyota Alessandro Volta
Toyota had high hopes for the Alessandro Volta hybrid sports car when it launched in 2004. At the time, hybrid power was still ahead of its time, and it played a big part in the radical concept of not entering production.
Under the hood of the Volta was a 3.3-liter V6 with two electric motors combining to produce 402 hp. All-wheel drive was also a feature of the Volta, and using a carbon fiber chassis helped make the Alessandro Volta light, weighing just 2,755 lbs. The Volta also had a novel three-seat cabin with a flat floor, and the steering wheel slid from left to right. Meaning the driver could use any of the seats to drive the Volta.
Audi Le Mans Quattro Concept
You’d be correct if the Audi Le Mans Concept looks familiar. After success at the Le Mans 24 Hours in the early 2000s, Audi created a sporty concept car to celebrate its victories and gauge public interest in a new sports car. This was the Le Mans Quattro concept.
Under the concept’s hood was a 5.0-liter V12 with twin-turbocharging, producing 602 hp to all four wheels. At the time, it was a radical-looking car. To us now, it is the forerunner to the Audi R8 supercar. After an overwhelmingly positive reception, Audi put the concept into production as the R8, with the only significant change being a shift to a 4.2-liter V8. However, V10 power would arrive a few years later.
1972 Volvo VESC
While it might not be a winner of any beauty contests, the 1972 Volvo VESC was an important vehicle. The 1970s gas crises meant that the economy, lower emissions, and safety became significant focus points for manufacturers, the latter of which was a particular concern for Volvo.
Always at the forefront of safety, Volvo introduced the VESC, or Volvo Experimental Safety Car, to push safety to new heights. The VESC had massive bumpers, a slanted front end, and other innovations that would help reduce pedestrian injuries in an accident. The VESC was also one of the first cars in the world to focus on crumple zones, and Volvo ensured it had airbags in the front and rear.
Cadillac Sixteen
While most of Cadillac’s focus is on luxury SUVs and its electric future, the American manufacturer knows a thing or two about luxury saloon cars. The most radical is the Cadillac Sixteen concept, which the company took the covers off in 2003.
This was no ordinary saloon car, however. Under the hood, Cadillac went big and gave the Sixteen a massive 1,000 hp, 13.6-liter, 16-cylinder engine, hence the car’s name. As we know, the Sixteen would never enter production, nor did the enormous engine under the hood. However, many of the Sixteen’s design ideas would find their way into future Cadillac vehicles, so the concept did influence the manufacturer’s lineup.
