Aconcept car (also known as aconcept vehicle orshow vehicle) is a car made to showcase new styling or new technology. Concept cars are often exhibited atmotor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not beproduced.
General Motors designerHarley Earl is generally credited with inventing the concept car, and did much to popularize it through its travelingMotorama shows of the 1950s.[not verified in body]
Concept cars never go into production directly. In modern times, all would have to undergo many changes before the design is finalized for the sake of practicality,safety,regulatory compliance, and cost. A "production-intent"prototype, as opposed to a concept vehicle, serves this purpose.[1]
Concept cars are often radical in engine ordesign. Some use non-traditional, exotic, or expensive materials, ranging from paper tocarbon fiber to refinedalloys. Others have uniquelayouts, such asgullwing doors, three or five (or more)wheels, or special abilities not usually found on cars. Because of these often impractical or unprofitable leanings, many concept cars never get pastscale models or even drawings. Other more traditional concepts can be developed into fully drivable (operational) vehicles with a workingdrivetrain and accessories. The state of most concept cars lies somewhere in between and does not represent the final product. A very small proportion of concept cars are functional to any useful extent, and some cannot move safely at speeds above 10 miles per hour (16 km/h).[2]
Inoperative "mock-ups" are usually made of wax, clay, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or a combination thereof.[citation needed]
If drivable, the drivetrain is often borrowed from aproduction vehicle from the same company or may have defects and imperfections in design. They can also be quite refined,[3] such asGeneral Motors'Cadillac Sixteen concept.[4]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: what is the standard for notability here. You can help byadding to it.(November 2024) |
| Model | Notes |
|---|---|
| Alfa Romeo BAT cars | 1950s aerodynamic studies byBertone. |
| Aston Martin Atom | Designed in 1939 byClaude Hill. Fully functional and still in road-worthy condition, it was adopted byAston Martin ownerDavid Brown into aracing car that won outright at the 1948Spa 24 Hours and became the basis for theDB1. |
| Auburn Cabin Speedster | Considered the first concept car,[5] it was built in 1929 and used for publicity, touring the car show circuit until it was destroyed in a fire at a Los Angeles exhibit that also consumed about 320 other cars on display.[6] |
| Autobianchi A112 Runabout | Late 1960s Bertone (Marcello Gandini) designed sportscar.[citation needed] |
| Autonova Fam [de] | Earlymonovolume concept (mid 1960s) byFritz Bob Busch [de], Michael Conrad, andPio Manzù. |
| BMW GINA | A fabric-skinned shape-shifting sports car. This platform (aside from the body material and changing shape) was adopted in 2012 for theBMW i3 andBMW i8Electric Vehicles. |
| Buick Y-Job | Designed in the late 1930s by the famous General Motors designerHarley Earl. Considered by most to be the first concept car.[7] Inspired many otherBuick vehicles, including theBuick Blackhawk Concept. |
| General Motors Le Sabre | Built by Harley Earl in 1951, it helped introduce 12-volt electrics and the aluminum 215 ci V8 to GM. Thisnameplate was transferred over to be a production vehicle. |
| Cadillac Cyclone | Built in 1959, it is one of Harley Earl's last designs. Its futuristic styling was heavily influenced by 1950s aviation and rocketry. |
| Cadillac Debutante | Reputedly the most luxurious car ever built at the time of its construction, the Cadillac Debutante was fitted with a leopard skin interior and 24 karat gold instrument panel and fittings. |
| Chevrolet Corvette Mako Shark | Previewed elements of thesecond (1963–1967) andthird (1968–1982) generations of the production Corvette. |
| Cornell Safety Car | Project by Cornell University Aeronautical Laboratory and Liberty Mutual insurance company (mid 1950s).[citation needed] |
| Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT | 1962 mid-engined experimental prototype that featured design elements of thethird generation (1968–1982) of the production Corvette. |
| Dodge Tomahawk | A 2003 V10-powered four-wheel motorcycle-like design that drew attention for its audacity, and the debunked claim that it could hypothetically reach speeds of 300 to 420 mph (480 to 680 km/h).[citation needed] |
| Ferrari Modulo | Designed byPaolo Martin of the ItaliancarrozzeriaPininfarina, unveiled at the 1970Geneva Motor Show.[citation needed] |
| Fiat City Taxi [it] | Taxi concept byPio Manzù (based on theFiat 850) shown at the 1968Turin Auto Show.[8] |
| Ford 021C | Styling exercise (not intended for production) byMarc Newson andJ Mays first shown at the 1999Tokyo Motor Show. |
| Ford Gyron | Futuristic two-wheeled gyrocar designed bySyd Mead andMcKinley Thompson first shown in 1961 at theDetroit Motor Show. |
| Ford Nucleon | A nuclear-powered car (scale model only). |
| Ford Probe | A series of four designs between 1979 and 1983 of which the Probe III was eventually developed into theFord Sierra. |
| Ford SYNus | First shown in 2005. This design was developed to explore the creation of an ultra-safe roadgoing environment. |
| General Motors Firebird | A series ofgas turbine–powered cars.Pontiac adopted thisnameplate based on theChevrolet Camaro. Thenameplate was retired in 2002, along with theChevrolet Camaro, which was revived in 2010. |
| Holden Efijy | Based around theHolden FJ, named the United States concept car of the year for 2007.[9] |
| Hummer HX | AHummer brandedoff-roadcompact SUV vehicle that is smaller-sized and lower-priced than theH2 andH3. |
| Jaguar Type 00 | Controversial concept that accompanied the 2024 relaunch ofJaguar as an all electric brand.[10] |
| Lancia Megagamma | The prototype for the modern MPV (minivan).[11][12] |
| Lancia Stratos Zero | Marcello Gandini designed sportscar presented at the 1970Turin Auto Show. |
| Maserati Boomerang | Giorgetto Giugiaro (Italdesign) concept first revealed at the 1971 Turin Motor Show. |
| Mercedes-Benz C111 | A series of experimental automobiles produced in the 1960s and 1970s. The company was experimenting with new engine technologies, includingWankel engines. |
| Mercedes-Benz F700 | Its PRE-SCAN road-scanning suspension enables a perfectly smooth ride, even on rough or bumpy terrains (developed later intoMagic Body Control). This design will lead to the development of the next-generationMercedes-Benz A-Class,Mercedes-Benz B-Class, andMercedes-Benz C-Class. |
| MIT Car | TheMassachusetts Institute of Technology concept car with Frank Gehry.[13] |
| Phantom Corsair | A 1930s concept car, developed by Rust Heinz. |
| Plymouth XNR | Open roadster with asymmetric features byVirgil Exner. |
| Pontiac Bonneville Special | Pontiac's first 2-seatersports car that debuted at the 1954Motorama. Thisnameplate carried over to aPontiac sports car of the 1950s. |
| Pontiac Club de Mer | Pontiac's all stainless steelsports car that debuted at the 1956Motorama. |
| Porsche 989 | Porsche's first 4-door car, a predecessor of thePorsche Panamera. |
| Volvo VESC | Used as testbed in the development of safety features incorporated into the Volvo 240 series cars, used by the NHTSA as a basis for later safety standards, including self-retracting three-point seatbelts, crumple zones, head restraints, rollover protection, and shock-absorbing zero-damage bumpers.[14][15] |
| Volkswagen Concept One | The retro-futurist design byJ Mays andFreeman Thomas first shown in 1994 is a rare example of a concept car that was later produced. |
