Most concept cars look amazing because they come straight from the engineering department, often okayed by the head honchos without a thought given to production issues, costs, overheads, sales, and other such important matters. This is the reason why a lot of the concept cars often end up as concepts, never really reaching the production stage.
Even if the end products do reach production, many a time, they vary too much from the actual concept. And there are very few concepts that are bad from the beginning and remained doomed to fail from start (we're looking at you, Pontiac Aztek!).
Here, we list 15 cool concept cars that got lost in translation and looked far better on paper than they did as production cars. The reasons behind the failure of these cars were manifold, but the cause was the same: the concept was and looked way better than the actual car.
15 2009 BMW Vision EfficientDynamics: The Reality Wasn't Sci-Fi
The EfficientDynamics that BMW showed off at the 2009 Frankfurt show looked too sci-fi to be real. A three-cylinder turbo-diesel with a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that made 356 horses seemed too good to be real at the time. The car now is the i8, and while it may not save the world as an energy-efficient model, it seems to be doing okay.
14 1990 Pontiac Sunfire Concept: Killed The Sportiness
The ‘80s were the decade Pontiac revealed some amazing concepts, and one of them was the sleek-fronted, sure-footed, low-slung Sunfire. But, when it came out in 1994, it looked like a retouched Chevy Cavalier, and all the more painful for being dubbed a sports car minus the power, aesthetics, and even the brand value.
13 2007 Chevrolet Volt Concept: From Muscle To Weakness
The 2007 Chevrolet Volt concept debuted at the North American International Auto Show and looked like a muscular four-door Camaro with a great stance and lots of futuristic detailing. Sadly, when the Volt came out, the electric range was paltry and the looks were nowhere like that of the concept car.
12 2003 Ford 427 Concept: The Original Disappeared
With 590 horses and a great design, coupled with a good powertrain, the Ford 427 was all set to storm the bastions in the 2000s. When this much-talked-about car finally came out in 2007, it became the first generation of the Ford Fusion. The Fusion may have sold okay in numbers, but it was nothing like the concept it was born from.
11 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX Concept: Failsafe Fallback
The Subaru WRX concept of 2013 excited everyone – it looked aggressive and beastly and seemed to say that the Subaru had finally come of age. Sadly, the concept reneged on all that intimidation and went back to safe styling that still made for a good car but lacked all the buzz that the concept had created.
10 2005 Ford Fairlane Concept: Revisiting A Classic
At the 2005 Chicago Auto Show, Ford dipped into their own ‘70s past and took inspiration from the Ford Fairlane, a beautiful mid-sized sedan that had an inimitable classic style. The result, sadly, was the Ford Flex built on Fairlane “aesthetics” but the production car was nowhere near the concept, or the original inspiration.
9 1999 Dodge Power Wagon: From Concept To Just A Trim
The 1940s were a great era to own a Power Wagon in, and in 1999, Dodge decided to revisit that classic and very successful concept. The retro-futuristic look of the pickup made truck lovers squeal in excitement, except that it only came out as a trim for the Ram 2500, and lacked all the monstrosity of the concept.
8 2005 Ford Mustang GT Concept: The Menace Is Lost
It’s not as if the 2005 Ford Mustang was bad, it did well in sales and reviews. Only, the concept was far better but yet again, was toned down to play it safer. The Mustang GT concept harnessed the power of the classic GT and looked like something that would eat a Camaro alive. The real thing looked amazing and drove well but remained far more sedate.
7 1999 BMW Z9 Gran Turismo Concept: Parts Went Into Production
The BMW Z9 Gran Turismo Concept debuted in 1999 at the Frankfurt show, and at first glance, it did not garner much favor with the press. The actual car never managed to make it into production, but several of its innovations, including the iDrive, did reach the further generations introduced by the BMW. Had it been made, it may never have made it to decent sales or success.
6 1986 Pontiac Trans Sport Concept: Lost In Translation
The Pontiac Trans Sport Minivan looked fantastic on paper with gull-wing passenger doors and aerodynamic design with bucket seats. When it finally came out in 1988, it was simply just another minivan and that aerodynamic design had coalesced into the “dustbuster” look. This concept turned into the butt of jokes when it entered production.
5 2005 Lexus LF-A Concept: Awesome Car But A Loss
The 2005 Lexus LF-A concept looked futuristic, and the 2007 roadster even more so. The car that finally came out was good but expensive, and despite the price tag, Lexus still lost money on every LFA made. Probably why only 50 of them were ever made, with production ending in 2012. It may have been a good car, but not a profitable one.
4 2015 Lincoln Continental Concept: Aesthetically Less Pleasing
Lincoln was once a brand of great glory, which is why Ford tried to bring the focus back on it in 2015 with the Lincoln Continental concept. The production car was still good enough, but all those great looks of the concept failed to come through in the production model’s smaller size and less-than-stellar looks.
3 2005 Mini Traveller Concept: Fancy Concept, Simpler Reality
Everyone loved the 2005 Mini Traveller concept revealed in Frankfurt that had a longer wheelbase and separate rear seats, along with a circular roof section that could be removed and turned into a picnic table. The production car was the Mini Clubman, which was still adorable but had none of the fancy additions of the concept.
2 2013 Subaru Legacy Concept: From Slim & Sexy To Dull
The Subaru Legacy Concept looked like a rather curvy sedan that could take the mid-size segment by storm and emerge a winner. The 2015 product model drove well but it left all its slim styling behind and looked like just another mid-size sedan that was cool to drive but boring in looks.
1 2007 Ford Interceptor Concept: Different In Production
The Ford Interceptor sounded and looked very cool with its retro styling when it came out in 2007, like a classic muscle car blast from the past. In 2009, they put this concept into reality and made the Ford Taurus which was as different from the Interceptor as chalk is to cheese. Sadly, nothing was in line with the original.