Every year automakers release numerous new concept vehicles. In that large sea of hypothetical automobiles, we see all sorts of vaporware, incredible tech advancements, as well as potentially near-production supercars. The first time we saw the latest Ford GT, Lamborghini Muria, and Koenigsegg Regera they were in concept form. Sadly though, much of what we see won't come to fruition in the same way or may take decades to be production-ready.
The fact is that many manufacturers produce these concepts simply to demonstrate their possible future styling and design language. It gives them a good chance to hear what customers might think before finalizing plans. Today we look at ten of the best concepts that for one reason or another they didn't make it out of the showroom and onto public roads.
We'll discuss some of their features. We'll talk about the original goals for the cars and at times we'll talk about what ultimately caused the car to be scrapped. There's at least one though that was never even intended to be sold to the public.
10 Lamborghini Estoque
The Estoque is one of the prettiest concepts to ever come from Lamborghini. Released in 2008 as a possible future production model, it ultimately didn't make it thanks to "market considerations" according to Lamborghini. Just look at the styling though, it certainly set the brand up for the next decade and beyond. It would've been amazing to see a v10 powered Lamborghini sedan.
9 Dodge Copperhead
The Copperhead was slated to become the Viper's little brother in the Dodge lineup. While the styling is very dated by modern standards it was a very cool little Miata rival for the time.
What spelled its doom was that soon after the concept debuted Mercedes and Chrysler merged and there was no reason to produce another small sports car when Mercedes was bringing the SLK to the team.
8 Cadillac Sixteen
Perhaps one of the saddest missed opportunities here is this, the Cadillac Sixteen. The monstrous motor is likely the reason it never saw production as it wasn't the most efficient.
Nevertheless, what a splash to the brand and the American luxury car segment this thing would've been. A real return to opulence and lavish overindulgence too for a brand that's never really found those roots again.
7 Ford GT90
Perhaps the strangest looking one of the cars on this list the GT90 seemingly was produced to gather public interest and reaction as well as test out technologies for future projects. Ford admitted to some of those things years after the release of the car. Nevertheless, it would've changed the entire future of the GT brand if the 90 had made its way into the hands of the public.
6 Jaguar C-X75
Jaguar is one of the most middle-of-the-road companies in the automotive space today. They don't make bad cars anymore, but they don't make anything really iconic and flagship either.
The C-X75 was to be that flagship sports car but after promising production, they shuttered it. What a sad end to something that had such gorgeous potential.
5 TVR Griffith
So I suppose it's possible that a year or more from now I'll need to come back and remove/replace or edit this entry because the owner of TVR just came out asking for 31 Million dollars to get the Griffith into actual production.
So if that happens then sure, we might see this one but like everything else TVR, I'm not expecting huge successes there despite the fact that I think the cars themselves, including this new Griffith, look amazing and drive wonderfully.
4 Nissan IDx
One day soon you just wait and see, some company will take the bull by the horns and start building old-school boxy cars again. It'll be seen as daring and old-school cool. Nissan nearly took that leap when they debuted the IDx.
Sadly it wouldn't come to fruition. When you get as big as they are, drastically changing the entire line-ups styling is a highly dangerous proposition.
3 Chrysler ME Four-Twelve
I've mentioned it before but the ME Four-Twelve is perhaps the biggest missed opportunity that Chrysler has ever had. Today, Chrysler makes 2 cars. Yep, really. Just two. The 300 and the Pacifica Minivan.
Imagine a world where they released the ME Four-Twelve a year before the Veyron. It was faster than the Veyron, featured a super unique powertrain, and looked incredible. It would've sent them on a path of far greater brightness.
2 Buick Avista
Despite the incredible styling, and "winning" the Detroit Auto show that it was released at, the Avista was called a "Design Study" by Buick. That's sad too because Buick has needed a sports car for a long while, and the longer four-door version of the Avista could've been a stunning replacement for the now-canceled Regal.
1 Lamborghini Miura
My favorite car on this list, the retro Lamborghini Miura concept was a real car built by Lamborghini that they really only made because they could. It's a gorgeous car that was never meant to be sold to the public.
When it came out a case could've been made for Lamborghini going that direction but I think most can agree that we're glad they continued on course. Ferrari and Porsche may not be but that's ok with me.