We’ve spoken, discussed, and waxed eloquently about muscle cars a lot—like, really a lot. So let’s now talk about the muscle cars that never came to be, for no fault of theirs. These were beauties in their own right and came rather well-formed, but for reasons best known to their developers, these concepts remained concepts only.

There are actually many factors that an automaker has to keep in mind when launching a new product and, in turn, more things affect its attractiveness and profitability. Despite some concept cars looking like they could take over the world with ease, you cannot sell a car on its looks alone. Sometimes, concept cars are also made only for show, and the maker has no intentions of putting it into production, but rather it's used to titillate and get more people interested in the brand as well.

Here are eight such fantastic, badass muscle car concepts that never made production, but make us wish they had.

8 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Caribe Concept: The Camaro Pickup

Via Hemmings

When the Camaro came out in 1967, quite naturally, the company tried to hype and milk the new car for all its worth, trying to create hoopla around it. One of these concepts was the Caribe, a car that was built on the Camaro but came with a built-in pickup bed, much like the El Camino.

Via ChevyHardcore

It toured the auto circuit in 1968-69, but since the El Camino itself was floundering in sales, the Caribe never became a reality. However, the sleek lines, power, and utter convenience of having a pickup bed in a land barge of a muscle car was an absolute delight to see.

7 2003 Mercury Messenger: A Bit Too Space-Age?

2003 Mercury Messenger Concept Car
Via YouTube

The Mercury Messenger, had it truly gone into production, could have been called the Messiah because some believed that its production could have saved the marque from eventually being axed in 2010.

2003 Mercury Messenger Concept Car
Via YouTube

With a very clean look and an aluminum 4.6-liter V8 under the hood, this beautiful piece of muscle looks stunning, even eighteen years after its introduction. With a four-wheel independent suspension and Brembo brakes, we really do wish it could have gone into production.

RELATED: This Cadillac Cyclone Concept Car Pushed The Boundaries Of Futuristic Styling

6 2003 Ford 427: Blatant Brute Muscle

Via DailyCarNews

In 2003, Ford put out a very futuristic family sedan that it called 427 for its 427 cubic inches, as in the 7.0-liter V10 engine that made 590 horses and an equally whopping 509 ft-lb torque. With a very boxy shape and rather blunt ends, the car looked very American and very Ford, which harked back to the retro designs of the ‘60s.

2003 Ford 427 Concept
Via Ford

The insides were also as minimalistic as possible, done in upmarket black and chrome. But by the 2000s, sedans were on no one’s mind, so this muscle remained in memory only.

RELATED: Ranking The 18 Most Incredible Concept Cars Of All Time

5 1970 AMC AMX/3: A Challenge To The Detroit Three

Via Motor1

American Motor Company seemed to be on a roll when they launched the AMC AMX/3 in 1970, a mid-engined sports car so good, it seemed to turn all Detroit Three ashen. It came designed by Italian firm Bizzarrini and carried a 6.3-liter V8 that jetted 340 horses.

Via FavCars

A total of six cars were made that bare the original form, at an estimated cost of $2 million before rising costs and emission regulations took the wind out of its sails, and AMC itself went belly up in the ‘80s.

RELATED: These Classic Muscle Cars Are Too Cool To Modify

4 1964 Pontiac Banshee: Too Loud A Roar

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The official name of the car was the XP-833 Banshee Coupe and it was an experimental one made by John DeLorean because he wanted GM to make a two-seater sports car that could take on the popularity of the Mustang with ease.

Via MotorTrend

But GM refused because they had the Corvette and the Banshee looked so good and flowing, that they feared the in-house competition. The Banshee meanwhile carried a V8 but also came in a six-cylinder set-up. And this was the car that later became the inspiration for the Firebird and the later generation of the ‘Vette itself.

3 1968 Dodge Charger III: The Wind Runner

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The Dodge Charger III was one of the most boundary-pushing show cars of the ‘60s, with ultra-low and streamlined looks that made people compare it to the Corvette of the times. The curvy front fenders and lots of tech inside could have made it a winner, except it remained a concept despite that hood of a door.

Via Supercars.net

The engine bay was designed to take in any Dodge V8 engine, and the wedge-like look of the car made everything about it look effortless. This was a car that could have challenged the wind and gotten away with it.

2 Ford Forty-Nine: Cute & Cuddly?

8 Most Badass Muscle Car Concepts Companies Ever Designed
Via Motor1

One look at the Ford Forty-Nine concept and you basically want to go and hug it or pet it because it's so darn cute. It came low slung and almost torpedo-like in looks, with an all-glass upper body, and came bearing a 3.9-liter V8 under the hood, the same engine that went into the lackluster Thunderbird.

Via Motor1

Black, stainless steel, and chrome made up the majority of its stunning looks. The Ford Forty-Nine may not have been as ahead in tech as its counterparts or even predecessors, but what it lacked in muscle it made up for in looks alone. Then again, beauty doesn’t always sell, right?

1 1973 Chevrolet Aerovette: Rankled By the Wankle?

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A four-rotor Corvette sounds way off the mark but once upon a time, it happened, and it happened with a coefficient drag of 0.325, making everyone fall in love with the Wankel 'Vette. Everything screamed power and plush. Digital gauges, climate control, smoked-black looks, and a body that could cut through air like poetry.

Chevrolet Aerovette
Via Pinterest

And yet it was scrapped because it only ran well on the Wankel rotary engine at flat-out speeds. The rest simply never worked all that well and more’s the pity.

Sources: RobbReport, AutomobileMag

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