Every motor show is packed with concept cars, vehicles designed to inspire buyers with a vision of what the next model might look like.
The majority of concept cars will never enter production, these concept cars are a chance for their designers to express the wildest dreams of what given the opportunity they would like to build. For the fortunate few that do make it past concept to manufacturing, they rarely remain unchanged. Complex or expensive production processes are the main culprit, but safety aspects also play their role.
10 Alfa Romeo BAT Series - Winged Aero Specials
Alfa Romeo's BAT cars have nothing to do with the famous caped crusader and are the result of a collaboration between the Italian automaker and Bertone, a study into drag and aerodynamics. Successive models featured improved drag co-efficiency with the 1954 BAT 7 model boasting a figure of 0.19, impressive by modern standards.
The Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica series of design concepts used Alfa Romeo 1900 chassis for their basis, each fitted with 100 HP engines which in the 1953 BAT 5 would result in a speed of 120 mph. In total three original concepts were built, numbered 5, 7, and 9, and were recently sold as a unique collection fetching $14.8 million.
9 Buick Centurion - Too Far Ahead Of Its Time
Concept cars are designed to capture the public's imagination, Buick's 1956 Centurion with a fighter-jet style bubble canopy and aviation-themed bodywork did just that. Inside the same futuristic theme continued with a host of ideas that were unlike anything the public had seen before, a rearview camera, dial operated transmission and automatic seats gave a vision of the future.
Despite positive reviews, the Centurion never progressed past the concept stage, Buick instead produced more conventional sedans bearing the same name. The concept, however, remains as a reminder of the Avant-garde designs of the 1950s and can be seen in the Sloan Museum, Michigan.
8 Peugeot Moovie - Perfect Sci-fi Movie Car
The Moovie is the result of Peugeot's annual design competition, a unique city car entrant from 2005 is the work of Portuguese designer Andre Costa. Designed to be a small two-seater pod-style car with zero-emissions the Moovie concept weighing 1100 lbs is an all-electric vehicle.
Unveiled to the public at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Moovie showcased Peugeot's commitment to small, environmentally friendly cars of the future, for the time being, there are no plans to build retail versions.
7 Audi AI Trail - The Future Is Almost Here
If Audi is to be believed then the AI trial is the sort of car we can expect from 2030, a futuristic electric SUV that wouldn't look out of place on the moon. The Trail is the fourth concept from the German manufacturer which gives an overview of the evolution of autonomous vehicles, with a focus on maximum visibility for occupants.
Unlike most concept cars, the Trail is a fully functional vehicle that utilizes parts from Volkwagen's entire product range. Built on the PPE platform using four-hub mounted electric motors for propulsion, the battery pack is borrowed from the exiting MEB platform, in reality, Audi's AI Trail is near production-ready.
6 Citroën Ami One - Building Block Design For Younger Owners
Particulate emissions are shaping the automotive industry, with governments attempting to address environmental concerns taxing large, fuel-inefficient cars. Citroën, like other automakers, responded with their Ami One a small, simple box design with its wheels mounted as far apart as possible to maximize interior space.
Combining bright colors with building block design the Ami One is aimed at a younger generation of owners, classified as a quadricycle means in the EU at least drivers from the age of 14 can enjoy a maximum speed of 28 mph.
5 Aurora Safety Car - The Safest Car In The World Because No One Wanted It
Safety features alone could not save the Aurora Safety Car, designed to be the safest vehicle on the roads in 1957, packed with creative features to ensure occupants in the event of an accident remained unharmed. Built on a wooden frame with a convex fiberglass body to add greater protection resulted in one of the ugliest cars ever built.
Ignoring for a moment the appearance, Aurora featured safety equipment we now take for granted, seatbelts, side-impact bars, padded instrument binnacle and, not forgetting the unique swiveling seats that somehow didn't catch on. Of course, no one wanted the Aurora, and the only example built now resides in the UK after being abandoned for years.
4 Citroën Karin - Quirky French Design
Over the decades Citroën has produced very good but slightly eccentric road cars that have been surprisingly successful with owners in Europe. But nothing can compare to the three-seater Karin from 1980, at best, owners could brag about the McLaren F1-style central driving position, beyond that there isn't much to get excited about.
Mechanically the Karin is a more conventional front-wheel-drive car equipped with a simple four-cylinder gasoline engine and Citroën's trademark hydropneumatic suspension. Saving the best until the end, Karin's unusual pyramidal body is simply stupid, the steeply sloping sides impacting the headroom of the occupants.
3 Rinspeed Senso - Bio-Sensing Calming Experience
Ordinarily, a concept car with a futuristic and stylish wedge-shape powered by a Porsche engine would be enough to grab most car fans attention, Rinspeed's Senso however, has a few hidden surprises in store. First, Porsche's 3.2-liter engine runs on natural gas and emits 30 percent less C02 than regular pump gas, which is good news for the environmentalists.
Inside, however, is another story altogether, with science-fiction-inspired biometric monitoring systems that actually read the driver's current state of being, making use of sounds, scents and, lighting to reduce stress levels. Opinions are divided as to whether a car should be trusted to determine the mindset of the owner when driving, soothing lights, and tones would surely be a bigger distraction.
2 Ghia Selene II - Aviation Styled Coupe
The single biggest advance in aviation, jet power, arrived in the 1950s and had a huge impact on concept cars, Italian based Ghia created two concept cars each featuring jet-aircraft style canopies.
Each version of the Salene featured a dual pedal configuration to allow left or right-hand drive operation the steering mechanism itself could be swapped to either side of the cabin. Unfortunately, Salene never progressed beyond the conceptual stage and remained a non-functioning model.
1 Venturi Astrolab - No Roof, Luggage Space Or Style
Monagesque automaker Venturi claims to have built the world's first solar-electric hybrid in the Astroab, a modern and slightly quirky answer to the growing problem of pollution. Constructed from lightweight carbon-fiber and equipped with a 16 kW electric motor offers a range of 68 miles between recharges and a reasonable top speed of 75 mph.
The Astrolab was designed to be a zero-emissions commuter vehicle, but with no provision for a roof and reliance on solar power to recharge the car's batteries, this concept is best suited for sunny climates.