Concepts : Car News And Reviews

The Batmobile that ended up in the late ’60s Batman TV series was a highly customized 1955 Lincoln Futura. But there was also a chance it could have been a Chevy Corvette. According to Randy Leffingwell’s 2012 book Corvette Sixty Years, before the show went into production, its creators approached General Motors’ designers to create their take on the Dynamic Duo’s ride.

Many of the lost concept cars we feature here come from the 1950s through the 1980s, but this unique Chrysler cs actually revealed in the 21st century. The drool-worthy Chrysler ME Four-Twelve turned up at the North American International Auto Show in January 2004,  and teased what Chrysler’s future might have looked like, had they not handed the performance baton over to Dodge.

Despite the current Charger and Challenger riding on the same platform since 2006, Dodge has done an extraordinary job making the most out of these muscle cars, with the Challenger consistently beating out both the Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro in sales numbers.

It’s been a long time since automaker MG produced its iconic MGB roadster. Now, the UK-based, Chinese-owned automaker is working on a new 2-seat convertible with a decidedly more modern look and drivetrain. Previously, MG showed off a battery-electric concept car called the Cyberster and is now teasing what appears to be a production version of that car.

Apparently designed with the intention of skewering pedestrians as if on a spit, the Ford FX Atmos was first revealed at the 1954 Chicago Auto Show. And although pedestrians were in grave danger, driver visibility was outstanding, with a central driving position and a panoramic bubble roof with hardly any pillars to block the driver’s view of the road.

In the early 1970s, Ferrari produced the 308 Dino GT4, a fantastic little sports car designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone. After its initial release, the Italian automaker wanted something to wow the 1976 Turin Motor Show attendees and asked Gandini to work his magic.

While concept cars are often thought of as futuristic objects of desire, oftentimes the designs are so “outside of the box” that they just end up being awful. These cars may have innovative features or design attributes, but they all have one thing in common – they’re so ugly that you’d need to tie a steak around their bumpers to get a dog to chase them.

You can currently buy a production BMW roadster in the form of the Z4. Here’s another very different 2-seater designed by the German automaker. The BMW Just 4/2 was actually the winner of an internal design competition at BMW back in 1995.

This ain’t your father’s Lincoln. The aerodynamic silhouette of the all-electric Lincoln Star Concept reveals the brand’s vision for connected, electrified vehicles by showcasing futuristic style, flexible electrical architecture, evolved Quiet Flight DNA, unique passenger luxury, and amenities including sights, sounds, and even scents to create a cabin sanctuary.

Italian design firm and coachbuilder Pininfarina has contributed to the design of some truly awe-inspiring cars, from the original Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider to just about every Ferrari built since the 1950s. One of the stranger designs to emerge from Pininfarina has to be the Model X.

I kind of consider the 1990s my “lost decade” – I didn’t really care for mainstream music, movies, or cars during most of that period. Sure, there were some outliers like Radiohead, The Matrix, and the Nissan Skyline, but for the most part, I didn’t really connect with pop culture.

Usually, when an automaker shows up at a trade show with a concept car, it’s a vision of a future design direction, new technologies, or a preview of an actual production vehicle. But on occasion, a concept car is simply a flight of fancy to attract attention and media buzz.

If there’s one thing that I can say about the 1970s, it’s that the decade gave us some of the coolest wedge-shaped cars ever designed. One such example is the Alfa Romeo Navajo, a concept car designed by famed Italian coachbuilder Bertone.

Overlanding is a popular pastime for many people that involves taking specially outfitted vehicles into off-grid settings and still living comfortably for short periods. Ford’s full-size Expedition SUV is new for 2022, and for the first time, is getting a Timberline series.

In the 20th century, World’s Fairs were some of the best places to see concepts for the future of technology and transportation. At the 1964 New York World’s Fair, General Motors turned up with the Bison, a concept design for a truck that looked like something that might be used in space exploration, rolling along the surface of a lunar colony or something.