Factopedia: Top Ten Concept Cars

Concept cars are the chance for designers to really go wild with their imagination. Rarely does much of a model’s look ever translate to what you see on the forecourt but hey we can dream!

10. BMW M1 Hommage

Not wanting to disappoint the petrol heads – the aptly named Hommage is an homage recalling the aggressive styling features and low, wide body of its 30 year old fore-runner. This is typical concept car stuff – strong, sleek and powerful looking.
Bedroom Wall Poster Rating – 4 Stars – a good tick boxer!

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9. Audi Locus

Audi’s have long had the reputation for being good cars marred by uninspired eyelid-closing style. My attitude towards their appearance in recent years has mellowed as they have produced some stonkingly good looking cars. The Locus concept takes this to another level with a Veyron-esque front grille and a pouncing muscular frontage that tapers gracefully to the rear.
Bedroom Wall Poster Rating – 2 Stars – it’s still an Audi.

8. Lamborghini Cnossus

I knew it! I could read your mind! What kind of a list is this without a supercar?! Well here you go – it’s an evolutionary tour de force taking its cues from my fave Lambo – the Reventon, and that old classic – the Countach. Will we ever see it as a road car? Quite possibly.

7. Proton EMAS

What the heck, I hear you say? Sorry, this is my list and I couldn’t possibly publish it without seeing a Proton in it. I have a soft spot for Proton, after all I did learn to drive in one. Aspects of this Eco Mobility Advance Solution are bound to feature heavily in its forthcoming low-environmental-impact Hybrid fuel models. The EMAS was one of a handful of hybrid cars unveiled at the 80th Geneva Annual Motor Show and it goes to show that hybrids can have funky kerb-appeal styling.

6. Aston Martin AMV10

Aston Martin has a problem, a serious problem. Their current range is so drop dead gorgeous that when it comes to unveiling an eye-watering show stopper the designers are stumped. This concept AMV10 bears all the hallmarks of the current range with only a few alterations, most noticeably the horizontal split grille and widely spaced headlights. Going for a midmounted engine could be seen as a mistake though and one which hopefully will not be passed on to the next range of road models.

5. Hyundai Blue Will

First seen a year ago the Blue Will is Hyundai’s attempt to catch the Prius market as a fully functioning hybrid family car. If this gets mass produced it will mark Hyundai out as the first manufacturer to use Lithium Ion Polymer batteries in its road cars. Electric cars have come on a long way since the early Sinclair C-5 days; the Blue Will engine is capable of 134bhp – on a par with executive petrol saloons!

4. Citroen GT

French cars have style – fact. What they lack in reliability is arguably made up for by their élan. The GT concept is jaw dropping with superb lines and massive arches giving it a uniquely recognisable look. If this two seater beauty gets to market as is, it will be sporting a 0-60mph time of only 3.6 seconds powered by a 646bhp engine with an additional 134bhp being supplied by hydrogen fuel cells.

3. Volvo SC90

Volvo’s have been made world famous by their renowned safety record but also infamous by comments that they look like bricks on wheels. Personally I love the look of the current crop of Volvo’s and I would defy any naysayers to say that this concept car looks anything but un-brick-like. The SC90 four door sports saloon puts it on a footing with the Mitsubishi Evo X and with these looks I would say its a worthy competitor. However its aggressive stance doesn’t fit well with the company’s image and it would be a brave decision to prepare this for market (unfortunately).

2. Toyota Hi CT

One of the oddest concept cars I’ve seen in a while. The Hi CT is an urban runaround with the look of either an old fashioned bath tub on wheels like you would see on an escapade in Last of the Summer Wine or a miniaturised version of a articulated lorry cab (depending on your point of view). Streamlining is not an option; its vertical front end is useful for city parking, not high speed track days. This is yet another hybrid model to enter my top ten and that can never be a bad thing.

1. BMW GINA Light Visionary Model

Well we started with a stunning Beamer so let’s finish with a stunning Beamer. Perhaps ‘stunning’ is a word open to debate? Well as concept cars go this is toward the extreme end. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you – that is fabric over the bonnet and the door hinges. Virtually seamless stretch fabric is fastened across a metal and carbon fibre mesh to allow flexibility and movement in the car’s frame. The rear spoiler can be raised and lowered for example. Internally BMW have carried this flexible theme through to the dashboard, steering wheel and centre console; all of which slide into position once the driver’s made himself comfortable. GINA – Geometry and Functions in N Adaptations – is as forced an acronym as any I’ve heard but this idea of a car having a movable structure is intriguing. Perhaps ‘Transformers’ aren’t that far away!