5 CONCEPT CARS THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MADE
It wasn't meant to be for these exciting concept cars
Concept cars are shiny new machines that carmakers show us at a motor show (remember those?). Sometimes these cars make it to the showrooms and sometimes, we can only remember them by looking at their photographs. Today we are going to talk about 5 awesome concept cars that should have been made.
BMW E46 M3 Touring
Back in 2016, the M3 nameplate became 30 years old and in order to celebrate the occasion BMW made 4 prototypes. One of those prototypes was this BMW E46 M3 Touring. It was going to be powered by a naturally-aspirated six-cylinder in-line engine capable of producing 343 hp and 365 Newton meters of torque. The proportions of the car looked pretty good. The interior was very nice and the E46 M3 Touring prototype looked like the all the car you’d ever need.
At the time, BMW M Division head Jakob Polschak claimed it needed “only minimal manual follow-up work” to make it to the production line. While the E46 estate couldn’t make it to the production line, BMW has launched an estate version of the all-new 3er. Finally, we have a 3 series estate.
Lotus Espirit
*sigh* Lotus shocked the world at the 2010 Paris Motor show with five very cool concepts and this, the Espirit, was the best of the lot. In this concept, Lotus had a perfect sports car. It was good looking, had the same amount of charisma as a Porsche or a Merc or an Audi and it looked destined to have a supercharged 5.0-liter v8 capable of producing 620 horsepower.
This car, along with the other concepts unveiled, looked like the perfect launchpad for the start of a revolution at Lotus. Sadly though, the-then Lotus CEO Danny Bahar was dismissed and it all came to a halt.
Mercedes-Benz C112
Back in 1991, Mercedes gave us this: the C112. This was the road-going version of the Group C C112 machine. The C112 concept had 6.0-liter V12 engine with 408 horsepower, 428-pound feet of torque.
What’s more, Merc also blessed it with active aero, active suspension, and radar cruise control. All these things might not seem special right now, but back in 1991, these things sounded like witchcraft to people. If this C112 had gone into production, it would have changed the supercar/hypercar game forever.
Jaguar C-X75
The Jaguar C-X75 starred in the Bond film ‘Spectre’. It had a turbo-charged four-cylinder hybrid powertrain. The C-X75 was capable of giving the hybrid hypercar holy trinity a run for their money. This could have been the successor to the Jaguar XJ220. At the time, Jaguar dubbed the car as “the most advanced Jaguar ever created.”
So why didn’t Jag make it then? Many reports claim that they were too scared of letting this compete with cars like the P1 and the 918.
Porsche 989
The moment you hear the words “four-door” and “Porsche”, we all think about the rather ugly Panamera. But the Panamera wasn’t the first time Porsche toyed with the idea of a four-door.
In 1988, Porsche made the 989 – a gorgeous concept that looked like the perfect four-door Porsche. It was destined to have a 3.6-litre V8 engine at the rear and nearly reached the production line. Sadly though due to economic reasons the 989 never hit the road and the next time we asked Porsche for a four-door car, they gave us the Panamera. Why Porsche? Why did you devoid us from a ‘four-door 911’?
Did I miss any concept cars? Let me know in the comments below
Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in News
4
