7:29 am, August 4, 2024
Over the years, petrol heads have been treated to some truly outrageous concept cars.
Despite most of the more ‘out there’ designs never making it into production, the weird and wacky models give a small glimpse into what could have been theoretically possible.
In order to celebrate a part of the motoring world which always seems to stir up debate, we’ve compiled a list of the best and maddest concept cars the world has ever seen…
Toyota POD
Officially revealed at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show, the Toyota Pod aimed to demonstrate that personal transportation could have feelings and emotions like human beings. It had a boxy design with a wagging tail, sliding doors and a front end that would illuminate different colours depending on the car’s mood. Red would mean it was angry and blue was sad. Meanwhile gold was meant to reflect happiness and pale green as sleepiness.
The Pod was controlled by a joystick which acted as the steering wheel. The seats all swivelled 360 degrees and all featured a screen to allow the passengers to watch their own music or video content.
Unfortunately the POD never made it into production and the world was robbed of one of Toyota’s strangest offerings.
Renault Espace F1
Back in 1995, the world’s first people carrier, the Renault Espace, was celebrating its 10th birthday. To celebrate this milestone, the French firm decided to team up with the Williams Formula One team to make a one-off special like no other.
Introducing the Renault Espace F1. It was built on a carbon fibre chassis with a body which featured reinforced carbon fibre to make it even lighter. Under the bonnet was a 3.5-litre naturally aspirated 40-valve V10 engine out of the Williams’ FW14 Formula One car.
The MPV produced 800bhp and 520Nm of torque. The engine itself was mounted in the middle of the car for better weight distribution with power being sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed semi automatic gearbox.
It had a top speed of 194mph and could do 0-60mph in 2.6 seconds – perfect for any family day out!
Volkswagen W12
Another car revealed at the 2001 Tokyo motor show was the sleek Volkswagen W12 supercar. The German firm had never created something so out of the ordinary.
The car featured – as the name suggests – a W12 engine that produced 600bhp and 620Nm of torque allowing for a 0-60mph time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 217mph. Power was sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox, while the engine itself was positioned in the middle of the car to help with its power to weight ratio.
Other features included ventilated Brembo brake discs, a double wishbone suspension setup and a combination of leather, aluminium and carbon fibre throughout the interior.
ItalDesign Columbus
One of the weirdest and most interesting concepts we unearthed was the ItalDesign Columbus from 1992.
The Columbus was a seven-seat MPV which measured nearly six (YES SIX) metres in length and had an oddball double-decker-type look to it. The body was made from carbon fibre and a steel box-section load-bearing chassis.
Powering the vehicle is a 5.0-litre V12 BMW engine that produced an eye-watering 304bhp with power sent to all four wheels.
Due to where the engine was located and to help improve visibility, the driver’s cockpit was positioned centrally and was raised further up above the passenger compartment.
Rolls Royce 103EX
A more modern example of where a car firm lets its imagination go wild came from the most grown-up and respectable of all the brands – Rolls Royce.
Back in 2016, it revealed the 103EX concept which was to show what the electrified era of the marque was going to look like.
The exterior of the 103EX is like nothing else seen before with suicide opening doors and an electrically operating glass roof. There are also half-covered wheel arches to help with aerodynamics and a very long bonnet which houses a tall illuminated grille and the spirit of ecstasy figure.
We now have the Spectre being introduced as Rolls’ first EV, proving that this concept did at least pave the way for an actual production car – although the obscured wheel arches are sadly now long gone!
