Concepts Live and Concepts Die; it’s Just the way the World Works
Over the years we’ve seen countless concept cars appear at numerous motor shows around the world, designed to draw the eye and wow in their beauty, power and style. Some make it to production in some form or another, others just die a sad lonely death and are shoved to the back corner of the manufacturers warehouse never to be seen again. Here’s a list of some of those long forgotten concept cars that were killed off before they even got the chance to live.
Peugeot EX1: A Great Design From a Struggling Company
The Peugeot EX1 was a fantastic looking car that set a number of records during its time back in 2010, revealed at the 2010 Paris Motor Show the EX1 was a two door electric sports car with the rear wheels squeezed together giving the car a tear drop shape, similar to some three wheelers. The EX1 managed an impressive 0-60 time of 2.24 seconds and had a top speed of 161 mph. The car was built to celebrate Peugeot’s 200th anniversary and even got the chance to appear on Top Gear.
Nissan GTR: 16 Years on and Still Going Strong
The Nissan GTR is a very old car now, most of the time you expect a car to last ten years at the most from concept to end of production. But the GTR is going on a incredible 16 year run. The original concept from 2001 may only share a slight resemblance to the car we have today but its still surprising for a car to last that long. The GTR was revealed at the 2001 Tokyo Motor Show and was designed to show what a GTR (then Skyline GTR) of the future would look like.
Ford-Shelby GR1: a car in the Shadow of the Cobra
The GR1 was designed to bring Shelby back from the dead, it was meant to remind the public of Shelby’s glory days back in the 60’s with the Cobra and the Daytona. The GR1 had a 6.4 litre V10 engine producing 605 bhp and originally debuted at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. The GR1 is mostly forgotton because of its predecessor, the year before the GR1 was revealed, Ford unveiled the Shelby Cobra concept (on which the GR1 was based) that car also never saw production either but shared its drivetrain with the GR1.
Volkswagen Nardo: So Close to Production but Never Quite Made it
The Volkswagen Nardo concept car (named after the Nardo test track) was revealed at the 1997 Tokyo Motor Show and was famed for having a W12 engine slotted in the back, the 5.6 litre unit was capable of giving the car 414 bhp. The initial design was to meant to prove VW could produce a powerful and reliable engine for its newer sports and luxury models. This engine would eventually be seen in the VW Phaeton and Bentley Continental models. The VW Nardo was one of the most surprising cars to not make production as VW continued work of the Nardo all the way through to 2001 eventually revealing a convertible version of the car and a more powerful version making 591 bhp and 621 Nm of torque.
Ford GT90: Some of These Figures Just Don’t add up
Some concept cars look fantastic and are on the verge of production before they get cancelled, then there’s the cars that we are lucky to never see again. Guess which category the GT90 falls into. The GT90 debuted at the 1995 Detroit Auto Show and was a spiritual successor to the legendary GT40 and the lesser-known GT70. The GT90 was originally billed as the “worlds mightiest super car” and supposedly had a top speed of 253 mph thanks to a quad turbo V12 engine. That engine produced 720 bhp and had an exhaust so hot they needed ceramic tiles similar to those on the space shuttle to protect the exterior body panels. It’s highly likely the GT90 never had any of those numbers associated with it as it was never tested and probably thankfully never made production.
