I love concept cars. I love the idea that one of the major manufacturers is so willing to test a future thought, or an unconventional layout, is even just nice enough to unchain the designers that they commit to a full-scale one-off vehicle. They are expensive undertakings…more if they are truly meant to be a one-off…and are designed from front to back to be attention grabbers. Most of the time they aren’t meant to move to production, though there are the occasional ones that create such a demand that the company will capitalize on what they have. For this Top 11, we picked some random concept cars from the last 25 or so years that really hooked for one reason or another. Some were foretelling of what was to come, while others were so far off from production that it is a miracle that they saw the light of day at all. Check out what we picked out, and if we forgot one of your favorites, leave it in the comments below!
11. Pontiac Banshee IV (1988)
This is one of Pontiac’s most famous concept cars and was one of the earliest indications of where the 1993 Pontiac Firebird would end up. The pointy beak, nose air vents and raised spoiler were pretty much spot on, and the wheels did inspire one of the earlier wheel designs of the production car, but after that, the 230-horse SOHC V8-powered Banshee IV resembled a pump worn by one of Robert Palmer’s video girls. Just an opinion…
10. Dodge Venom (1995)
Would you believe that the Venom is based off of a Neon? Sure, it looks like a cartoony two-door first-generation Dodge Intrepid with taillights stolen from a C4 Corvette, but it’s true. The 245 horsepower 3.5L V6 would find a home in the second-generation Dodge Intrepid R/T and would live on in the Dodge Charger. Lots of people wondered if it hinted towards a new Charger when it came out based upon the door scoops. Oh, would they be surprised ten years later…
9. Cadillac Elmiraj (2013)
Cadillac’s insistence on moving onwards and upwards has brought out some stunning concepts over the years: the Sixteen, the Ciel, the Cien, the Entourage. But the Elmira was the drop-dead stunning coupe that everybody and their mother prayed and begged GM to make the flagship Caddy, in the vein of the Eldorado. Unfortunately, that has yet to be, and instead we get the “why’d you bother with the name?” CT6 sedan instead. Then again, the Elmiraj is so new, that there could still be home.
8. Dodge Sidewinder (1997)
When Mopar gets high on success, they go absolutely, certifiably insane. Case in point: this vehicle, referred to as a Dakota convertible concept, is packing a 640-horse version of the Viper’s V-10. It’s like an SSR, but with more nuts and a framed diagnosis of Intermittent Explosive Disorder, signed by Sigmund Freud himself. This was in the middle of Dodge’s “orange period”, which also gave us the “F**k your Miata!” Copperhead concept (lead photo). Given Chrysler’s trend of putting concepts into production, people everywhere were watching and waiting to see if they would actually do it.
7. Chevrolet XT-2 (1989)
Part El Camino, part Camaro, and part Beretta, the eXperimental Truck #2 was meant to test the waters regarding a small truck to come out of GM. While the nose might hint at Beretta, there is a strong overall hit of 4th gen F-body on that ute body. Packing a 4.5L V6 rated for 450 horsepower, the XT-2 was a runner, and was used as a pace car for the CART PPG Indy Car World Series. Unfortunately, America’s love affair with the ute concept was dead by this point, and sport-utility vehicles were preparing to take a leak on the grave.
6. Chrysler 300 Hemi C (2000)
At the turn of the century, Chrysler was rolling along nicely, but something was missing: V8 power, rear-wheel-drive and a desirable shape. Not that the LH sedans were bad – at that point, the true misery of the 2.7L V6 wasn’t fully realized – but the Concorde, 300M and LHS seemed tuned towards a more geriatric foundation. Then the 300 Hemi C convertible hit the Detroit auto show and Mopar fans, rejoice! A rolling preview of the 5.7L V8 in a two-door body that made you think of a 300M done right…yes, please. Anything had to be better than the Sebring convertible, anyways.
5. Ford Shelby GR-1 (2005)
Ford knows the value and weight of the name “Shelby”, and they are fully cognizant of their racing background. Chasing after the 2004 Cobra concept (and rumored to be underpinned by that car’s chassis), the GR-1 is a retro look at the Shelby Daytona Coupe but is packing far more than the original car’s 289 V8. How about a 600 horse V-10? That’ll do, quite nicely.
4. Holden Efijy (2005)
“Concept car” our collective asses…Holden moved forward in a vein very similar to Buick’s 2001 Blackhawk concept car: in a homage to a past model…here, the 1953 Holden FJ…they decided to out-do Chip Foose, Boyd Coddington, and every other hot-rod builder on the market by creating an absolutely stunning roller in their own shop. The Efijy is underpinned by a Corvette floorpan and uses a 6.0L V8 with a blower for power. But those looks…they create the kind of images that car geeks envision in their dreams.
3. Chrysler ME Four-Twelve (2004)
The biggest “if only” case of Chrysler’s history, right here. Just before the messy divorce from Daimler, it was decided that Chrysler needed a quad-turbocharged, twelve-cylinder supercar, and in a rather un-Chrysler-like way, they knocked it out of the freaking park. Styling that looked horrifying on the Crossfire actually looked Art Deco badass on the ME Four-Twelve, and there were mules…actual running, driving, beaten-on, “lets scare the hell out of some media guys!” factory test mules. What killed the ME Four-Twelve depends on who you ask: either there wasn’t enough money in the coffers, or Daimler’s baby, the Mercedes McLaren SLR, would have had a viable threat.
2. SAAB Aero-X (2006)
By the mid-2000s, SAAB’s future was bleak and everybody and their mother knew it. The Aero-X concept car was only a styling exercise that only appeared on the last cars to roll out of Trollhätten, and that is a damn shame. The Aero-X might have been the first SAAB not equipped with wings and an afterburner to raise the blood pressure of real performance freaks: a canopy system, a twin-turbo V6 pumping 400 horsepower through a four-wheel-drive system, looks that were aggressive, not “quirky”, and those turbine wheels…marvelous. Unfortunately, unless you want a 9-3 based on a thirteen-year-old design, there isn’t much left to talk about here.
1. Dodge Ram VTS (1996)
The Ram VTS (Viper Truck System) was so close to production you could taste it. It only made sense…the V-10 engine in the heavy-duty Rams was tuned for the workhorse lifestyle, but it was based upon the same architecture as the 415-horse unit in the ready-to-brawl Viper. If Mopar hadn’t done it themselves, some rich gearhead who had figured out that the Viper was a pro driver’s car the hard way would have done it himself. We ended up getting the Ram SRT-10 in the next generation, but the blue/white combo and those five-spoke wheels on a truck that didn’t look like an inflated version of the 1994-01 generation is just tasty. Shame the exhaust would still sound like a vacuum cleaner and a tuba gettin’ it on in a hallway closet.
So many delicious Mopars here to ogle.
I can’t believe the ME-412 is only #3 – it is definitely the ultimate sad case of what could have been if not for Daimler.
Which, by the way, no matter what reason for it not being built, it was Daimler’s fault. Either they decided they didn’t want it to compete with their cars, or they had left Chrysler so penniless to develop their own stuff that it couldn’t be built.
Also, the 300M is not a geriatric car, thank you very much.
The Concorde and LHS, sure, but the 300M is very much a sport sedan.