Concept cars

Concept car- a prototype of the future car, designed to demonstrate a new style, new design and technology. They are often put up at an auto show to test the reaction of the audience, and already it determines the future of certain decisions. The creation of the first concept car is attributed to General Motors designer Harley Earl.

Buick Y-Job (1938) - the first concept car

Concept cars almost never go into production, but contribute to the creation and maintenance of the image of a particular brand, prepare public opinion for radical changes in the design or technical component, and establish a kind of groundwork for stimulating future research and development.

Technologies that can help us in our daily lives are developing, and with every step our life becomes a little easier, a little less hectic and much more exciting. Over the past hundred years, nothing, with the possible exception of cell phones, has undergone more radical changes both in appearance and in technological solutions than the automotive industry.

From the appearance of the first assembly line Ford in 1908 to the present day, cars have played an important role in our lives and shaped our interaction with the outside world. Long gone are the days when only very wealthy people could afford a car. Today, thanks to automation and economical size, vehicles have become more affordable, and many can afford them. While cars have substantially changed their original appearance since the 1900s, little has changed in the last twenty years.

Only recently in the automotive industry have we seen a wave of innovative developments, such as unmanned vehicles and electric motors. Despite these achievements, change is slow. More precisely, people are slowly adapting to such changes. Nevertheless, we cannot help but wonder what the cars will look like in the next 10, 20 or 100 years. Fortunately, car manufacturers and auto designers have already begun to imagine the future of cars. We have compiled the top 25 concept cars from around the world that will make you dream so that they become a reality. Because we definitely want it!

Each concept car is a kind of work of art. Appearance should give aesthetic pleasure and convey the spirit of the brand.  Concept cars often offer revolutionary solutions in engine design or design. Some use unconventional, exotic, or expensive materials ranging from paper to carbon fiber and unusual alloys. Others have an unusual exterior, such as a door in the style of a gull’s wing, 3 or 6 (or more) wheels, unusual features that are not found on production cars. Due to many impractical or disadvantageous findings, concept cars often remain mock-ups or even computer drawings. Other, more viable models can become fully functional, with an engine, transmission, etc. Most of the concepts never turn into a final product. Inactive mockups are usually made of wax, clay, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or various combinations of all of the above. As soon as the need for the concept disappears, it is destroyed [source not specified 394 days]. But many are preserved - either in the company’s museum, or hidden in the vault. One unused, but workable concept, stored in North Hollywood, California, Lincoln Futura (1954), became Batman's car in the ABC film of the same name in 1966.

A concept car or concept car is a unique car created by a car manufacturer in order to demonstrate a new design style or new technology. Concept сars are often shown at international car dealerships in order to evaluate the reaction of potential consumers to new radical projects that can go into mass production.

Harley Earle, a General Motors designer who is often credited with inventing the concept car, has done a lot to popularize him through his traveling Motorama show in the 1950s.

The concept car is never sent directly to production, in our time it undergoes many changes before the project is completed, for the sake of practicality, safety and cost.

A concept car often has radical innovations in a design or engine. Some of them are made from non-traditional exotic or expensive materials, such as paper or carbon fiber, or ultralight alloys. Others have doors opening upwards or, for example, six wheels. Because of such impractical or unprofitable things, many concepts never go beyond layouts or even simple computer sketches. More traditional models can be assembled in full size and in working condition. Most concept cars are located somewhere in the middle and do not represent the final product. A very small part of the concepts presented at the exhibitions can travel faster than 20 km / h. Static models are usually made of wax, clay, metal, fiberglass, plastic, or a combination of these materials.

When the useful life of a concept car ends, it is usually destroyed. Some can be stored in the company’s museum or hidden in a warehouse. There are unique cases when, after decades, the concept received a second life in some movie, such as the 1954 Lincoln Futura became Batmobile in 1966.

Even showcases made of cardboard and lacking an interior cost a lot of money and a significant amount of human hours to develop and create. What can we say about prototypes, which become the prototype of future production cars, with a detailed performance of parts and equipment, the development of which takes more than one year. Automakers never recycle concepts, even recognized as unsuccessful, because they are part of the brand’s history.

Promotion Tours

Having made its debut at a major international auto show, the concept car has been driving around exhibitions of various significance levels for some time. First for larger ones, and then appears at simpler events. As Timur Aliyev, head of the Russian press service of Skoda, told Autovzglyad, the Czech brand has this practice: as soon as the car created on the prototype patterns went into the series, the concept car for exhibitions was stopped being transported so as not to confuse people.

Oksana Vershinina, Citroёn’s communications director for Russia, explained that, depending on how successful the concept is, and the availability of requests from countries, the show can be transported to showrooms for several years. For example, GT by Citroёn, first introduced in Paris in 2008, still shows off at various stands.

According to Ekaterina Shcherbinina, a public relations specialist at Volvo’s Russian office, showrooms can appear as decorations at various events. For example, the stunning Volvo Estate concept, which doesn’t have a serial future (unless some stylistic ideas are embodied), is currently flaunting in the “sports village” of Volvo Ocean Race in the Spanish city of Alicante, dedicated to the Volvo regatta.

Also, concepts are used for various events, one way or another related to this prototype. For example, at the presentation of a new generation model, you can see the concept by which the first generation of this machine was created.