Top Ten Concept Supercars
All too often when an automotive manufacturer
asks their design department to come up with a new vehicle they
put so many limitations on the creativity of the designers that
the resulting car is nothing more than an everyday family car
with big wheels.
Thankfully however, every now and then one of the bosses has
a little too much to drink at the Christmas party and green
lights an immensely expensive concept supercar which everyone
knows will never get made - but at the same time it'll make
a fantastic promotional tool.
Here are ten of the best concept supercars ever created.
|
|
Shelby
GR-1
The Shelby GR-1 is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful vehicles
ever created. It's blend of classic proportions and styling,
coupled with contemporary build quality and materials meant,
that it was a big hit when it was debuted in 2005.
Unfortunately, unlike the Ford GT on which it was based, the
GR-1 never made the leap to production.
Shelby
GR-1 
|
Audi
Rosemeyer
The Audi Rosemeyer from 2000 has to be one of the most striking
concept cars in the world. The Rosemeyer was powered by a massive
8.0 litre W16 engine which was mounted in the middle of the
car.
Audi
Rosemeyer
|
Mercedes-Benz
C112
The Mercedes-Benz C112 was essentially a rolling testbed on
which Mercedes' engineers could test and develop their latest
gadgets and technology.
Powering the C112 prototype was a 6.0 litre V12 which produced
408 horsepower.
Mercedes-Benz
C112
|
Citroen
Osee
Citroen is normally more comfortable developing quirky city
cars and family cars. However when they do turn their hand to
supercars they usually do a pretty good job. The Osee was an
effort they unveiled in 2001 at the Geneva Motor Show
Citroen
Osee |
Lamborghini
Cala
The Lamborghini Cala could almost be taken as being the starting
point for the Lamborghini Gallardo. It was revealed in 1995,
and considering the car's age it still looks extremely cool.
The Cala was powered by a 3.9 litre V10 which was mounted in
the middle of the car.
Lamborghini
Cala
|
Alfa
Romeo BAT 11
Bertone's line of Alfa Romeo BAT models stretches back quite
a way. Thankfully their latest BAT model, the 11, was just as
crazy as the first.
The BAT 11 was based on the Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione's platform,
and it was powered by the same 4.2 litre V8 engine.
Alfa
Romeo BAT 11
|
Cadillac
Cien
The Cien was a birthday present Cadillac gave to itself to celebrate
its 100th anniversary. The 2002 concept featured razor sharp
style lines which were inspired by the radar-evading shapes
of stealth aircraft.
The carbon fiber bodypanels helped hide a monstrous mid-mounted
7.5 litre V12 engine.
Cadillac
Cien
|
Chevrolet
Corvette CERV III
The recipe for creating a Corvette has usually been pretty straight
forward. Stick a large V8 engine in the front of a RWD coupe,
whack a Corvette badge on it, and wait for buyers to line up.
In 1990 Chevrolet tried something new, they put the engine in
the middle of the car and gave it AWD. Sadly it never made it
past the prototype phase of development.
Chevrolet
Corvette CERV III
|
Zagato
Raptor
The 1996 Zagato Raptor was a fully-functioning, Lamborghini
V12 powered AWD monster. Initially it was hoped that a limited
production run of around 50 cars would be produced.
The Zagato Raptor was developed using CAD (very new at the time)
and it only took four months to develop the concept from sketches
to prototype.
Zagato
Raptor
|
Seat
Cupra GT
The Seat Cupra GT is actually a competition vehicle. However
the concept version was unveiled at the 2003 Barcelona Motor
Show.
Powering the Seat Cupra GT was a 3.0 litre twin-turbo V6 which
produced over 500 horsepower.
Seat
Cupra GT
|
|
|
