Except it should’ve had 4 doors, but whatever.
Why are all the japanese brands doing these tail lights now
altho that subaru is pretty nice
3 Likes
Because those tailights are cool?
5 Likes
Those taillights are ugly as sin. I can only guess that they’re making them look like angery reacts as a joke.
1 Like
I’ll have to agree with Vri on this one. I think they look cool.
I don’t mind the tail-lights, actually. Maybe not my favorite design, but I’ve seen far worse.
A few years ago, VW unveiled the bonkers Golf R 400. It never saw the light of day due to the vagaries of Dieselgate (and the presence of the Audi RS3 and TT RS, which matched the Golf’s power output and had an extra cylinder to boot), but it showed the lengths VW would go to in trying to dethrone the AMG A45.
This, along with several other stillborn concepts (many, if not all, of which have also been shown in this thread), is described in greater detail here:
1 Like
(shameless double post warning)
Here’s one more concept from the previous decade which should have been built (and one I’m surprised hasn’t been mentioned here at all before): the Maybach Exelero. Built as a test bed for tyre manufacturer Fulda, this humongous, extravagant and immensely powerful super-coupe was a spiritual successor to the pre-war W38, which served an identical purpose.
Had Maybach made a few dozen of these back in the day, and offered each of them for sale for at least a million dollars apiece, it would have been much less likely that the brand would be relegated to just another trim level on the current S-Class, and it would have retained its relevance for much longer.
The development, specifications and fate of the Exelero are explored in-depth here:
3 Likes
When my grandfather was alive, he was a big Packard guy. He had a model of an old Super 8 he used to own (when he was courting my grandmother in the early 50s). I loosely based my Olympus story on Packard. A while back I wondered who owns the rights to the Packard name. The guy who bought the name created a concept back in 1999.
Looks like he threw some body moldings onto a Jaguar S-type, and called it a Packard.
Personally, I would like one that had a more retro feel to it, although with the size they were, it would likely be considered an SUV by today’s standards.
And I want suicide doors.
5 Likes
I really wish Alfa Romeo would bring back the Spider, not so much the original style Spider, more along the lines of the GTV based one and the Brera based one. The new one probably would be based on the Giulia which is absolutely not a bad thing. Or alternatively Alfa could introduce a new stylish hatch and then base it off that which would be even better.
I mean…
I know they intended for a while to build a new Spider based off of the current MX-5 but that turned out to be the 124 Sport Spider and I feel like that wouldn’t have been a worthy continuation of the name as it would’ve been just an MX-5 in Alfa looks and personally the shape wouldn’t be as nice as it would’ve been intended as a continuation for the original Spider ('66-93)
5 Likes
FCA wants to expand Alfa’s presence to 200,000 units. this could go a long way, especially since it’d be the only convertible FCA has.
1 Like
Oh yeah. Portal Axle-based 4WD, 4-wheel Steering and HEMI power up front and out back. Talk about a badass desert blaster.
It seems right to revive this thread with something that most definitely should be made - and that car is the Hyundai N Roadster.
Never mind that it was an April Fool’s day joke, this thing could, if it were ever produced, ask serious questions of the MX-5 and 86/BRZ - especially if they offer it with the engine from the i30/Veloster N under its hood driving the rear wheels, with a six-speed manual transmission and limited-slip diff as standard equipment. And I know there’s potential for even more power if its potential customers really want it. The only change I would make is having the rear wing optional rather than standard. Given that there are far fewer affordable dedicated sports cars (especially rear-drive ones) on sale today compared to 15-25 years ago, the N Roadster could be a very welcome addition to what is currently a very small segment. And while I’m at it, I’d suggest a hardtop coupe variant as well to appeal to the track-day crowd.
8 Likes
I’ve always loved the 2000 Peugeot 607 Feline concept. Carbon fibre body/frame, 3.0L v6 powering the rear wheels through a 5 speed manual gearbox. Only 210HP, but weighs just 875kg. I saw it in the flesh in Paris and it was a lot smaller than expected, but so awesome.
5 Likes
Now for something that may have been discussed elsewhere on these forums, but not on this thread: the 1992 Seat Concepto T coupe and convertible.
Its aesthetics may have been typical of cars from the early 1990s, but if it had gone into production, it would have provided SEAT with a halo car that would have competed in what was then a burgeoning coupe segment. And I have a hunch that its overall shape may have inspired Mike Simcoe’s design for the 1998 VT Commodore Coupe concept that ultimately became the V2/VZ Monaro.
2 Likes
RCZ would’ve worked if RWD
1 Like
I almost forgot about this, but here are a pair of supercar concepts that would have been completely unknown to the world without their appearances in their respective video game franchises:
Zender Fact 4 - Featured in Midnight Club: Street Racing (in two versions: Alpha and highly tuned Beta, the latter being exclusively black with a pair of white stripes and a skull and crossbones emblem on the bonnet), this brutalist German supercar was intended to compete with the Ferrari F40, and looked like one, but was powered by a mid-mounted twin-turbo Audi V8 clothed in a carbon-fiber chassis. Sadly it remained a one-off due to its immense production costs.
Tommykaira ZZII - Every Gran Turismo game from 2 through 6 featured this strikingly curvaceous prototype, which not only used the engine and drivetrain from an R34 GT-R (complete with AWD, but mid-mounted!), but also had carbon bodywork on an aluminum chassis. However, it was too expensive even for a knowledgable tuner such as Tommykaira to produce, and Autobacs’ plan to revive it as the ASL RS-01 could never have come to fruition for the same reason.
Both of these concepts are among the best cars that can be obtained in their respective games - yet another reason why they must not be forgotten.
3 Likes
I’d love to contribute to this thread. Here I am, the protector of late 90’s to late 00’s regular cars!
The 2000 Chrysler 300 HEMI C Concept is (in my opinion) a gorgeous 2+2 convertible powered by a 353 hp/torque 5.7L HEMI V8 and RWD, propelling it to 60 in under 6 seconds. Obviously it has some Mercedes parts, and look at those gauges!! Yes please!
6 Likes
