Concept Cars are prototypes that make it off the drawing board but are not
yet put into mass production. Most are just ideas and never make it while
others become the cars we drive.
Concept Cars
1932 Helicron.
Designed in France, the Helicron is propeller-driven, with
rear-wheel steering but no front suspension.
The propeller causes a literal whirlwind of problems. The noise
makes it difficult for passengers in the car to hear.
And the
draft — even while idling — makes it advisable for the driver to
wear goggles and a helmet.
It is also difficult to reverse park and it has an enormous
spinning blade on the front that in an accident
would blend
anyone you hit into a fine paste.
It never went into mass production.
Octoauto
M.O. Reeves attracted stares with the Octoauto he built by
adding four more wheels to an Overland. As the ad says, this was
done to offer the smoothness of a train ride and to save on tire
wear. After the Octoauto proved to be a failure, Reeves built a
six-wheeled Sexto-Auto that sold exactly one unit.
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Fascination
It was the brainchild of Paul M. Lewis, a Colorado man
who, in the 1930s, designed a three-wheeled Airomobile.
The Airomobile was not successful, but he kept his idea
alive. In the late 1960s he built the Fascination and
started the Highway Aircraft Corp. in Sidney, Neb. Five
vehicles were built before the company collapsed.
The chromed-out Fascination was originally built to be
propeller-powered like the Helicron, but a traditional
drivetrain and Volkswagen engine were installed at the
last minute when a propeller failed during a test run.
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1962 Budd XR-400
In 1962 the Budd Company, a supplier of parts and bodies to the
auto industry, came to American Motors Corporation with an
interesting proposition. The wanted to modify Rambler
Ambassadors into "...a brand new type of car--one designed
specifically to take over a healthy segment of the new car
market presently untapped by any American manufacturer." The new
car would have a long hood, a short rear deck, bucket seats and
a choice of a six or eight cylinder engine. Budd estimated that
it could be in production by October of 1963. AMC turned them
down.
In April, 1964 Ford Motor Company introduced a very similar car
that did "take over a healthy segment of the new car
market"--the Mustang.
Why did American Motors pass on this chance to reach a new group
of buyers? There were probably a few reasons. First, its
president, George Romney went off in February 1962 to make his
successful run to become Governor of Michigan. Taking his place
was the enthusiastic Roy Abernethy, who had his own ideas about
cars and favored head-to-head competition with the Big Three all
across the board. Abernethy probably thought the XR-400 was too
small to compete against other sporty compact cars like the
Corvair Monza and Pontiac Tempest Le Mans.
Would anyone have bought a sports car from AMC? Another
factor may have been cost. The new 1963 AMC line was already a
major expense. Jumping into a new market with a new car could be
a costly mistake. In the end the XR-400 went back to Budd, the
Mustang became a roaring success, AMC was eventually bought out
by Chrysler, and auto historians were left wondering, "What if?"
1956 Chrysler Norseman
Chrysler chief designer Virgil Exner was working overtime in the
early 1950s to help transform his company’s product styling.
Exner began a relationship with the Italian design house, Ghia
which resulted in several concept cars.
During 1955-56, one of Ghia’s main projects was the Norseman,
which was based on sketches and models created by Exner’s
studio. The body was to be fully functional and placed over a
Hemi-powered Chrysler chassis. Working more than a year, the
Italians handcrafted every element of the exterior and interior,
struggling a great deal with the striking cantilevered roof.
Nearly all of the roof’s mass needed to be supported at the rear
so that the leading edge did not to place any stress on the
delicate wrap-around windshield. Completing the roof structure
was further complicated by the power-retractable sunroof .
The Norseman was completed on schedule and carefully loaded onto
the Andrea Doria, a modern and luxurious ocean liner. It was
July, and the trans-Atlantic trip would deliver the Norseman to
the states in plenty of time for the 1957 auto show circuit.
The Norseman never made it. The Andrea Doria collided with a
passenger ship, the MV Stockholm, off the coast of Massachusetts
. The liner sank within hours, taking all of its cargo to the
sea floor. Perhaps, if the Norseman had completed its crossing,
the design would have positively impacted Chrysler’s styling as
the company dealt with the transition from the "fin" to "no-fin"
era
The
I.D.E.A KAZ was a luxury limousine concept
from 2001. The KAZ, Keio Advanced Zero-emission vehicle,
has a
total of 8 wheels, 6 of which are involved in turning. Each of
the KAZ's 8 wheels is powered by its own electric
motor - hence
the zero emissions.
Unfortunately, whereas most luxury vehicles have names which
evoke a sense of prestige and quality, the I.D.E.A KAZ
sounds
more like an electronic gadget.
The futuristic
Toyota PM concept from 2003 is a
personal transport concept.
The PM's cockpit opens by touching one of the unusual stalk
mounted headlights, this then glows green to announce the
impending
opening of the glass canopy.
The Toyota PM is highly maneuverable thanks to its castor like
wheels capable of rotating through 180 degrees.
The front wheels
are also notable because of their hub-less design.
Another interesting feature Toyota has built into the PM is its
adjustable ride height and attitude.
As the PM's speed increases
it lowers to the ground to increase stability and improve
aerodynamics.
Inside the PM information regarding vehicle performance and the
location of other PM's is relayed to the single occupant
by a
floating virtual display.
Power for the concept comes from an electric motor.
Pivo 2
The Pivo 2 is the second generation of the Pivo concept that
originally debuted in 2005 and it features an electric
powertrain
powered by lithium ion batteries.
Pivo 2 builds on the popularity of the first Pivo, shown at the
2005 Tokyo Motor Show.
Interesting features of the car are that it features a rotating
cabin, therefore reverse is not needed making the car more
maneuverable.
The wheels can also pivot 90 degrees and the car
showcases new "by wire" technologies for the braking and
steering.
A new "Robot Agent" is also included that has the ability to
converse with the driver and additional occupants in either
Japanese or English.
This means that you can actually have
company if you are driving alone on a long trip.
A.L.F.A 40-60 HP Aerodinamica prototype
In 1914 Marco Ricotti from Carrozzeria Castagna designed the
A.L.F.A. (later called Alfa Romeo) 40/60 HP
Aerodinamica
prototype model which could reach 139 km/h (86 mph) top speed.
The last Yugo and other auto
failures
