Concept car

From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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The Trylon and Perisphere, two modernistic structures at the New York World's Fair of 1939-1940
Photo: Trylon, Perisphere and Helicline (Samuel H. Gottscho)

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced.

General Motors designer Harley Earl is generally credited with inventing the concept car, and did much to popularize it through its traveling Motorama shows of the 1950s.

Concept cars never go into production directly; in modern times all would have to undergo many changes before the design is finalized for the sake of practicality, safety and cost. A "production-intent" vehicle, as opposed to a concept vehicle, serves this purpose.

They are also known as prototype cars, but should not be confused with prototype race cars such as the Le Mans Prototype.

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Design

Concept cars are often radical in engine or design. Some use non-traditional, exotic, or expensive materials, ranging from paper to carbon fiber to refined alloys. Others have unique layouts, such as gullwing doors, 3 or 6 (or more) wheels, or special abilities not usually found on cars. Because of these often impractical or unprofitable leanings, many concept cars never get past scale models, or even drawings in computer design. Other more traditional concepts can be developed into fully drivable (operational) vehicles with a working drivetrain and accessories. The state of most concept cars lies somewhere in between and does not represent the final product. A very small proportion of concept cars are functional to any useful extent, some cannot move safely at anything above 10 mph. Template:Citation needed

Inoperative "mock-ups" are usually made of wax, clay, metal, fiberglass, plastic or a combination thereof.

If drivable, the drivetrain is often borrowed from a production vehicle from the same company, or may have defects and imperfections in design. They can also be quite refined, such as General Motors' Cadillac Sixteen concept.

After a concept car's useful life is over, the cars are usually destroyed. Some survive, however, either in a company's museum or hidden away in storage. One unused but operational concept car that languished for years in the North Hollywood, California shop of car customizer George Barris, Ford Motor Company's "Lincoln Futura" from 1954, received a new lease on life as the Batmobile in the Batman series that debuted in 1966 on the ABC Television Network.

[edit]

Notable concept cars

Model	Notes
Buick Y-Job	Designed in the late 1930s by the famous General Motors designer Harley Earl. Considered by most to be the first concept car.Inspired many other Buick vehicles, including the Buick Blackhawk Concept.
General Motors Le Sabre	Built by Harley Earl in 1951, it helped introduce 12 volt electrics and the aluminum 215 ci V8 to GM. This nameplate was transferred over to be a production vehicle.
Cadillac Cyclone	Built in 1959, it is one of Harley Earl's last designs. Its futuristic styling was heavily influenced by 1950's aviation and rocketry.
Chevrolet Corvair Monza GT	1962 mid-engined experimental prototype.
Chevrolet Corvette Mako Shark	Previewed the design of the 1968–1982 production Corvette.
Chevrolet Volt	One of the first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle concept cars. This vehicle was launched with limited availability in certain states in early 2011, with availability in all of the United States, as well as parts of Europe by the end of 2012. The production car is the successor to the failed GM EV-1, originally leased through Saturn dealerships.
Ford Nucleon	A nuclear-powered car.
Ford SYNus	Reflects the modern obsession with safety.
General Motors Firebird	A series of gas turbine-powered cars. Pontiac adopted this nameplate based on the Chevrolet Camaro. The nameplate was retired in 2002, along with the Chevrolet Camaro, which was revived in 2010.
Holden Efijy	Based around the Holden FJ, named the United States concept car of the year for 2007.
MIT Car	The Massachusetts Institute of Technology concept car with Frank Gehry.
Phantom Corsair	A 1930s concept car, developed by Rust Heinz.
Pontiac Bonneville Special	Pontiac's first 2-seater sportscar that debuted at the 1954 Motorama. This nameplate carried over to a Pontiac sports car of the 1950s.
Pontiac Club de Mer	Pontiac's all stainless steel sportscar that debuted at the 1956 Motorama.
Porsche 989	Porsche's first 4-door car, a predecessor of the Porsche Panamera.
Rolls-Royce 1EX	The first in a series of 'experimental models', the 1EX was built by Rolls Royce in 1919 on a 40/50 h.p. chassis to test and develop their cars. Individual EX models were produced for over 40 years ending with the 45EX in 1958.The Ghost name Rolls Royce Ghost was adopted in 2011 as a production vehicle. 1EX was also used for the concept version of this Rolls-Royce vehicle.
Volvo YCC	The first car designed entirely by women.
Lancia Megagamma	The prototype for the modern MPV (minivan).
Alfa Romeo BAT cars	1950s aerodynamic studies by Bertone.
Chrysler ME Four-Twelve	Had an estimated top speed of Template:Convert.
Mercedes-Benz F700	Its Pre-Scan feature allows you to not feel any bumps and humps on the road. This design will lead to the development of the next-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class, Mercedes-Benz B-Class, and Mercedes-Benz C-Class.
BMW GINA	A fabric-skinned shape-shifting sports car. This platform (aside from the body material and changing shape) was adopted in 2012 for the BMW i3 and BMW i8 Electric Vehicles.

[edit]

 Inoperative "[[mock-up]]s" are usually made of [[wax]], [[clay]], [[metal]], [[fiberglass]], [[plastic]] or a combination thereof.
-If drivable, the drivetrain is often borrowed from a [[production vehicle]] from the same company, or may have defects and imperfections in design. They can also be quite refined{{Citation needed|date=March 2007}}, such as [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]]' [[Cadillac Sixteen]] concept.
+If drivable, the drivetrain is often borrowed from a [[production vehicle]] from the same company, or may have defects and imperfections in design. They can also be quite refined, such as [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]]' [[Cadillac Sixteen]] concept.
 After a concept car's useful life is over, the cars are usually destroyed. Some survive, however, either in a company's [[museum]] or hidden away in storage. One unused but [[operational]] concept car that languished for years in the [[North Hollywood, California]] shop of car customizer [[George Barris (auto customizer)|George Barris]], [[Ford Motor Company]]'s "[[Lincoln Futura]]" from 1954, received a new lease on life as the [[Batmobile]] in the ''[[Batman]]'' series that debuted in 1966 on the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC Television Network]].
 | [[General Motors Firebird]] || A series of [[gas turbine]]-powered cars. [[Pontiac]] adopted this [[nameplate]] based on the [[Chevrolet Camaro]]. The [[nameplate]] was retired in 2002, along with the [[Chevrolet Camaro]], which was revived in 2010.
 |-
-| [[Holden Efijy]] || Based around the [[Holden FJ]], named the United States concept car of the year for 2007.<ref>{{Cite web | date =2007-06-22 | url = http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21950226-2,00.html | title = Bold Holden wins top US award | publisher = [[News Limited]] | accessdate = 2007-07-15}}</ref>
+| [[Holden Efijy]] || Based around the [[Holden FJ]], named the United States concept car of the year for 2007.
 |-
-| [[MIT Car]] || The [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] concept car with Frank Gehry.<ref>[http://www.archinode.com/mitcar1.html Concept Car] w/ GM & Frank O. Gehry</ref>
+| [[MIT Car]] || The [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] concept car with Frank Gehry.
 |-
 | [[Phantom Corsair]] || A 1930s concept car, developed by Rust Heinz.
 | [[Porsche 989]] || [[Porsche]]'s first 4-door car, a predecessor of the [[Porsche Panamera]].
 |-
-| [[Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost|Rolls-Royce 1EX]] || The first in a series of 'experimental models', the 1EX was built by Rolls Royce in 1919 on a 40/50 h.p. chassis to test and develop their cars. Individual EX models were produced for over 40 years ending with the 45EX in 1958.The Ghost name [[Rolls Royce Ghost]] was adopted in 2011 as a production vehicle. 1EX was also used for the concept version of this [[Rolls-Royce]] vehicle. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maybach.ru/en/news_519.html|title=Australian International Motor Show - Rolls-Royce Speech|last=Mosher|first=David|date=07.10.2004|publisher=Maybach|accessdate=21 May 2011}}</ref>
+| [[Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost|Rolls-Royce 1EX]] || The first in a series of 'experimental models', the 1EX was built by Rolls Royce in 1919 on a 40/50 h.p. chassis to test and develop their cars. Individual EX models were produced for over 40 years ending with the 45EX in 1958.The Ghost name [[Rolls Royce Ghost]] was adopted in 2011 as a production vehicle. 1EX was also used for the concept version of this [[Rolls-Royce]] vehicle.
 |-
-| [[Volvo YCC]] || The first car designed entirely by women.{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}}
+| [[Volvo YCC]] || The first car designed entirely by women.
 |-
-| [[Lancia Megagamma]] || The prototype for the modern MPV ([[minivan]]).<ref name="tumminelli">{{cite book|last=Tumminelli|first=Paolo|title=Car Design|publisher=[[teNeues]]|year=2004|location=|page=66|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Plwd2uG8ZAQC|isbn=3-8238-4561-6}}</ref><ref name="jackyan">{{cite web|url=http://www.jyanet.com/cap/1998/0213fe3.htm|title=30 Years of ItalDesign|accessdate=2008-01-03|publisher=Jack Yan & Associates|year=1998}}</ref>
+| [[Lancia Megagamma]] || The prototype for the modern MPV ([[minivan]]).
 |-
 | [[Alfa Romeo BAT]] cars || 1950s aerodynamic studies by [[Gruppo Bertone|Bertone]].
 |-
-| [[Chrysler ME Four-Twelve]] || Had an estimated top speed of {{Convert|248|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="allpar.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.allpar.com/cars/me412.html|title=The Chrysler ME Four Twelve|accessdate=2011-12-13|work=allpar.com}}</ref>
+| [[Chrysler ME Four-Twelve]] || Had an estimated top speed of {{Convert|248|mi/h|km/h|abbr=on}}.
 |-
 | [[Mercedes-Benz F700]] || Its Pre-Scan feature allows you to not feel any bumps and humps on the road. This design will lead to the development of the next-generation [[Mercedes-Benz A-Class]], [[Mercedes-Benz B-Class]], and [[Mercedes-Benz C-Class]].

Concept car

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