For many years now people have been astounded by what amazing cars can be found in motor shows across the world. The cars that are making people stop and take a second look are not often the cars they will end up driving, rather they are cars that the car manufacturers have developed to wow the buyers, test reaction and make use of future ideas, and of course try and get their name just a little more in mind then the other brands, these cars are named concept cars.
Concept cars began life back in the late 1930s when Harley Earl, a General Motors designer, penned a car not for production, but only to display how a car might be sometime in the future, this car was named the Buick Y Job.
Harley Earl went on to design and promote such cars throughout his career with the concept car idea really catching hold during the 1950s. Clearly the cars that Earl and other designers designed were not meant to be put into production, they were only an exercise in what may be possible to achieve in a production car sometime in the future.
Concept cars usuallynever make it to production themselves, but they regularly contain elements that one day do make it to manufactured models, and sometimes an entire car will be built that has clear common areas with the concept car that was its basis usually several years before.
With the freedom of not needing to be worried with safety, fuel consumption , weight, practicality and cost of production, the concept car designer can allow his creativity to run wild, and this is the reason we regularly see some concept cars that appear like they belong in a different time entirely and clearly will never be built as a road car.
Designs regularly have layouts that break away from the usual car designs, gullwing doors, unusual seating layouts, abstract shapes and lots of other styling elements that are not to be found in regular production cars.
Clearly, concept cars are mainly a creative take on that which might be possible in car styling, and lots of concept cars try to smudge the boundaries between what would be expected in a typical car we purchase in the forecourts and concept cars with totally out of the question styling or functionality.
Though most concept cars will not get anywhere near being manufactured, there are of course the odd few examples that influence what we see on our streets, and its the thrill of spotting something incredible, that in a different era could be realistic, that ensures both concept car stylists, and the viewing fans, both totally hooked on concept cars. If you are interested in concept cars, discover the most up to date concept car news right now.
