Morecarsthatnevermadeit

prototypes and concepts that never made it in to the showrooms, my old blog got terminated by Tumblr

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Another post-BMW project, the Rover TCV (Tourer Concept Vehicle), was designed by Peter Stevens to mark a new direction for Rover styling. Presented at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show, the cossover-style TCV was supposed to replace the mid-range Rover 45, but never did. 

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The Rover 75 was developed during BMW’s ownership of the Rover brand. The 2004 75 Coupe was designed by Peter Stevens, Rover’s design director at the time, to celebrate Rover’s 100th anniversary. BMW had sold Rover to Phoenix Holdings in 2000; the new owners lacked the resources to put the Coupe into production. In 2005, the MG Rover Group went into administration.

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The retro-style 2004 Chevrolet Nomad Concept was based on GM’s Kappa platform and was presented alongside the Kappa-based Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. While both the Solstice and the Sky made it down the production line, the Nomad shooting brake didn’t get any further than the Detroit Motor Show.

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The original Chevrolet Nomad concept from 1954 was presented along with the C1 Corvette at the GM’s Motorama showcase. The styling mimicked the Corvette up to the A-pillars, then became a long-roof shooting brake. The Nomad name was used on various production Chevrolet station wagons and several more shooting brake concepts, but none of them made it into Chevrolet’s showrooms

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General Motors commissioned Pininfarina to create alternative styling for the C2 Corvette. The project was given to a young Tom Tjaarda, who altered the proportions of the US Corvette with lighter, cleaner styling for the Corvette Rondine concept of 1963. The project went no further, but the car’s rear bodywork, incorporating slim horizontal lamps and a recessed panel, found its way onto Pininfarina’s Fiat 124 Sport Spider (also designed by Tjaarda) in 1966, where it stayed through two generations until 2020

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Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi had been established in the immediate post-WW2 period and built up a successful coachbuilding business mostly based on modified Fiats. For the 1970 Turin Motor Show, they prepared a sports car using VW Beetle underpinnings. Their Volkswagen 1600 SS was a wedge-shaped coupé with a low nose and concealed headlamps. It remained a one-off. Lombardi closed its doors in 1973. 

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After the GM takeover, Lotus pivoted and a replacement for their compact sports car, the Elan, took priority. This was Italdesign’s proposal for the M100 project, which was designed to accommodate a transverse, front-wheel-drive Isuzu powertrain GM planned to use for the new-generation Elan. Italdesign’s styling was passed over in favour of an in-house design by Peter Stevens.

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The Lotus Etna concept of 1984 was an Italdesign proposal for a V8-engined successor to the Esprit, also the work of Giugiaro. It used an expanded Esprit platform but the precarious financial position of Lotus meant the project was put on hold. When General Motors took a controlling stake in Lotus in 1986, the Etna was cancelled.

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Bertone presented the Lotus Emotion concept at the Detroit auto show in 1991. Designed by Marc Deschamps, Bertone had not previously worked with Lotus, though they had worked with General Motors (who were majority shareholders in Lotus at this time). Bertone had originally created the clay model as a proposal for Bugatti’s new supercar, the EB110. However, Bugatti's management rejected Bertone’s submission in favour of a design by Marcello Gandini. The design was recycled for the Emotion as a proposal for a new generation Lotus supercar. 

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The 1956 Chrysler Norseman was designed by Chrysler’s styling chief Virgil Exner and built by the Italian coachbuilder Ghia, with whom Chrysler had worked through the 1950s. The fully functional prototype was based on a V8 Hemi-powered Chrysler chassis. The concept car was lost at sea when the ocean liner SS Andrea Doria, that was transporting it to the US, sank on 25 July 1956. 

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The Citroën Berlingo Coupé de Plage was presented 30 years ago, at the 1996 Paris Motor Show. It was a proposal by Bertone to convert the first-generation Berlingo light van into a surfer-oriented pickup. Features included twin deck chairs that could be folded out onto the rear tray and a rack for surfboards.

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The Citroën VLH M7 4×4 from 1971 was a prototype commissioned by the French military, who wanted a light infantry vehicle that could be carried by helicopter and parachuted. The VLH M7 used the air-cooled flat-four engine and hydraulic suspension from the GS and was built by French coachbuilder Heuliez. Although it performed well in tests, it was rejected in favour of Peugeot’s proposal. #prototype

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The Citroën Osée concept was a work by Pininfarina (who rarely worked with the French brand) for a V6, mid-engined supercar with a central driving position and three seats abreast. Designed by Carlo Bonzanigo, it was awarded “Best in Show" at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show.

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The second-generation Saab 9-5 was designed and developed during General Motors’ ownership of the Swedish carmaker. By the time it went on sale in 2010, GM had “sold” Saab to the Dutch sports car brand Spyker. In addition to the four-door sedan, there was also a 9-5 Aero SportCombi, which made it as far as 27 pre-production models. When Spyker’s attempt to keep Saab afloat failed in March 2011, any chance the SportCombi would make it beyond the 81st Geneva Motor Show sank.

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The Saab EV-1 was a 1985 concept car (EV = Experimental Vehicle) based on a Saab 900 Turbo 16. It was a fully operational prototype with Kevlar and carbon fibre bodywork and a 282hp version of Saab’s DOHC 1985cc 4-cylinder engine. Features included solar panels in the roof to power the air-conditioning. Presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the EV-1 never made it into Saab’s showrooms.

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Presented at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, the Saab PhoeniX was supposed to represent the bold reinvention of the Swedish carmaker under their new Dutch management. The design language, called “Aeromotional," was inspired by Saab’s aviation heritage, styled by Jason Castriota. Instead of pointing to the future of the brand, the PhoeniX became Saab’s swan song. 

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Presented at the 18th Tokyo Motor Show in 1971, a recreational vehicle concept based on the first-generation TA22 Toyota Celica. The Toyota RV-1 had an extended, shooting brake-style roofline with gullwing-type openings on each side. It came with a matching camper-trailer whose top could be inverted for use as a dinghy.