9 of the wildest concept cars from the past decade

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New car reveals aren’t always exciting, but if they’re of concept cars, they usually are. 

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Concept cars challenge automakers to dream, to predict the future and then to build it. Even those vehicles that don’t make it to production have the ability to influence the industry with innovative designs or technology. 

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Carmakers have been at it for decades, but today we’re reaching just over our shoulders into recent history to round up some of the wildest concepts from the 2010s. With plenty of electric power and nary an SUV in sight, these are the wildest concept cars to debut in recent years.   

Mercedes-Benz Vision EQ Silver Arrow

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Mercedes-Benz made a sizable splash at Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week 2018 when it dropped the Vision EQ Silver Arrow concept. It’s an attractive marriage of old-school design elements that pay homage to a Benz race car from the 1930s known as the W125 Silver Arrow, and the kind of futuristic vibes that take a concept over the top. 

The metre-tall one-seater has a carbon-fibre body finished in alubeam silver; some of the wildest spoke wheels we’ve ever seen; and a cockpit with leather and walnut finishes and a panoramic screen. Mercedes says the show car’s 750 horsepower should be enough to get it up to 60 mph (96 km/h) in under 2.0 seconds. Sadly, as it isn’t headed for production, we may never see this figure confirmed.  

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Genesis Essentia

Then-newcomer Genesis blew the roof off the 2018 New York International Auto Show when it pulled out its sleek Essentia concept and raised the scissor-style doors. Look out, Europe, here comes South Korea!

The fully-electric two-door GT goes zero to 96 km/h in around three seconds, and is loaded with adaptive suspension and all the most impressive tech Genesis had at the time, like voice recognition and Genesis Intelligent Assistant, which can facilitate all sorts of real-life interactions like paying bills. 

There were some rumours floating earlier this year about the Essentia moving toward production, but there’s been no word since, so they’ll remain rumours for now. 

Audi AI:Trail

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How to way to make anything instantly ultramodern? Just add drones. 

Audi’s AI:Trail concept, which debuted at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show, is a quattro for the outdoors enthusiast who insists on bringing all their tech into the wilderness with them.

It’s partly autonomous, wholly electric, has a place to plug your smartphone into the steering column, and uses drones in place of headlights. No kidding, the drones dock on the roof and, when asked, fly ahead of the AI:Trail to light the way and send video back to the driver via wi-fi cameras. 

Lamborghini Terzo Millennio

Developed in collaboration with MIT, the Terzo Millennio was Lamborghini’s look forward, back in 2017. It has a sweeping windshield, many vents, autonomous on-track abilities, a carbon-fibre body with the ability to store power in the body panels and supercapacitors in place of traditional batteries. 

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If Lambo made a Batmobile, it’d be a lot like this. 

Jeep Moab Safari Quicksand

In 2017, the Jeep tradition of introducing some custom vehicles at the Moab Easter Jeep Safari delivered some gems, including a Jeep Safari with see-through doors for better beast viewing.

But the real standout was this pure V8 hot-rod monster, the Jeep Quicksand . The concept uses a Mopar 6.4-litre Hemi V8 crate engine with a vintage-style eight-stack injection system (you can see it sticking out of the hood) and a minimalist interior to create just the kind of Jeep we’d love to bag about the dunes. 

Toyota Kikai

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When everyone was zigging toward autonomy, Toyota decided to zag. And that’s what made the Kikai, which translates to “machine” in Japanese, so refreshing. Debuted in 2015, the little car proudly displays its non-autonomous mechanics on the outside — the frame and engine are exposed, and there’s even a window panel on the floor of the three-person cabin that reveals the wheels and suspension in action. 

Karma SC2 Concept

Playing on home turf, California-based luxury EV-maker Karma Automotive added a bit more brand recognition at the 2019 LA Auto Show with the SC2. 

The stunning cab-back coupe isn’t just a looker either: Karma pegs the SC2 at 1,100 horsepower and 10,500 lb.-ft. of (wheel) torque, giving it a 96 km/h sprint time of 1.9 seconds. Range is touted as over 500 km. 

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The interior is appropriately conceptual – you basically aren’t allowed to have a regular circular steering wheel in a concept – with something called an “ultrasonic dynamic regenerative panel,” which had our reviewer David Booth scratching his head .

Volkswagen I.D. Buggy

The I.D. series has been expanding chez Volkswagen. The German giant brought its newest electric concept – the I.D. Space Vizzion wagon – to L.A. this year. It’s cool, but the Buggy has to be the wildest. It’s retro, it’s electric and it’s meant for the beach. 

The open-top beach cruiser Buggy was shown at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show with weatherproof leather seats (because no roof), a 201-horsepower powerplant and an intentionally versatile setup to allow for third-party modifications. 

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The I.D. Buggy is coming, but likely not until 2022. 

Aston Martin Lagonda Vision

Aston Martin debuted a new design language for its luxury EV brand, Lagonda, in the form of a concept car at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The Vision Concept may have an impressive battery range and host of autonomous capabilities, but the real headline here is the cavernous interior, which harkens back to a time when comfort was paramount.

It’s got carpeted surfaces throughout, seats of handwoven wool, tailoring details performed by Savile Row tailors and doors that open up and out to allow the largest of egos to enter and exit with ease. 

The Vision won’t see production, but Lagonda has announced it’ll begin production of an SUV in 2021.