The 50 Coolest Concept Cars of the Past Decade

Throngs of people regularly descend upon convention centers all over the country hoping to see all the latest mobility machinery to come from the world's top carmakers. But more than looking at cars scheduled to come out in the next year, people really pack the show floors to see all the concept cars that they will never, ever be able to purchase.

First used by Buick as a marketing tool in 1938, the concept car has become a mainstay of the automotive industry, showcasing technologies, materials, and ideas that could possibly change the way we commute. Some concept cars look like they could drive out of the booth and be at home on a modern-day street, while some look as if they were built by Hollywood prop designers. The past decade has given us some of the most inventive concept cars—from three-wheeled urban commuters to minivans that could double as living rooms. Check out the 50 Coolest Concept Cars of the Past Decade.

Debut: Minority Report
Year: 2002
Complex Says: You gotta love Steven Spielberg. Before production began on Minority Report, Spielberg hit up Lexus and asked it to design a car that would look at home 50 years in the future. We can only pray that cars look this dope when our grandkids are whipping around.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2009
Complex Says: Before Aston Martin introduced its achingly beautiful four-door tourer, the Rapide, the only sedan the British marque made was the Lagonda. In '00, Aston unveiled an all-new Lagonda, only this time it was an SUV. Many screamed blasphemy, but we just saw a possible, viable Land Rover competitor.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2008
Complex Says: In 2008, Chrysler was in a slump. It was sold to an investment group called Cerberus and told to restructure everything. That restructuring included this lightweight, value-driven performance car. With killer looks, decent engine output (172 hp, 165 lb-ft), and rear-wheel drive, it was the car Chrysler should have made.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2004
Complex Says: In '04, Ford attempted to revive O.J. Simpson's favorite car by taking the Ford Escape platform and making it super-rugged. Rugged enough to, say, run through a few roadblocks? Certainly.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2004
Complex Says: Based on the already super-capable Jeep Wrangler, the Rescue took Jeep's Trail-Rated ethos to the extreme with a stronger frame, heavy-duty suspension, and large-diameter, run-flat tires. It was built to handle the most dangerous and extreme conditions. If we were stranded, we'd definitely want our rescuer to be pushing one of these.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2005
Complex Says: The head of Lamborghini design, Luc Donckerwolke, must have been a fan of the early Batman TV series, as the Gallardo-based Concept S uses the same saute-vent windshield as Adam West's whip.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2010
Complex Says: With a little tweaking of the front fascia, the SR1 could be a production car as is. Powered by a 1.6-liter turbodiesel and an electric motor running the rear wheels, it's green enough to survive in a world full of newly imposed government standards. And you probably can't tell, but the top comes out, revealing a roadster that looks just as good as it does as a coupe. A rarity, in other words.

Debut: Paris Motor Show
Year: 2008
Complex Says: Celebrating 25 years of making jets convertibles, Saab produced this open-air study that ran on electricity and ethanol. We're guessing that if it didn't get purchased by Spyker, GM would have built it. Yeah, you're right. Maybe not.

Debut: New York International Auto Show
Year: 2009
Complex Says: Based on the Segway, the P.U.M.A. was dubbed an iPod on wheels by GM brass. We're not sure how that makes sense, but it was an interesting look at what urban transportation could be. Able to go 35 miles on a single charge, the two-person pod balances itself on two large wheels with two smaller wheels out back like a drag racer. We wouldn't dare drive this on an NYC street, but it's still cool.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2006
Complex Says: If this were the Toyota Sienna, we would buy a minivan. Crack open the door and you'll see three rows of stadium seating that can be arranged any way you like, including a really cool lounge mode. It's like a Scion XB for adults.

Debut: Tokyo Motor Show
Year: 2003
Complex Says: The PM is not a car. It's a personal-mobility vehicle. Toyota thought that in the future your car should be able to communicate with your friend's car and be a conduit to meeting up and hanging out. Though the age of the "smart" car is still a few years off, we're sure Toyota will be there when it hits.

Debut: Greater Los Angeles Auto Show
Year: 2000
Complex Says: Before Hyundai released the award-winning Genesis, it had a hard time inducing excitement, or want. To counteract all that, it dropped this Prowler-like, open-wheeled roadster. Sadly, it never made it into production, and Hyundai seemingly gave up creating an exciting sports car.

Debut: Tokyo Motor Show
Year: 2007
Complex Says: It may not look like much—to us, it kind of looks like a paper cutout of a car. But keep in mind that the 1/X is a plug-in hybrid that weighs less than half of a Prius. Looking a little better now, isn't it?

Debut: BMW Museum
Year: 2005
Complex Says: Looking like the great, great, great grandson of the BMW Isetta—the car made popular by Steve Urkel in Family Matters—the Simple Concept was the Bavarian automaker's take on a new-age "professional commuter" car. Its name is an acronym for Sustainable and Innovative Mobility Product for Low Energy consumption, and can do 60 mph in around nine seconds while getting 118 mpg. We'd take one of these over a Smart Car. Just sayin'.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2007
Complex Says: Ford called it a crossover, but to us, the plug-in, hydrogen-fueled, cell-powered Airstream looked like what people in the '30s would have thought minivans would look like in the future—if people in the '30s knew what minivans were.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2006
Complex Says: In its attempt to combine a station wagon with a coupe, the designers at Renault came up with the Altica. Some hate it, some love it. We...are in the middle.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2002
Complex Says: Back before the Volt was a spark, GM decided to build a car it thought would represent the future of automobiles. Powered by a fuel-cell propulsion system and some other next-gen tech, the AUTOnomy represented a design ethos for the brand, one that it hoped would permeate all of its vehicles sometime in the future. We're not sure how much of the tech made it into current or upcoming GM cars, but it surely did look futuristic.

Debut: Paris Motor Show
Year: 2009
Complex Says: You know, we've been wondering when carmakers are going to do away with side mirrors and just install cameras. It would reduce wind drag, resulting in better gas mileage. Renault did just that with its Z.E. concept. Made to work with the Better Place charging-station project, the Z.E. uses LED for its headlights and is coated in paint that reflects heat.

Debut: Autostadt
Year: 2000
Complex Says: Kind of funny that one of Audi's most memorable concept cars of the past decade was heavily influenced by the historic race cars of one its biggest rivals: Mercedes-Benz.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2008
Complex Says: Though released in 2008, the BAT 11 can trace its roots back to the 1950s. The latest collaboration between Alfa Romeo and famed automotive design house Bertone, the BAT 11 was based on the drop-dead-gorgeous Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, but styled to resemble its ancestors.

Debut: Tokyo Motor Show
Year: 2006
Complex Says: According to legend, during the Pivo's design process, the designers consumed a lot of Pilsner Urquels—a Czech beer—which lead to the car being named after the Czech word for beer. We guess you would have to be drunk to design a car that didn't need reverse because its body and wheels could rotate in any direction.

Debut: Paris Motor Show
Year: 2004
Complex Says: Conceived and built in 10 months' time, the H2R (Hydrogen Record Car) is what future race cars may look like. The overly phallic dragster is powered by a 6.0-liter V-12 engine that chugs liquid nitrogen. It may look like the T-1000 in mid-morph, but this whip has broken nine international speed records.

Debut: Copenhagen International Motor Show
Year: 2007
Complex Says: Basically an MB SLK with better curves and lights, the GTK was a long-rumored model made by one of the premier Mercedes-Benz tuners.

Debut: Frankfurt Motor Show
Year: 2009
Complex Says: We know, we know. It looks like an Audi version of the Steve Urkel mobile. But this car can get 170 mpg. How do you like it now?

Debut: Tokyo Motor Show
Year: 2002
Complex Says: Built in conjunction with Sony, the POD was designed with artificial intelligence to make the car seem more alive. Sound scary? It gets crazier. The POD could detect the driver's mood and offer ways to improve it, if it were in need of improving. It could also tell you how it was feeling by flashing different-colored LEDs and—get this—wagging its antenna. Hope y'all are ready for the future.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2006
Complex Says: So what if it looked a little bloated and top-heavy? Can you say suicide doors, all-aluminum construction, 500-hp, VW-sourced W16, and 0-60 mph in five seconds? We can.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2000
Complex Says: A decade ago, GM's luxury marque recognized that it needed a grand sedan if it was to compete with the Euro big boys. This high-powered, four-wheel-drive ultra-luxe sedan was what Cadillac came up with to fill that void.

Debut: Frankfurt Motor Show
Year: 2006
Complex Says: We're not sure how a luxurious four-door sedan, on par with the S-Class and 7-Series, which happened to be one of the best designs to come from the French automaker, didn't get made. Guess we're supposed to find solace in the fact that a lot of what it learned building the 908 went into the not-so-cool 508. Eh.

Debut: Chicago Auto Show
Year: 2010
Complex Says: Looking to build a cool Prius-fighter, Kia's Ray features an electric motor capable of powering the car for up to 50 miles on a single charge before the 1.4-liter engine kicks in to carry it the rest of the way. To aid in its green mission, the exterior is made extremely slippery to reduce drag and is covered in a nano-laminate film to keep the car cool, negating the need for A/C use. Cool.

Debut: Frankfurt Motor Show
Year: 2007
Complex Says: Winner of the 2007 Peugeot International Design Competition, the Flux was designed to be a hydrogen-powered sports car that could handle itself if its driver ever took it off-road. It was so good, the developers behind Project Gotham Racing 4 included it as a downloadable car.

Debut: Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize
Year: 2007
Complex Says: Everything about the design of the Aptera Type-1—the first car from the California-based car company—was styled to help achieve 100 mpg. You just have to ask yourself: Is such an odd-looking car worth the dough saved at the pump? We say yes.

Debut: Paris Motor Show
Year: 2010
Complex Says: Seemingly a mix between the Nagare and Furari, the Shinari, which translates to "resistance to being bent" (don't you love these names?), has been rumored to be a forebear of the future Mazda model-line design. We're not mad at all.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2005
Complex Says: In the '60s, Maserati built a number of Le Mans racers dubbed "birdcages" due to their intricate, tubular, space-frame chassis. When it came time for it to build a new concept car, Maserati reached out to longtime collaborator Pininfarina, which was also celebrating its 75th birthday. The result was a car that didn't quite carry on the birdcage heritage. But thanks to its Maserati MC12 GT1 race-car base and Ferrari Dino F140 V12 engine, we didn't really care.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2008
Complex Says: There have been two Shelby Cobra concepts presented by Ford. The first one was a lackluster roadster, and the other was this: an aluminum-bodied sports coupe with a 605-hp V10 under the hood that could propel it to 60 mph in under four seconds. Now that is what we call an heir to the throne.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2006
Complex Says: In an attempt to revive one of its most storied and respected nameplates, Chrysler designed and built this concept to showcase what a modern-day, high-end Chrysler would look like. Some thought it looked awkward. We thought it looked badass.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2007
Complex Says: Ford described the Interceptor as looking like a "Marine in uniform." We say it looks like the car the new Robocop should be pushing. With a 5.0-liter Ford Racing engine pushing 400 hp to the rear wheels, it was way badder than the new Taurus, which apparently took all of its cues.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2008
Complex Says: Furai means "the sound of wind" in Japanese, though we have an inkling you'd hear a lot more than that if you witnessed this beast on a racetrack. Based on a Mazda Le Mans prototype and powered by ethanol, it was Mazda's vision of a greener zoom-zoom future. There were rumors of its racing in Le Mans and possibly seeing production. We still have our fingers crossed.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2003
Complex Says: OK, so this isn't a car. But with four wheels, it's not really a motorcycle, either. Besides, the 500-hp lump that smokes the rear two tires came out of a Dodge Viper. So there.

Debut: Beijing International Auto Exhibition
Year: 2010
Complex Says: Leave it to Mercedes-Benz to revive a body type that no one really remembers. Thankfully, the product was a car that put its current wagon lineup to shame. We hope all MB wagons take on this CLS, coupe-ish design. Fuck a minivan.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2009
Complex Says: To prove there's a future for the Hemi-loving Dodge in the electronic age, Chrysler's main face built a two-door sports car with a non-electric-figured, 200-kW (268-hp) electric motor, 480 lb-ft of torque, and a 0-60 time of under five seconds.

Debut: Tokyo Motor Show
Year: 2002
Complex Says: Mercedes-Benz told everyone that the F400 sported advanced safety and handling controls to make for a tamer driving experience. Then we found out that this new-age roadster could carve canyons better than any sports car currently on the road. Active camber control that pushes maximum lateral acceleration to 1.28g? Yes, please!

Debut: Paris Motor Show
Year: 2010
Complex Says: It's impossible for Jaguar to make a supercar without people automatically thinking of the XJ220. It doesn't help that the C-X75 closely resembles Jag's legendary model. And though the X75 sorta, kinda harkens back to the XJ, it is a completely different animal. This one can hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and has a 205-mph top speed, thanks to the 96-hp micro gas turbines that power a plug-in lithium-ion battery pack. This, in turn, powers four 195-hp electric motors—one at each wheel—for a total of 780 hp and 1,187 lb-ft of torque. Beast.

Debut: Paris Motor Show
Year: 2007
Complex Says: Made entirely out of carbon fiber, the C-Métisse was one of the wildest Citroen designs ever to hit an auto-show floor. Four seats, four doors, a lurching stance that hinted at the powerful 200-hp/300-lb-ft, diesel V6 underneath the long-ass hood—it was the ultimate French grand tourer. It would be perfect if built today. The Porsche Panamera and Aston Martin Rapide need some company.

Debut: Greater Los Angeles Auto Show
Year: 2006
Complex Says: Take a look at all the modern-day Mazdas, and then take a look at this. See any similarities? If you were able to figure out that the Nagare is the design genesis of the current Mazda lineup, you get a free issue of Complex.

Debut: Frankfurt Motor Show
Year: 2005
Complex Says: This is how Maybach does performance. Gothic in design, exorbitant in price ($8 million) and power (700 hp), the Excelero was unlike anything anyone in the automotive world had ever seen. It was developed to help design a new generation of wide tires...and to be Jay-Z's chariot in his "Lost Ones" video. OK, OK, it was only built to test tires.

Debut: North American International Auto Show
Year: 2003
Complex Says: Three years after the Imaj, Caddy took another go at mocking up a world-class luxury sedan, this time taking a cue from the V-16s of the '30s. Despite its cutting-edge styling, the Sixteen derived its name from the monstrous 16-cylinder engine crammed beneath its butterfly-winged hood. An engine of that size may sound a little intimidating, and portly, but using an engine-management system, the Sixteen would only use as many cylinders as needed. If Caddy wanted a wheel up on the competition, we think this would have done the trick.

Debut: Geneva Motor Show
Year: 2010
Complex Says: Who knew Infiniti could design such a beautiful car? Resembling the offspring of an Aston Martin and Fisker Karma, the Essence—created by Infiniti design director Takashi Nakajima—put the best of Infiniti on display. There is a V6 engine mated to an electric engine that brings power (near 600 hp), the leather interior and luggage are designed by Louis Vuitton, and then, there is the styling: It is a perfect storm of elegance, power, and sophistication.

Debut: Frankfurt Motor Show
Year: 2009
Complex Says: Joining the we-can-build-fun-green-cars-too-dammit club, BMW applied all of its alternative-fuel know-how to produce this concept.

Debut: Frankfurt Motor Show
Year: 2009
Complex Says: The Tesla Roadster proved that electronic vehicles could be fast, sporty, and sexy. The Audi E-Tron, scheduled for production in 2013, proved just how fast, sporty, and sexy it could be. Styled in the same vein as Audi's R8, the E-Tron boasts similar performance specs, while sporting a much greener disposition. Win/win.

Debut: Paris Motor Show
Year: 2010
Complex Says: All angular, made entirely of carbon fiber, and faster than Ben Roethlisberger ducking rape charges, the Sesto Elemento is the meanest Lambo we've ever laid our eyes on. And that's saying something.