10 Supercar Concepts That Should Have Gone Into Production

Since the first proclaimed supercar, the iconic Lamborghini Miura, was produced in 1966, supercars have been the epitome of automotive innovation. With manufacturers always looking forward to the future, countless supercar concepts have changed how we view the segment’s potential.

Multiple reasons can lead to concept supercars never entering production, such as the vehicles being too extreme to pass road safety laws or the harsh realities of the costs of these cars becoming too much to justify high-scale production. For others, production was never intended, with brands simply giving a glimpse at their potential and what to expect in years to come.

No matter why these cars didn’t move into production, some supercar concepts stand head above shoulders, and it’s a massive shame that we never got to see them on the road. Here are ten of these era-defining supercar concepts that we wished had made it to production.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including Hagerty and Top Gear. The entries are ordered based on their release date, ranging from oldest to newest.

10 1980 Aston Martin Bulldog

Designed To Reach All-New Heights

The 1980s saw endless progression and innovation, particularly in the automotive industry. A focus on futurism reached new heights, with once unthinkable ideas made real. To kick off the decade, Aston Martin unveiled the one-off Bulldog concept in March 1980, which would have been Aston Martin’s first rear-mid-engine car.

Standout Features

• The Aston Bulldog’s wedge design allowed the concept to have a low drag coefficient of 0.34.
• The highest recorded speed for the Aston Martin Bulldog is 205.4 MPH.
• The Bulldog came with gullwing doors.

The idea for the Bulldog was the same as many other supercar concepts throughout history: to showcase the brand’s engineering capabilities. Its goal was to surpass the 200 miles per hour threshold, which it finally achieved in June 2023 at a speed of 205.4 miles per hour. Despite its name, the Bulldog looks nothing like an actual Bulldog, instead featuring a synonymous wedge-shaped design that produces less drag than modern-day supercars.

9 1986 Chevrolet Corvette Indy

Subverting The Classic Corvette Style

Moving over to the US, the vision for the future was just as strong, with manufacturers across the States revealing some of the most memorable concepts throughout the ’80s. Chevrolet was a brand that spearheaded this, with the 1986 Corvette Indy still being revered today and shifting away from the hard-edged, aggressive look of the Corvette C4, instead opting for a sleek, low-drag mid-engine design.

Standout Features

• The Corvette Indy concept car received two different versions, with the second featuring a 5.7-liter V-8.
• The car came with four-wheel-steering and anti-lock brakes.
• It was the first Corvette model with a mid-engine layout (the C8 was the first production model to feature the layout).

The legacy of the Corvette Indy can be found in the newest Corvette on the market, the mid-engined C8. Things remained equally exciting underneath the Corvette Indy’s carbon fiber shell, with a 2.6-liter twin-turbocharged Indy V-8 powering the concept supercar. This engine was rumored to produce more than 600 horsepower and was actually developed by Lotus.

8 1991 BMW Nazca M12

Reviving The Legendary BMW M1

In the world of sports/supercars, BMW isn’t a brand that always springs to mind. Over the years, the German brand has released countless performance-focused cars, but only the legendary M1 crossed into supercar territory in 1978. Fast-forward to 1991, BMW revealed the Nazca Project, with the M12 being unveiled at the ’91 Tokyo Motor Show.

Standout Features

• The windshield and side windows are connected to create a 360-degree panoramic view.
• The doors featured a gullwing opening mechanism.
• The car used the same engine as the BMW 850i of its time.

Designed by Fabrizio Giugiaro, the son of Italidesign founder Giorgetto Giugiaro, many saw the M12 as a worthy successor to the M1, but BMW decided against producing another mid-engined supercar after the failure of the M1. Still, the M12 remains one of the coolest-looking BMWs that unfortunately never was. The Nazca Project also produced the BMW C2 Concept car, which was very similar to the M12.

7 1996 Ford GT90

Blending Legendary Racing Heritage With Future Innovation

Throughout the industry, very few manufacturers have produced as many influential concept cars as Ford. In 1995, the Detroit-based brand unveiled the mighty GT90 supercar concept, designed to make as much of an impact as the legendary GT40 racecars did back in the ’60s. Besides its futuristic blend of curves and hard lines, the engine powering the GT90 was what made the supercar concept such a massive talking point.

Standout Features

• The 5.9-liter quad-turbo V-12 would have made it the most powerful car in history at the time.
• The GT90’s engine came with four turbochargers.
• The predicted 0-60 time for the GT90 was 3.1 seconds.

The ’95 GT90 was fitted with a massive quadruple-turbocharged 5.9-liter V-12, which was rated at 720 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque. At the time, this would have made the GT90 the most powerful and fastest car ever produced, with its top speed being rated at a staggering 253 miles per hour. However, after years of experimenting and trying to nail the GT90 concept, the supercar never managed to make it into production.

6 2002 Cadillac Cien

Subverting The Brand’s Image

For years, Cadillac was a brand known for producing large, luxurious sedans and wagons. The brand’s track record of family-oriented cars made the 2002 Cadillac Cien’s reveal at the Detroit Motor Show something to behold, with the industry never having seen anything on this scale before from the luxury brand. Inspired by the cutting-edge F-22 Raptor fighter jet, the Cien featured a low-cut, aggressive design, making it all the more tantalizing that it never reached production.

Standout Features

• The Cien came with ultrasonic parking sensors.
• Night vision was included in the concept supercar.
• The transmission was inspired by Formula One.

The Cadillac Cien’s power was also pretty special, with its massive 7.5-liter V-12 rated at 750 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. The Cien was originally planned for production, but General Motors wasn’t convinced there was a big enough market for the supercar, especially considering its expected starting price of over $200,000.

5 2003 Chrysler ME Four-Twelve

Embodying Mid-Engined Futurism

Only unveiled a year after the Cadillac Cien, the 2003 Chrysler ME Four-Twelve promoted the same retro-futuristic style, but this time in an even more extreme manner. The ME Four-Twelve was much wider than the Cien, following the classic mid-engined philosophy closer, to create an equally stunning car.

Standout Features

• The ME Four-Twelve featured a chrome-covered interior center console.
• The car was predicted to run the quarter-mile in just 10.6 seconds.
• It had a racing-inspired gearbox.

As with the Ford GT90 concept, the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve was fitted with a massive V-12, but this time it had a 6.0-liter displacement. The ME Four-Twelve was also quad-turbocharged, allowing for a power output of 850 horsepower and equal torque per pound-foot. Unfortunately, the concept fell victim to the harsh reality of the industry, with Cadillac not being able to afford the resources to move it into production.

4 2006 Lamborghini Miura

Resurrecting The First Supercar

The 2006 Lamborghini Miura concept is undoubtedly one of the most special supercar concepts ever made. The one-off model was created to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first supercar, the Miura. Debuting at the American Muscle of Television and Radio, the ’06 Miura concept retains the overall shape of the original but draws more modern inspiration from the Murcielago, Lamborghini’s flagship supercar at the time.

Standout Features

• The ’06 Miura featured the same rear roof vents that were featured in the original model.
• The rear window deck and side skirt vents were also retained.
• It featured a flatter, simpler front end, similar to the Murcielago.

The engine with which the ’06 Miura would have been produced is unclear, but the 6.5-liter V-12 from the Murcielago would have been the most likely. Unlike several other supercar concepts on this list, the 2006 Miura concept was only intended to be a one-off model. While it would’ve been great to see it on the road, the car being limited to a one-off concept makes it extra unique.

3 2010 Jaguar C-X75

Lost Potential To Compete With The Holy Trinity

While the F-Type most definitely reinstated Jaguar’s position within the performance car scene, the 2010 C-X75 could have been one of the most influential British supercars of the 2010s. The car was designed to honor the brand’s history in the motorsport and supercar segments, including the XJ13 and XJ220. Built as a mid-engine supercar, the C-X75 was intended to be a plug-in hybrid to compete alongside the McLaren P1, LaFerrari, and Porsche 918.

Standout Features

• The Jaguar CX-75 featured in Spectre, the 2015 James Bond film.
• The two electric motors added approximately 400 horsepower to the total output.
• The first concept had four electric motors which powered each wheel.

As for the gas-powered engine inside the C-X75, the prototype 2012 car was designed to have a supercharged and turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder, combined with two electric motors to produce 900 horsepower. The C-X75 project was eventually axed in 2012 due to financial issues, being designed in the middle of the 2008-2012 financial crisis. The prototype alone was enough to excite everyone who experienced it, making the C-X75 another heart-breaking example of a concept that never was.

2 2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo

Bringing Video Games To Life

A car that can still be considered as an image for the future was unveiled in 2013, with the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo embodying technological advancement everywhere you look. The supercar concept’s purpose is incredibly unique, being designed at first for the video game Gran Turismo 6. Due to this, the car was never intended to be a production car.

Standout Features

• The Vision GT Pro has a variable LED radiator grille with different lighting patterns.
• It was built with an intelligent, lightweight design, weighing 3,053 lbs.
• The concept’s interior is incredibly minimal, with an F1-inspired leather-wrapped steering wheel.

Despite this, the ’13 Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo still featured a powertrain, borrowing the 5.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-8 from the new AMG E63 S at the time. This engine produced 577 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque. Despite taking inspiration from the SLS, the AMG Vision Gran Turismo reflects some of the supercar concepts of old with its dramatic curves and monumental proportions.

1 2017 Lamborghini Terzo Millenio

The Ultimate Supercar From The Future

The most recent supercar concept to feature on this list, perhaps the most extreme, is the 2017 Lamborghini Terzo Millenio. Lamborghini’s design style is known to be bold and brash, but the Terzo Millenio turns up every millimeter of the carbon fiber shell to the absolute extreme.

Standout Features

• The Terzo Millenio utilizes nanomaterial technology throughout its bodywork.
• The classic V-12 was to be replaced by the new ‘sonic signature’ sound from the Terzo Millenio’s electric power.
• The car utilizes cables throughout the powertrain to apply torque directly to each wheel.

The Terzo Millenio isn’t expected to become a production model. Instead, the car is designed to showcase the brand’s ultimate potential. Lamborghini says the model’s purpose is to combine energy efficiency and innovative materials to deliver the most memorable driving experience a supercar can offer. It is powered by electricity rather than a classic Lamborghini V-12.

With Lamborghini turning to all-electric power in 2028 with the Lanzador SUV, the Terzo Millenio could most definitely inspire the long-term future of Lamborghini supercars.