Electrification has given car designers freer reign than ever before, telescoping the time required for a conceptual vision to reach the real road. That’s not to say there aren’t some things that are still truly out there, but our round-up of the top 10 concept cars of 2023 is most concerned with purist prequels that point to near-future transportation.
Top 10 concept cars of 2023
01. BMW i Vision Dee
BMW i Vision Dee Concept
We kick off with BMW’s polychromatic styling exercise. Under the colour shifting E Ink skin, the i Vision Dee previews the next generation of electric BMWs, along with its sister concept, the Vision Neue Klasse.
02. Callum Skye
Callum Skye
Hoping to shape a new niche, Ian Callum’s Skye is a proposed electric off-roader for high days and holidays (and very large country estates), with road-going practicality and plenty of charm.
03. Mercedes CLA Concept
Mercedes CLA Concept
Mercedes had a couple of conceptual heavy hitters in 2023. We’re torn between the ‘new wedge’ form of the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven concept and the convincing simplicity of the Concept CLA Class, seen here. The latter is more likely to find its way to reality.
04. Pininfarina Pura
Pininfarina Pura
The company’s Battista is currently the hypercar to beat, but Pininfarina’s transition to full-scale luxury carmaker should be cemented by the imminent arrival of the Pura-inspired production car, a ‘luxury utility vehicle‘.
05. Lexus LF-ZC
Lexus LF-ZC concept
Revealed at the Japan Mobility Show alongside the LF-ZL electric SUV, the Lexus LF-ZC was a fine indication of the brand's future electric design language, freed from the confines of ICE-derived proportions.
06. Makkina Triumph TR25
Triumph TR25 concept by Makkina
We were very taken by this elegant one-off conceptual idea. Developed by the low-key but highly experienced London-based automotive consultancy Makkina to celebrate 25 years in the business, the little TR25 roadster was granted the rights to use the historic Triumph badge courtesy of the brand’s current owners, BMW.
07. Porsche Vision 357
Porsche Vision 357
Like Mercedes, Porsche also gave us a vision of an electric supercar, the dramatic Mission X. Fans of the brand should pay more attention to its other key 2023 reveal, the Vision 357. Celebrating 75 years of Porsche’s family of sports cars, the concept holds a clue to the forthcoming all-electric 718.
08. Audi Activesphere
Audi Activesphere
One of a quartet of bold conceptual visions, the Audi Activesphere was designed in the company’s American design studio and intended as a fresh look at the crossover segment. Vast wheels and a flexible interior make this the thinking person’s Cybertruck.
09. Peugeot Inception
Peugeot Inception
A riot of angles and razor-edged shapes, the Inception concept spliced the spirit of the 1970s with the zest of a Formula 1 car. The striking interior is even more angular than the bodywork.
10. Nyobolt EV
Nyobolt EV
Another product of the prolific Callum studio, the Nyobolt was built to showcase a new battery technology. Working alongside his former Jaguar colleague Julian Thomson (now at General Motors), the designers re-worked the classic Lotus Elise to create an electric sports car that could theoretically charge in just six minutes.
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