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25 Strange Concept Cars That Are Blemishes On The Auto Industry

Cameron Eittreim July 7, 2021

13: Ford Mustang “Rambo”

The next-generation Ford Mustang that was released in 1994 was an entirely new body style, but in 1991 there was the precursor to that car. The Rambo concept looked like a mixture of a Mustang and a Madd Maxx film. The styling was very offputting, especially when the Camaro had already been redesigned. Ford had been selling the fox body for a decade, and it had developed a loyal following.

Luckily the Rambo never saw the light of day although many of the styling cues were carried to the production car. Mustang models are known for sedate styling around this period and the Rambo was far from that. Ford experimented with many different models around this period and the Rambo is one of these experiments.

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12: Jeep J6

When Jeep announced the Gladiator pickup truck enthusiasts were very pleased. It was the Jeep truck of their dreams, wrapped up in a non-compromised package. But there was a catch, and that was that it didn’t come in a single cab configuration. The J6 was sort of a cruel trick that let a lot of traditional Jeep enthusiasts down. They had hoped for a modern version of the Commanche pickup truck and instead were greeted by this concept.

Indeed, the modern pickup truck market doesn’t favor single cab trucks and the best you can get is an extended cab. Still, the J6 was an interesting concept that seemed to be production-ready which left a lot of drivers scratching their heads. Why would Jeep release a production-ready concept only to let an entire segment down?

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11: Tesla Cybertruck

Elon Musk loves to push the futuristic boundaries of his imagination, but this wasn’t his most well-received idea. The Cybertruck has to be the ugliest-looking pickup truck to come out of the last decade. What’s even worse is that Musk has stated that the production model will be very close to the concept version of the car. Many in the car industry aren’t sure what the manic inventor was thinking, but the Cybertruck is not going to convince traditional pickup truck buyers.

The best that you can do is leverage the fact that the Cybertruck is an all-electric vehicle and there are added benefits. But with fierce competition from Ford with the Lightning, the Cybertruck is going to have a tough time selling. Tesla went a little bit too far with this extreme concept of truck and drivers were not impressed.

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10: Rolls-Royce 103EX

Rolls-Royce has high hopes for the next 100 years, and they designed a car to be the epiphany of that. The 103EX is sort of a futuristic spaceship wrapped in a designer coat. There is no steering wheel, and the best that you can do is take your seat on the large couch inside. For people who enjoy driving, the 103EX is a joke and will be astronomically expensive.

Drivers don’t exactly love it when opulence tries to dominate an entire industry. The Rolls-Royce 103EX just does more to leave drivers scratching their heads than anything. There are so many better options hitting the market from Tesla to Lexus. When it comes to extreme luxury cars, the 103EX will just be worth avoiding altogether.

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9: Opel GT

You don’t hear much from Opel over in the states these days, but the Opel GT concept raised a few eyebrows. Known as the mini-Corvette, the Opel GT has a lot going for it. The tightly-wound design and interesting curves give the car an authentic sports car look. The model was seemingly close to a production scale although the Opel GT never hit the market. A lot of drivers were left wondering why the company wouldn’t bring the car to production.

Another thing that was a bit odd about the Opel GT was the fact that the front tires were red. There was no reasoning behind this other than a unique look for the car, which would be costly to produce. Most modern drivers aren’t going to splurge on a replacement set of red wheels every time they run over a nail.

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8: Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak

Volkswagen aficionados have been clamoring for a pickup truck from the company for decades. VW does sell pickup trucks around the world, just not here in America. Since importing one can be a pain in the behind the best we can hope for is a release here. The Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak was an interesting concept that seemed to look similar to the Ford Raptor in its design. However, VW has remained eerily quiet about a release and it left drivers wondering.

Now would be a better time than ever to release a full-fledged pickup truck, and yet nothing from VW. America is a difficult market to break into, but Honda has had a successful run with the Ridgeline and Ford has introduced the compact Maverick. We have to wonder if the Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak will ever be a reality or if it was just an illusion from the company.

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7: Renault Trezor

Renault has had a bad couple of years thanks to the negative press from the Nissan side. But the Trezor was a seemingly bright spot when it hit the auto show circle. Then the company left enthusiasts scratching their heads, as the car was promised for 2020 and never appeared. There has been no news about the Trezor since, and instead, Nissan has redesigned the Z sports car.

We have to wonder what would have gone down if the company had just redirected its efforts toward the Nissan brand instead. The Trezor had a lot of potentials and the brand is still well known in the F1 circuit. When the Trezor seemingly disappeared from the spotlight drivers were confused, to say the least. Renault is an automaker that has experienced quite a bit of bad press so the Trezor might come out later on.

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6: Volkswagen ID. Buggy

As if Volkswagen didn’t have enough bad luck with the previous dune-buggy concept, the automaker tried again. The Volkswagen ID. Buggy was an all-electric concept this time around, as most automakers are jumping on the electrified bandwagon. The design was seemingly offroad as you’d imagine but the car was still limited. Drivers were left wondering why VW would introduce this instead of a new pickup truck.

The ID. Buggy is part of a larger strategy by Volkswagen to introduce more electric-powered vehicles into the lineup. Along with a new Volkswagen Bus the ID. Buggy is meant to appeal to outdoorsy types. Electric cars are still a new concept and it will take some time before the costs will come down enough for most consumers to afford one.

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5: Mercedes-Maybach Vision 6 Cabriolet

As if the off-road limousine wasn’t bad enough, Mercedes decided to design a real “land yacht.” The Mercedes-Maybach Vision 6 Cabriolet is a long-nosed sports car that’s designed for those scenic Saturday road trips. The design, however, resembles a long dress shoe instead of a car that you can enjoy driving.

Mercedes is trying to position the Maybach line on the same level as Rolls-Royce, and that isn’t going to happen. Maybach has been marred by issues since the original models hit the showrooms a decade ago. Although the design is beautiful, the Mercedes-Maybach Vision 6 Cabriolet just doesn’t equate to great value.

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4: Jeep 4SPEED

What happens if you strip a Jeep Wrangler down to a bare-bones design? You get the Jeep 4SPEED. Introduced at the Easter Jeep Safari in 2018, the 4SPEED has a carbon fiber design and no roll bar for protection. There’s also no roof and no doors, so this is about as stripped-down of a Jeep that drivers can get.

The designers at Chrysler know that there is a subset of Jeep owners who desire a bare-bones ride. The 4SPEED is designed to appeal to those consumers who’d prefer to have a stripped-down off-road machine. Unfortunately, we aren’t sure if the 4SPEED will ever see the light of day, as it could just be another tease from Chrysler.

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3: Jeep Wrangler Trailcat

Also debuted at the Easter Jeep Safari was the Jeep Wrangler Trailcat. The Baja-inspired Trailcat has a lot of attributes that you’d expect from a Ford Raptor. The oversized tires are reminiscent of what Jeep owners are doing to their vehicles. Jeep designers incorporated bright green and dark black into the paint job, with corresponding rims.

The Trailcat is a prime example of what a high-performance Wrangler could and should be. Jeep has teased a few performance-oriented versions of the standard Wrangler although none have come to fruition yet. We’re still not sure if the Trailcat is going to see the light of day but it should be cool if it ever does.

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2: Mazda RX-Vision

The last Mazda sports car was the RX-8, and it was quite a unique offering. Unfortunately what drivers have yearned for is a new RX-7 sports car. Mazda unveiled the RX-Vision as a glimpse into what the future will hold for a Mazda-powered sports car. The smooth lines and elongated hood made for an interesting and beautiful concept car.

There was a lot to like about the RX-Vision, but the design was a far cry from the RX-7. Drivers were left wondering what else Mazda had in store for them. No new talk has surfaced about the RX-Vision or the next generation of the RX-7 sports car. We have to wonder if Mazda will ever get into the sports car segment again.

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1: Honda Sports EV

The Honda S2000 was not a popular sports car by any stretch of the imagination, but it still garnered a loyal following. After the S2000 was discontinued, Honda had moved onto designing other types of performance vehicles such as the NSX. The Honda Sports EV was unveiled as the first all-electric style sports car under the Honda banner.

From a design standpoint, the Sports EV looks like a classic-style roadster, which is what Honda was going for. But drivers were still hoping for a gas-powered successor to the S2000, it doesn’t seem like that is going to be a reality. Honda has the racing heritage behind the brand if they can just design a sports car to match it.

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