There is no agreed, objective ranking of the best concept cars. The strongest examples do different jobs: they change how cars are designed, demonstrate technology, inspire production vehicles, or imagine a future that never arrives. This selection weighs historical influence, originality, technology, functionality, and the distance between a concept’s ambition and what customers ultimately got. It includes early milestones and newer studies rather than treating every show car as a production preview.
What makes a concept car one of the best?
A concept car can be a working testbed, a preview of a specific future model, an experiment in a new vehicle category, or a deliberately speculative vision. Those roles are not interchangeable: a car can matter for its design process even if it never reaches showrooms, while another can be memorable for technology or for influencing a later production model.
The examples below are grouped by what makes them notable, not ranked by a universal score. When a claim about historical priority or future influence comes from a manufacturer, it is attributed to that company.
Early concepts that changed the design conversation
Buick Y-Job: a design testbed before the modern concept-car era
General Motors identifies the Buick Y-Job as the first concept car, a claim worth attributing to GM rather than treating as an uncontested industry ranking. Led by designer Harley Earl, with George Snyder drawing the car under Earl’s guidance, it used a 1937 Buick Century chassis and was developed as a testbed for design and technology. GM points to integrated fenders, concealed headlights, a waterfall grille, and long, low proportions among its defining features. MotorTrend also notes power windows and that the car was fully functional.
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The Y-Job’s importance is less about a single feature being copied wholesale than about establishing the concept car as a place to test ideas and signal changing expectations. GM quotes its Executive Director of Global Advanced Design, Andrew Smith, calling it “the first concept car ever.” GM’s historical account provides the company’s background on the car.
GM Le Sabre: the space-age dream car
GM’s 1951 Le Sabre translated fighter-jet inspiration into an automobile and helped set the template for more than a decade of space-age concepts, according to the company. Where the Y-Job marked a new design process, the Le Sabre expressed postwar optimism through a more overtly futuristic vision. Its value as a concept lies in how clearly it captured the era’s fascination with technology and the future.
Concepts remembered for technology and performance
Volkswagen Futura: a technology demonstrator ahead of its time
Volkswagen’s 1989 Futura combined an unusual upward-opening-door design with a substantial suite of proposed driver and convenience technology: distance sensors, parking and braking assistance, navigation, an onboard computer, and an electric parking brake. It never reached the market. Volkswagen says some of its original design elements could later be seen in the production ID.3, but that does not establish that each Futura feature transferred directly to that car.
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- Modeled in metalic color
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The Futura is a useful reminder that a concept can be significant as a collection of experiments even when it is not a direct production preview. See Volkswagen’s account of its concept cars for the company’s descriptions of the Futura and other studies.
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The W12 Nardo was a supercar concept built to test a W-configuration engine. Volkswagen says that in February 2002 it covered 4,909.8 miles in 24 hours. The company also says the engine architecture was later used in several Volkswagen Group vehicles, including the Bugatti Veyron. Those are Volkswagen’s account of the record and the engine’s subsequent use, not a claim that the concept itself became a production car.
Concepts whose influence took an unexpected route
Lincoln Futura: a show car with a second life
The Lincoln Futura is notable not for a production successor but for its cultural afterlife. MotorTrend reports that customizer George Barris acquired it and transformed it into the Batmobile used in the 1966–68 Batman television series. The example shows how a concept’s influence can extend beyond automotive design and into popular culture. MotorTrend’s selection of influential concept cars includes the Futura alongside other notable examples.
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- Detailed 440+6 V-8 engine, hood scoop that can be positioned open or closed
- Detailed interior with separate side panels and a front bench seat
- Molded in white and clear with chrome plated parts and black vinyl tires
- Illustrated assembly instructions. Requires paint and glue. (not included)
Chevrolet Corvette CX: a vision with an explicit production-design link
Chevrolet describes the Corvette CX as an electrified hypercar concept with active aerodynamics and a driver-focused cockpit. The company’s Advanced Design Manager for Corvette and Performance, Vladimir Kapitonov, says, “The timeless purity of shape and proportions of the CX Concept will inspire the design of future production Corvettes.” That is a stated design intention, not evidence that a production Corvette will reproduce the concept unchanged. Chevrolet’s Creative Design Manager for Interiors, Brian Stoeckel, describes the interior as “the ultimate expression of a driver-focused cockpit experience”.
Chevrolet’s Corvette CX page presents the concept and the company’s design statements.
Newer studies exploring different futures
Bentley EXP 15: a luxury interior built around flexibility
Bentley’s EXP 15 explores a three-seat cabin rather than a conventional luxury-car layout. The company describes storage integrated into the exterior and interior, materials including locally sourced silk, 3D-printed titanium details, and a boot that can double as picnic seating. These features make the concept as much an experiment in how passengers use space as a styling exercise. They are design descriptions from Bentley, not a specification for a confirmed production model. Bentley’s EXP 15 page outlines the concept.
Rank #4
- V8 POWER: The model features a 400 cubic inch V8 engine, reflecting the muscle and power that defined the GTO's reputation.
- DETAILED SUSPENSION & EXHAUST: The kit incorporates separate rear suspension and exhaust detailing, adding to the realism of the model.
- BUCKET SEATS & CONSOLE: The model's interior features bucket seats and a floor shifter with a console, capturing the iconic look and feel of the GTO.
- OPTIONAL SUPERCHARGER: For those seeking more power, the kit offers an optional supercharger, allowing you to customize your model.
- CLEAR & COMPREHENSIVE INSTRUCTIONS: The included instructions are clear and user-friendly, making the kit accessible to modelers of different skill levels, from beginners to experienced hobbyists.
2025 studies: from electric sports cars to urban micromobility
Recent concepts do not point toward one single future. Wallpaper*’s 2025 selection includes the Citroën ELO as a multifunctional “third space,” the Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic as a luxury study drawing on 1930s and 1950s design, and the Audi Concept C as an electric sports car previewing a new design language. Toyota’s FT-Me takes a different direction, exploring small-scale urban transport and cargo use.
The same selection also features Dacia Hipster, Cupra Tindaya, Peugeot 504 Pikes Peak, and Hyundai E3W/E4W micromobility studies. It is one editorial snapshot of the year, not an authoritative industry-wide ranking. Wallpaper*’s 2025 concept-car selection describes the range of ideas.
How to judge a concept car’s legacy
- Historical influence: Ask whether the concept changed the role of design studies or helped establish a new visual direction. The Y-Job and Le Sabre illustrate different kinds of influence.
- Originality: Consider whether the styling or use of space proposed something distinct, rather than simply dressing a near-production car in show-car details.
- Technology: Separate a demonstrated or tested system from an announced idea. The Futura’s listed equipment and the W12 Nardo’s endurance record make different kinds of technology claims.
- Function and production proximity: A fully functional testbed, a record-setting prototype, and a speculative design vision should not be judged by the same production-readiness standard.
- Documented carryover: Look for specific statements about later design or engineering influence, and keep the scope narrow. A manufacturer’s claim that a concept will inspire future models does not mean its complete design will appear in a showroom.
These criteria make comparisons more useful than a single numbered ranking: the “best” concept depends on whether the reader values historical importance, technology, cultural impact, or a convincing glimpse of what might come next.
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