Everyday production cars are packaged to conform to the realities of safety restrictions, practicality, and budget, while concept cars are spinal taps into the wildest uncorked dreams of what transportation can become when unfettered by the parameters of the real world. Since regulations now limit everything from bumper height to the shape of the hood, the gap between road-going vehicles and concepts and has become increasingly wider. It can be argued, though, that the latter have become more inspiring as they explore the boundaries of both design and bleeding-edge power trains, yielding fruit that’s still forbidden yet more seductive than ever.
With that perspective in mind, here’s a look back at 15 of the most stunning and intriguing concept cars we’ve seen so far in this this still-fledgling century. While Audi’s glistening aluminum Rosemeyer concept referenced the impressive TT and R8 models when it debuted on June 1, 2000, its mechanical underpinnings pay tribute to Bernd Rosemeyer, who won the European Drivers’ Championship for Auto Union in 1936. Rosemeyer also achieved a stunning 268 mph in a streamliner before meeting his tragic demise due to an ill-timed crosswind.
Beneath the concept’s expansive midsection is a hulking 8.0-liter W16, an homage to the 16-cylinder engine that Rosemeyer wrangled back in the day. While Audi’s one-off from the year 2000 seemed like just another pie-in-the-sky concept at the time, it proved a harbinger of even wilder things.
