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retro futuristic car with oversized workshop inside of it.
In 1940s

Astounding Retro Futuristic Cars From Yesteryear

Cars with wings. Jet-powered monopods that fly over cities.

When artists and designers remove their blinders, it’s truly inspiring to witness the incredible ideas that can emerge.

Futuristic vehicles in a vibrant setting.
art by Syd Mead from his book “Sentinel”

From flying cars to strange hovering Cadillacs to monorail trains, this collection comprises designs from the US, Europe and Japan.

Sleek, pod-like car with turbine engine.

Mostly from the 1940s and 50s, we see a naive but also optimistic future.

Check out more retro-futuristic designs here and here.

A futuristic scene depicting a couple inside a sleek car with a large windshield, driving on an advanced highway surrounded by modern buildings and vibrant sunsets.
Image by Gunther Radtke.
Futuristic yellow car with unique design
We love how oversized and absurd this concept is, with a single seat cockpit, and a full wood workshop below.
Futuristic cars on water highways.
illustration by Japanese artist Shigeru Komatsuzaki
Futuristic cityscape with flying vehicles.
Depicting an entire floating city.
Futuristic vehicle on elevated track.
Predicting a 200 miles per hour speed limit. 
Futuristic cars and flying vehicles
A concept car/boat/plane all in one.
Vintage science magazines with futuristic themes
Great covers from early Science and Mechanics, and Popular Science.
Futuristic submarine with saucer design
A giant hover ship, called a Seagoing Saucer.
Vintage cars with vibrant colors
Image Via James Vaughn.
Futuristic car interior design illustration.
This comical looking Cadillac Pod vehicle.
Futuristic car with dog in desert
A strange looking hover vehicle. 
Futuristic helicopter design with sleek features.
Tremulis, a rotor jet car concept.
A retro-futuristic red vehicle resembling a streamlined train with a large antenna, traveling on a rail track with visible passengers inside.
Wild Japanese concept for a rotor-powered monorail vehicle.
Large futuristic road construction vehicle
Image via Plan59

You might also like: Vintage Postcards From the Witching Hour • City Logos Designed in Charming Retro 80s Style • Toyota’s Crab-Like Wheelchair That Walks

Featured in Retrofuturism: The Future We Were Promised, our visual guide to the tomorrows the past imagined.

Author

Ben VanderVeen is the founder and editor of Moss & Fog, one of the web’s longest-running visual culture destinations. Since 2009, he’s been finding and framing the most beautiful, surprising, and thought-provoking work in art, architecture, design, and nature — reaching over 325,000 readers each month. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

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5 Comments

  2. lsfein

    I wish today’s vehicles were this good looking! Also still hoping for the mag-lev roads and cars to take off.

  3. Pingback: A Look at 1940s and 1950s Retro-Futuristic Car Concepts - KillBait Archive

  4. Servando

    WHY NOT??????? Anything is possible.

  5. butterfly9591

    I like the station wagon what fun that would be, being chauffeur around.

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