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Concept Cars

When Your Car Turns Into a Camp, the Citroën ELO

December 10, 2025 Concept Cars

The first thing you notice about the Citroën ELO is the color. A deep, fiery red that feels closer to molten metal than paint. It’s bold without being glossy, saturated without trying to look aggressive. In a sea of muted concept cars, the red reads as intentional, almost practical, as if warmth itself was chosen as a design material.

That color carries through a body that feels both playful and forward-looking. The shape avoids sharp futurism in favor of soft geometry and rounded edges, landing somewhere between friendly and unfamiliar.

There’s a quiet confidence to it. Funky, yes, but not jokey. Experimental, but still grounded.

The ELO is a mini manifesto on wheels. It arrives looking compact, but inside it stretches wide, rearranging itself to match whatever you need at the moment: ride, rest, hang out, or recharge.

A futuristic concept vehicle with a sleek, rounded design in vibrant red, featuring large, hexagonal wheels and a modern, minimalistic interior showcased against an orange backdrop.

Inside you’ll find seats that swivel, interior space that opens up, and enough room for a nap or a spontaneous day-camp.

Interior of a modern vehicle, featuring vibrant orange seats and a steering wheel, with a minimalistic design and soft textures.

If you want to sleep, the back can turn into a small bed. If you want to pause and talk, the seats rotate.

Interior of a vehicle featuring bright orange seating and surfaces, with a prominent driver's seat and a foldable, padded bench.

If you want a little privacy and retreat, the design adapts and soft-spots emerge.

Not only that, but it becomes a full-on movie theater on wheels when you want it to.

Interior of the Citroën ELO showing a spacious design with an orange theme, featuring two beds with pillows and a foldable screen mounted on the wall.

A top-down view of a sleek red sports car on a gradient orange background.

At heart, ELO tries to break the usual “car-as-toolbox” mindset. It wants to be more of a “car-as-space-to-live-in” a portable refuge, a base camp for real life.

Close-up of a modern orange steering wheel inside a vehicle, featuring buttons and controls, with a seascape visible in the background.

Sometimes the future feels overdesigned, but this feels more like a practical experiment wrapped in gentle boldness. We also are impressed by the material choices, and dedication to this signature color, which permeates the entire cabin.

A modern concept car with a futuristic design, featuring a vibrant red exterior and unique hexagonal wheels, set against a bright orange background.

Maybe it never becomes your daily ride. Maybe it never becomes anything beyond a concept.

But it shows what happens when a car abandons rigid categories, and instead offers itself as a flexible shelter, a rolling studio, an everyday escape.

Close-up of a unique car storage compartment with a lid that reads 'Ready to play?' and containing three metallic spheres, set against a vibrant orange interior.

What if your car was less about where you go, and more about what you do when you get there? That seems to be the question posed by this concept.

A sleek, futuristic concept car by Citroën, featuring a vibrant red exterior and unique geometric wheels, set against an orange background.

Futuristic car interior featuring an orange color scheme, with a steering wheel and modern dashboard displaying various indicators.

ELO’s future-facing nature isn’t about excess technology on display. It’s about rethinking how space, color, and comfort work together.

The red exterior sets the tone for that thinking. Warm, human, and slightly unexpected. It’s a reminder that the future doesn’t have to arrive in silver or white. Sometimes it shows up glowing.

Interior view of a futuristic vehicle with a predominantly orange color scheme, featuring a modern steering wheel, an ergonomic seat design, and high-tech dashboard elements.

Interior of a vehicle featuring a bright orange seat and surrounding cushion upholstery, with soft lighting casting an ambient glow.

Close-up of the rear of a sleek red car showcasing modern design elements and lighting against an orange background.

Close-up view of the rear of a modern orange and black concept car with distinctive lighting and branding.

Automotive

Whoa, The Toyota Corolla Just Got Cool

October 31, 2025 Automotive

A sleek concept reimagines one of the world’s most familiar cars

At the Japan Mobility Show, Toyota stunned the crowd with a bold vision for the world’s best-selling car, the Corolla. But the ‘ol Corolla is not just a rethinking.

The result is sleek, sculptural, and shockingly futuristic.

The future Corolla, imagined as a low-slung four-door with coupe-like lines and frameless glass doors.

A futuristic concept car with sleek lines and angular design, showcased in a modern urban setting.

Front view of a futuristic Toyota car concept featuring a sleek design, angular headlights, and a minimalist aesthetic.

A futuristic concept car design showcasing a low-slung four-door vehicle with sharp lines, frameless glass doors, and sleek light bars, set against a modern architectural background.

A Highly Familiar Name, Reinvented

The humble Corolla just had a glow-up. Gone are the safe curves and suburban energy. In their place: sharp lines, a floating roofline, and those wild 21-inch Y-spoke wheels that make it look more like a design study than a daily driver.

From the rear, it leans more grand tourer than grocery-getter. All sleek light bars and poised proportions. It’s confident, a little smug, even. What are your first impressions?

A close-up view of a futuristic car interior featuring a minimalist design with smooth, touch-sensitive panels, an innovative gear selector, and ambient lighting.

Interior view of a futuristic car, featuring sleek, minimalist seating with modern design elements and a touch-sensitive control panel.

The interior of a futuristic car showcasing a minimalist design with a sleek steering wheel, digital display, and touch-sensitive control panels.

Inside the Future

Step inside, and it’s less car, more concept lounge. Physical buttons? Gone. Smooth, touch-sensitive panels run the show.

The gear selector floats like a piece of kinetic art. It’s minimalist without being cold, with a statement about how everyday machines can feel human and elevated.

A presenter stands beside a futuristic Toyota car concept with sleek lines at a car show, featuring images of classic Corollas in the background. — Toyota CEO Koji Sato reveals the Corolla Concept at the Japan Mobility Show (Source: Toyota)

“A sculptural interior that merges digital calm with motion-ready design.“

Rear view of a futuristic Toyota Corolla concept car with sharp lines and a minimalist design, set against a concrete backdrop.

A Powertrain for Every Future

This concept isn’t just pretty. It’s built to adapt, with the flexibility to run as an EV, hybrid, plug-in, or traditional gas model. Three fuel flaps around the body hint at its multiple personalities, each one ready for a different driving future.

Close-up view of a futuristic car interior showcasing a sleek steering wheel, a digital display, and minimalist controls with smooth surfaces.

Toyota says its next-gen engines will be lighter, more efficient, and better balanced, pairing well with the brand’s growing EV ambitions.

Rear view of a futuristic Toyota Corolla concept car showcasing sharp lines, a sleek spoiler, and modern taillights against a dark background.

The Corolla has been the poster child for reliability for nearly six decades. But this concept suggests something bigger: a future where practicality meets personality.

For Toyota, the design, sustainability and the resulting emotion can all live under one roof, even one named Corolla.

Interior view of a futuristic car featuring a minimalist design with a sleek steering wheel, touch-sensitive control panels, and multiple digital displays.

An interior image of a futuristic car concept, showcasing a minimalist design with unique seating and a digital display.

What’s Next

Toyota hasn’t confirmed when this new design language will hit production, but insiders suggest 2026 or 2027. If it looks even half this good on the road, the world’s most ubiquitous car might just become one of its most exciting.

Automotive

A Collection of Wild, Retro-Futuristic Cars

June 17, 2025 Automotive

We absolutely adore the limitless possibilities and innovative thinking that come with futuristic design.

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

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

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.

We love how oversized and absurd this concept is, with a single seat cockpit, and a full wood workshop below.

art by Syd Mead from his book “Sentinel”

illustration by Japanese artist Shigeru Komatsuzaki

Predicting a 200 miles per hour speed limit.

Sleek, pod-like car with turbine engine.

Great covers from early Science and Mechanics, and Popular Science.

A giant hover ship, called a Seagoing Saucer.

This comical looking Cadillac Pod vehicle.

Wild Japanese concept for a rotor-powered monorail vehicle.

Automotive

Bizarre Minivan Concept From 1992 Had Two Levels and Futuristic Lines

March 20, 2025 Automotive

Italdesign Columbus: The Wild 1992 Luxury Van That Never Was

Concept cars are meant to push boundaries, but the 1992 Italdesign Columbus went all out. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign, this massive luxury van looked like a mix between a bullet train and a superyacht on wheels.

At nearly 20 feet long, the Columbus was powered by a BMW V12 engine, featured six plush seats in a 2-2-2 layout, and had a central driving position like the McLaren F1.

It also boasted all-wheel drive, all-wheel steering, and a digital dashboard, making it shockingly advanced for its time.

But as bold as it was, the Columbus was also wildly impractical—too big, too expensive, and too futuristic for the real world.

Though it never made it past the concept stage, it remains a fascinating glimpse at what high-end travel could have been.

Would you take a ride in one today? 🚀

The Columbus, introduced to mark the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, was a “sailing ship for dry land”.

Images via ItalDesign.

Automotive

The Firebird III Was Peak General Motors Whizbang Design

October 21, 2024 Automotive

Today’s cars all seem to blend together in their shape and form. All seemingly amorphous crossover-like SUVs and the like.

That wasn’t always the case. Indeed, car design was once an arms race about who could create the most different, the most new, and the most innovative.

Case in point: The 1958 GM Firebird III. The Firebird in the 1950s became synonymous with General Motors’ design and engineering pursuit, and the various concepts that used the moniker became more and more outlandish (and awesome).

The Firebird III was heavily influenced by jet aircraft design, with a sleek, aerodynamic body resembling a fighter plane.

It featured truly dramatic fins, dual bubble-top canopies, and a pointed nose, embodying the Space Age enthusiasm of the late 1950s.

The twin bubble top was surely unique, and required a radio communication device between passengers.

The sharp, dramatic wings pushed the envelope of what a car could encompass, way past the notion of tailfins, which were popular in the day.

Via GM:

‘The Firebird III broke a number of legendary GM designer Harley Earl’s styling rules and that’s one of the reasons it became such an important design. It had very little chrome and no parallel lines.

The vehicle also put the ultimate twist on tailfins. GM entertained plans for a Firebird IV that went as far as a full-sized wooden frame, but the program’s greatest legacy was to give its name to the Pontiac pony cars starting in 1967.’

The Firebird III featured a Turbine Engine, which was novel at the time.

The main engine was a 225-horsepower Whirlfire GT-305 gas turbine engine. This futuristic engine was quieter and more powerful than conventional internal combustion engines of the time.

A secondary electric motor powered the front wheels for low-speed maneuvers like parking, highlighting an early attempt at hybrid technology.

Instead of a traditional steering wheel, the Firebird III was controlled by a single joystick located between the two seats. The idea was to allow the driver more precise control of the vehicle, with the joystick managing both steering and throttle, enhancing the space-age feel of the car.

In addition, the Firebird III showcased a range of safety and autonomy features that were truly decades ahead of their time, like automatic guiding systems, anti-lock brakes, and self-leveling suspension.

All of these features are now in modern cars, but 70 years ago, had barely been dreamed up.

While the Firebird III was never destined for production, it was a testbed of new technology at the time, and led to even more wild designs, like the Firebird IV, which we will touch on in the future.

Images © Copyright GM. See more on the GM website.

Automotive

Chrysler’s Halcyon Concept Is the First Exciting News From the Company for Years

February 15, 2024 Automotive

Chrysler, the smallest of Detroit’s ‘big 3’ automakers, is down to just a single vehicle in its lineup. With just the Pacifica minivan to its name, the once innovative automaker seems to be on the ropes.

But perhaps it does have some more life in it, and the brand’s newly announced Halcyon concept wants you to believe.

The 100 year old automaker has flirted with EVs before, but failed to bring its Portal concept to market, despite many promises. The Halcyon is a low-slung 4-door coupe, a car full of tricks and sleek design flourishes that feel appropriate to its conceptual nature. Level-4 autonomy seems optimistic, as does the full augmented reality cockpit.

Chrysler touts the ability of the Halcyon to charge wirelessly while driving on properly equipped electric roadways.

We appreciate the unique door openings, large glass canopy, and overall dimensions, which eschew big SUV form, and give a proper sleek sedan form its due.

With any luck, Chrysler will follow-through on its promise, and create a production-ready version of the Halcyon. Check out their website for more details.

“Chrysler is also using a lot of recycled materials for the interior, including the automaker’s wing logos constructed from crushed and recycled music CDs. Overall, the company says 95 percent of the interior is made from “sustainable” materials.”

-The Verge

Automotive

Lincoln’s New Star Concept Ushers in the Brand’s Electric Vision

April 21, 2022 Automotive

Lincoln is one of the oldest car companies in the world, having sold cars for over 104 years. But all that age hasn’t necessarily resulted in success, with dwindling sales and limited offerings.

The company is hoping to change that with their new EV strategy, which aims to introduce 3 new electric vehicles by 2025, and have 50% of their sales be ell-electric by 2026.

The new Star concept is the introduction of that vision, a vehicle they hope shows the future of the brand, and pushes the innovation for EVs in general.

A sleek and swept back crossover form, the Star features a number of dramatic details, from rear-hinged doors to a drawer-like frunk and hood that reveals ample storage.

The car’s interior is as future-forward as you’d expect from a concept car, with a full dashboard-width display screen, and front seats that swivel backward, creating a lounge-like experience when the car is in autonomous mode.

In addition, Lincoln hopes to pamper drivers with “experience modes” that go employ design, light, displays, scents and sounds to create an immersive experience for occupants.

As more and more cars go electric, and vehicle design evolves, we’re struck by how “futuristic” is losing its meaning, and we’re pretty much living in that futuristic state now.

Via The Verge

“As Lincoln enters the next chapter in our transition to a zero-emissions future, the Lincoln Star Concept will lead the way for our portfolio of fully electric vehicles,” Lincoln President Joy Falotico said in a release. “It is an excellent example of how we are redefining luxury for the next generation as we work to transform the vehicle into a third space — a true place of sanctuary — for our clients.”

As more and more cars go electric, and vehicle design evolves, we’re struck by how “futuristic” is losing its meaning, and we’re pretty much living in that futuristic state now.

Architecture

Super Rare Alfa Romeo Concept Cars For Sale

October 26, 2020 Architecture

Concept cars are somewhat of a fascination of ours. What’s possible, what’s conceivable, what a designer would actually like to see in an automobile. Far too often the concept car gets fully watered down on its way to production, with the far-fetched designs being tamed, the unique features being stripped.

Rarely, if ever, do concept cars go on sale, as the automakers want to keep them as part of their history.

But this trio of concepts from 1953 and 1954 are set to be auctioned off, starting at the princely sum of $14,000,000 dollars.

These beauties are Alfa Romeo Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica concept cars, and they’ve been kept in incredible condition for the past seventy years. They’re beautifully sculptural, obviously from another era, but also timeless in their aerodynamic curves. Designed by famed automotive designer Franco Scaglione, you can sleep soundly knowing you have three of his iconic masterpieces in your collection.

Coachwork by Carrozzeria Bertone
Design by Franco Scaglione

Unconstrained by the limitations of budget and the realities of manufacturing, concept cars afford talented designers the opportunity to explore their wildest and most progressive ideas. At their best, these dazzling, artistic creations invite us to totally reimagine what the automobile can be.

– Sothebys

The following description snippets are from the official auction page. Visit the page for more detail.

B.A.T. 5 (1953)

With firm ideas about the minimization of drag by shaping laminar airflow and stability with the car’s exterior form in mind, Scaglione progressively worked through four full-size models before proceeding to the fifth and final stage, the actual metalwork for the car. When completed, the concept car was appropriately dubbed the Berlina Aerodinamica Tecnica 5, or B.A.T. 5.

B.A.T. 7 (1954)

As is often the case with concept cars, the B.A.T. 5 was essentially mothballed after the 1953 show season as work commenced on an updated version, soon to be known as the B.A.T. 7. Running gear would once again be sourced from the Alfa Romeo 1900, but given the first car’s success, Scaglione was encouraged to emphasize various characteristics of the original. He obliged by narrowing the front air intakes, lowering the hood by over two inches, and lengthening the tailfins while adding increased angular pitch to the extremities. The rear wheel skirts and pronounced side vents remained.

B.A.T. 9d (1955)

Following the B.A.T. 7’s show season of 1954, Scaglione began work on a third concept for 1955. Perhaps sensing some missed opportunity—as popular as the prior B.A.T.s were, they looked utterly unlike anything sold by Alfa Romeo—Alfa Romeo’s mandate for the final B.A.T concept was to “make it more practical for road use.”

Thus, for his third act, Scaglione explored a roadworthy gran turismo interpretation of the B.A.T theme. The fins were reduced in size to improve rear visibility, and the rear wheel skirts were eliminated. A pronounced beltline was added toward the rear, while a standard production triangular Alfa Romeo Giulietta grille, including the famed Milano crest, was fitted to the front grille, highlighting the car’s identity as an Alfa Romeo. And, of course, the mechanical components were once again drawn from the Alfa Romeo 1900.

Automotive

Hyundai’s Electric Prophecy Concept Is Coming to Production

June 26, 2020 Automotive

Although the Hyundai Prophecy concept came out a number of months ago, we never got a chance to post about it.

The sleek black coupe is like a polished pebble, and harkens back to a simpler time of car design, with a feeling that’s both retro and timelessly futuristic.

We especially love the use of lighting, which adds a subtle angular sensibility to the otherwise organic shape.

The inside of the car looks future-forward, with an interactive dashboard and door panels, and a steerable joystick that may or may not make it to production.

No firm date given on release, but we can estimated a late 2022 timeframe for the Prophecy.

Art

Five Amazing, Rare Cars

May 8, 2018 Art

We’re big fans of automotive design, when done beautifully. Too often, automakers cut corners and create bland, derivative designs that fail to impress, on any level. They aren’t inspirational, and they often don’t age well. We did a little write-up years ago about the ugliest cars ever made. Luckily, there are some examples of car design over the last century that surpass even the most skeptical eye, and are true works of art.

DesignBoom has a look at some of the most rare, spectacular cars from the 20th Century. Here are just a few of them. Note the dramatic lines, inspired design, they are moving sculptures. Some of these are one-of-a-kind prototypes, some barely saw the light of day. But they are simply gorgeous.

Lancia (Bertone) Stratos HF Zero, 1970 // Designed by Marcello Gandini

Chrysler Streamline X ‘Gilda’ 1955 // Designed by Giovanni Savonuzzi and Virgil Exner

Ferrari (Pininfarina) 512 S Modulo, 1970 // Designed by Paolo Martin

Stout Scarab, 1936 // Designed by William B. Stout

Norman Timbs Special, 1947 // Designed by Norman Timbs

Automotive

Lexus LF-1 Limitless Concept

February 7, 2018 Automotive

It’s been a few weeks since the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where many of the world’s automakers release their latest models. Often, automakers will also release concept cars that speak to their design future, their latest technological ideas, and their product roadmap. Lexus has done a ton of work in the last few years to change their image as bland, vanilla luxury cars that your grandma might drive, to sharp, angular, and stylish (if polarizing) designs. The latest iteration of this design language is clearly evident in the LF-1 Limitless concept, an angular, rose-gold colored crossover. Photographed by Webb Bland, it’s a pretty solid effort by Lexus to iterate on their styling, and showcase what your car might look like in the next 4-5 years.

The concept is less outlandish than some of their previous ideations, which probably speaks to this car’s chances of becoming an actual, drivable vehicle.

Some of the futuristic, concept car items are definitely at play, however. One thing that automakers love to remove from their concepts is rearview mirrors, replacing them with small cameras that beam the rearview onto screens in the cockpit. Currently, federal regulations prohibit this, so when a concept makes it into production, automakers have to strap big old clunky mirrors onto their designs.

The swooping lines and angles continue in the interior, with a driver’s seat that is surrounded by sculptural metal and leather. A display that hugs the dashboard is futuristic, but seems more iterative on their current lineup, which features a large digital pop-up design. The steering wheel features a heart rate monitor, able to give health feedback to the driver.

The roof of the LF-1 Limitless has an interesting paneled approach, culminating in two wing-type structures off of the tailgate. Whether these are functional, we don’t know. But it’s a design element that shows some creativity.

The interior has some nice tech touches, but seems more buildable and realistic than some concepts, that have wildly expensive layouts and custom computer displays.

Whether you find the design intriguing or ugly, it’s hard to argue that Lexus hasn’t put a lot of thought and effort into energizing it’s design language.

Art

Car Designs from Yesteryear

April 30, 2015 Art

We’ve always loved concept cars, they present a glimpse of a possible future which is sleek and exciting, regardless if the visions all come to life. Found in a garage and thought destroyed forever, these rare drawings of concept cars from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s show an interesting era of cars, some elegant and some a bit far out. The sheer length of these behemoths is something to behold. Via the PBS NewsHour:

Automotive

75 Years Later

June 10, 2011 Automotive

Every so often a concept car will come along that initially may make you gasp. The BMW 328 Hommage is one of those. It’s strange, ‘dead-eye’ look is both off-putting and extremely simple and beautiful. The skintight metal wraps the car in an impossibly low stance, and the absence of rearview mirrors add to the simplicity and intrigue.

Via Autoblog:

Dubbed the BMW 328 Hommage, this ultra-lightweight sports car was built to mirror the principles used to create the original 328. The 328 Hommage weighs in at a svelte 1,720 pounds, accomplished through the use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. While CFRP wasn’t exactly around in the 30’s and 40’s, BMW engineers of that era kept the 328 light through the use of aluminum and magnesium. Both cars are cut from a similar cloth to achieve a lightweight end result, even if the methods to get there are very different.

Via the official BMW press release:
BMW 328 Hommage.

The BMW 328 is considered the most successful and best-looking sports car of the 1930s. The BMW 328’s success was the result of its design parameters – through the use of systematic lightweight construction, aerodynamic lines, optimum engine types and outstanding suspension technology, it laid the foundation stone for a new vehicle concept, by which performance only leads to success if combined with perfect harmonisation of all parameters and maximum efficiency.

With these characteristics, the BMW 328 was even then the embodiment of what the BMW brand still stands for today – dynamics, aesthetics and a high level of innovation.

Don’t look for this car on the road, ever. It will probably never arrive in dealerships, but makes for a stunning design exercise, anyway.