Concept cars are the sandbox where automakers have the license to be unreasonable. They can add two extra wheels, remove the driver’s seat, turn a luxury sedan into a minivan, or lavish it with colors that belong to a kindergarten wall.
Traveling the world over the past year, we’ve seen so many ideas up close, sat in some, and then spoke to the designers who created the pieces.
Looking back, here are the 17 experiences that stayed in our minds.
1. Century Concept
The Century has traditionally represented discreet or understated Japanese luxury, which made Toyota’s decision to reinvent it as a low-slung SUV coupe the moment when we realized what “shock and awe” meant.
Seeing it at the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, the unusual proportions weren’t even the biggest story. Toyota is transforming Century into an ultra-luxury brand positioned above Lexus, representing the best of Japan. So this concept suggested that the country’s most exclusive cars will become considerably less conservative in the future.
2. Lexus LS Concept
If the Century bravely challenged tradition, Lexus practically abandoned it.
The LS Concept reinterprets a name associated with flagship business sedans as a huge luxury people mover with three rows, sliding doors and, most memorably, six wheels. Lexus says LS can now mean “Luxury Space,” and standing alongside the concept, we realized that the Japanese were sold on the new philosophy.
It was probably the clearest reminder we had in Tokyo that almost nothing about today’s luxury car is sacred.
3. Mazda Vision X-Coupe
Mazda, which resisted the temptation of going crazy with EVs, is thinking about the future differently. Rather than turning the automobile into a lounge, its Vision X-Coupe still looked like something designed by people who enjoy driving.
Its long hood, pushed-back cabin and narrow greenhouse gave it almost old-school sports car proportions, while the three individual digital gauges inside mimicked traditional instrumentation. Its unusual 503-hp rotary plug-in hybrid powertrain seemed determined to mix new technology with what Mazda is recognized for.
The rear styling wasn’t our favorite, but the concepts that stay with us are the ones with a quirk, a mismatched graphic, or something that doesn’t quite land.
4. Chevrolet Corvette CX Concept
After traveling all the way to see the Corvette CX, our first impressions were that it looked less like a car from another country and more like one from another decade.
Chevrolet imagines it as a possible glimpse of Corvette design around 2035, complete with a fighter-jet-style canopy, a body less than 41 inches tall and more than 2,000 hp from four electric motors.
Yet the split rear window and other details deliberately reference older Corvettes. That combination made the CX fascinating in person. Loved the way the CX was made to look futuristic without pretending the Corvette had no past.
5. Audi Concept C
After all that drama, Audi’s Concept C made minimalism seem radical. And we almost didn’t get to see its interior up close!
The electric roadster has clean sports car proportions, a retractable hardtop and an interior where even the 10.4-inch display can disappear when it isn’t needed. Audi also intends its vertical front graphic and four-element lighting signature to influence future production cars, cues I also observed in the Nuvolari.
Concepts usually attract attention by carrying a radically different light signature, roofline or surfacing. The Concept C stood out because Audi seemed unusually interested in taking them away.
6. Dacia Hipster Concept
Dacia took the same philosophy and applied it to affordability.
The 9.8-foot Hipster seats four, but almost everything non-essential has been questioned. The exterior door opener is basically a strap, the windows slide manually, a smartphone handles multiple functions, and a portable speaker can provide the audio, as David Durand, its designer, showed us personally.
What we liked was that none of this felt apologetic. It was trying to make simplicity desirable.
7. Citroen Elo Concept
Citroen looked at a small footprint and reached the opposite conclusion: why not have more inside?
The 13.4-foot Elo has a central driving position and can accommodate as many as six occupants. It can also transform for working, relaxing or camping, with ideas including inflatable mattresses and provision for a projector.
The Elo was one of those concepts where the dimensions seemed more impressive after seeing the interior, almost as if it was designed inside-out. Citroen effectively tried to fit a small room inside a subcompact vehicle.
8. VW ID. Every1
The VW ID. Every1 is the friendliest-looking concept we encountered.
There are no angry headlights, fake grilles or exaggerated coupe cues. Instead, VW designed an upright little EV with physical controls, flexible interior features and an intentionally approachable face, almost to say that it is welcoming more Europeans to electrification.
A production version is planned for Europe in 2027 at around €20,000. While it isn’t destined for America, its message is universal: you don’t need to call in aggression, speed, futuristic styling, or excess LED units to make a design memorable.
9. Hyundai Crater Concept
Hyundai’s concept debuted under show lights, but it took us straight into the wilderness.
The Crater Concept sits on 33-inch tires and carries recovery equipment, a roof platform and removable digital mirror units that double as cameras or flashlights. There is even a portable speaker tucked into the cabin.
Some details are pure motor-show fun, but Hyundai has also used the concept to study reactions to a more serious off-road look for the upcoming Kona and Tucson.
10. Toyota Land Cruiser FJ Legendary Concept
Not everyone’s future has to look futuristic.
Toyota’s Land Cruiser FJ Legendary Concept caught our attention by doing almost the opposite. Round headlights, a heritage TOYOTA grille, old-school wheels and Sandstone Yellow paint deliberately reconnect the new compact SUV with the classic FJ40.
Automakers spend fortunes inventing new identities. Brands like Volkswagen and Toyota have the enviable problem of owning some old ones that people still want.
11. Toyota Corolla Concept
Staying with the Japanese, here’s a concept that we got up close with twice during our travels.
At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, a striking concept previewed Toyota’s future sedan, one unlike anything seen across the nameplate’s previous twelve generations and ready for full electrification.
The Toyota Corolla Concept eschews the traditional three-box silhouette. It features a noticeably short, sloping hood, large 21-inch wheels, extremely low-set mirrors, and sleek, full-width light bars at the front and rear.
While the production version will adopt a more restrained design, it should still be the boldest Corolla yet.
12. Geely Eva Cab
In Hong Kong, we encountered a vehicle that didn’t even bother providing a steering wheel.
The Geely Eva Cab is a purpose-built autonomous ride-hailing vehicle, so the space normally reserved for a driver is simply returned to its occupants. Its seating and interior layout feel closer to a small moving lounge than a conventional car.
With mass production targeted for 2027 in China, the strangest thing about the Eva Cab may be that this seemingly distant future could be close to production.
13. Subaru Performance-E STI concept
At the 2025 Japan Mobility Show, we attended the world premiere of the Subaru Performance-E STI.
It is a concept that suggests the Japanese brand is contemplating the idea of an all-electric hot hatch that could potentially challenge the Ioniq 5 N in the U.S.
The concept’s sharply sculpted bodywork, slim lights, multi-spoke wheels with gold aero covers, and dramatic aerodynamic elements, including a broad hood duct, rear winglets, and a massive diffuser, give it an extremely sporty character.
Nearly a year after the debut of the concept, however, Subaru has yet to confirm a production plan.
14. Kia Vision Meta Turismo
In South Korea, Kia made us think about something enthusiasts already miss: the Stinger.
The Vision Meta Turismo has a dramatic wedge profile, an almost fighter-jet-like glass canopy and an X-shaped lighting treatment unlike anything Kia sells today. Inside, futuristic surfaces work alongside surprisingly retro physical controls.
Kia hasn’t announced a production version, but after seeing it at the Busan Mobility Show, we couldn’t help thinking that an electric grand tourer inspired by this concept is the best way to revive the Stinger’s spirit.
15. MG Cyber Concept
At Goodwood, MG showed how dramatically its ambitions have changed.
The Cyber Concept is a low, wide electric performance SUV whose stance made us think more about exotic SUVs than the affordable family vehicles that currently make up much of MG’s range.
The important part is that this isn’t destined to remain completely fictional. MG’s advanced design director, Carl Gotham, told TopElectricSUV that the concept will lead to a production model. This concept is setting us up for a very different kind of MG flagship.
16. BMW M Concept Neue Klasse
Goodwood also brought the electric BMW M3 much closer to reality.
The M Concept Neue Klasse sits wider and lower than BMW’s new electric sedan, adding yellow lighting, big wheels and an interior that feels like a racing simulator. More interesting is what lies beneath it: BMW M is developing a four-motor electric drivetrain, with the eventual M3 expected to offer immense performance.
Perhaps the most significant detail is simply the name. BMW has confirmed its electric performance sedan will still be an M3.
17. Daihatsu Midget X
After supercars, business class lounges and ultra-powerful EVs, our final concept was just 86.6 inches long.
The electric Daihatsu Midget X has a central driver’s seat, two smaller seats behind it and enough utility for errands, school runs or last-mile deliveries. Its aspirations are almost comically modest compared with some of the other vehicles here.
That makes it a fitting place to conclude. The future might include 900-hp electric M3s and autonomous lounges, but it might also involve realizing that many journeys don’t require a lot of car.
An automobile engineer by training, I’ve analyzed the global car market since 2005, with a keen focus on EVs since 2008. My journey in online automotive publishing spans 17 years, during which I have reviewed cutting-edge automotive technologies and interviewed leading global CEOs and vehicle developers.
