With the release of the news that Honda plans to introduce 10 e:N models over the next five years, here at LeaseLoco, we thought we’d take this time to take a deep dive into concept cars, looking at which models looked identical to their awesome concept version and those which fell short of the mark.
The First Ever Concept Car
Introducing the Buick Y-Job, considered by most as the automotive industry’s very first concept car. Designed by Harley J. Earl, the initially designated head of design at General Motors, the Y-Job was created in 1938 and had power-operated hidden headlamps, a hood ornament named the 'gunsight', and according to X also had electric windows! The Y-Job’s prefigured styling cues would be used by Buick until the 1950s and they still use the vertical waterfall grille design today.
Concept Vs Reality
Concept cars give auto enthusiasts a glimpse into the future, and when one comes out that looks incredible, all we want is for those concepts to become a reality. Sometimes this is the case, but sometimes we’re left with a car that pales in comparison. Here are some of the best and worst adaptations from concept to reality.
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Bugatti Chiron
Let’s start with the one that is quite clearly a massive improvement on the concept version. The Bugatti 18/3 Chiron was premiered at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1999 and back then Bugatti told us that the Chiron would be able to top the 200 MPH mark. In reality, 17 years later, what we got was much, much better.
The production version of the Bugatti Chiron obliterated expected times, speed and power, and was cheaper than predicted, albeit by only $10k. 33% increase in top speed from 205 to a staggering 273 MPH. 0-60 times decreased by a staggering 55%, which is no doubt fuelled by the 100% increase in BHP.
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BMW i8
Next, we have the i8, BMW’s first big leap into the electric market aside from their i3 model. There’s no question about the i8’s styling, however, when you sit it alongside the concept version, you can see that a few of its sharp lines have been buffed out, which in our opinion, is a shame, but still a great looking car.
The i8 Concept was unveiled at the 2011 International Motor Show Germany, and people instantly fell in love with the German manufacturer’s vision.
Despite the alteration in the look of the i8, in terms of performance, we received more than we hoped, at the same predicted price. The 0-60 time decreased by 15% from 4.6 to 3.9 seconds, we had more power with a small increase of 2% to the BHP output, but unfortunately, BMW kept the limiter in at 155 MPH, which we’re sure would’ve been higher if BMW wanted.
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Jaguar F-Pace
Jaguar restyled their line around 2013 and motor enthusiasts couldn’t get enough of the British manufacturer’s bold transformation. Not only this but you could also argue that they did what any manufacturer should do when they release a concept version of vehicles, which is to make it look great and then make the production vehicle ever better. And that’s what they did. Jaguar also improved the performance of the F-PACE too, with a 5 MPH increase and 7 extra BHP, but these small improvements made for a big decrease in the family SUV’s 0-60 time, dropping it by a full second.
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Jaguar F-Type
Looks-wise, the same can be said for the F-TYPE as you could for the F-PACE. Unfortunately, Jaguar didn’t quite deliver as well on the performance side. We’d hoped the F-TYPE was going to become a rear 200MPH bullet of a motor, but instead, the British manufacturer decided to throttle back a little, despite increasing the price by $13k.
The BHP of the F-TYPE fell by 10.5%, which had a roll-on impact for the top speed that fell from a predicted 186 MPH, limited by the way, to only 155 MPH and an increase to the 0-60 time of over half a second.
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Bentley Bentayga
The looks of the Bentley Bentayga certainly divide opinion, but we can all agree it’s an improvement from the concept EXP 9 F.
This concept version was first shown to the public at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and fans were promised a luxury SUV that could get close to the 200 MPH mark. Bentley delivered, and then some, but at a cost.
The final version of the Bentayga boasted a staggering top speed of 187 MPH, slightly up from the concept, a big drop in the 0-60 time by a full second, all with an engine that delivered less BHP than the concept version. Unfortunately, though these improvements resulted in a big leap in the price, to the sound of $77k!
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Lexus LFA
Another car that has become far superior to its concept predecessor is the Lexus LFA. When the LF-A premiered at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan and onlookers couldn't tell if this was something that Lexus was actually working on or not, due to its hot wheels looking exterior. It turns out that back then, it wasn’t, being described as a “design study with no plans for production.” However, regardless of what Lexus had planned back in 2005 for the LFA, what they managed to deliver five years later was something motoring fans across the world fell in love with.
Despite it being vastly more expensive, nearly double the price, it’s more than worth it thanks to the LFA’s stunning looks and even better performance. The stats are pretty much exactly what Lexus predicted they would be, with only a slight increase in the top speed and some additional BHP, but it’s the full package that people have fallen in love with.
Jeremy Clarkson has even stated that if he was offered the choice of any car “I would like a dark blue Lexus LFA.”
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Dacia Duster
Now for the biggest disappointment of the concept vs reality list. The Dacia Duster.
To clarify, the Dacia Duster is a great car. Brilliant actually. It’s won many awards including the What Car? Best family SUV, best for value 2021 and the 2020 Best Family SUV for less than £20,000. It won the 2019 Auto Trader Best Value New Car. The 2019 Auto Express Road Test Winner for the second year running and The Sun’s Value Car of the Year 2018 to name only a few. We just wish it could’ve kept its concept’s looks!
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Toyota Supra
Here’s a car that just didn’t quite measure up to what was promised. The Toyota Supra has, for many years now, been a firm fan favourite within the car enthusiasts inner circle. So when, in 2014, Toyota debuted the brand new Supra concept, named the FT-1, fans around the world were thrilled with what the Japanese manufacturer had come up with.
Unfortunately, six years later, Toyota delivered a Supra that was clearly built and designed off the back of the FT-1 but it just didn’t have the same exciting look and feel to it. Nor did the stat sheet.
The Supra was supposed to be a 200MPH car, but it was 45MPH short. 0-60 was 0.8 slower, and the engine delivered 151 less BMP, all for $10k more than was predicted.
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Renault Captur
When Renault debuted the Captur Concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, they gave fans some false hope at what their new line would look like. Instead of delivering a car that wouldn’t look out of place on the set of Blade Runner they produced a car that looked very much like what everyone else in the sector was producing. The Captur is by no means a bad looking car. Not at all. It’s just not what the concept made us believe we were getting.
The performance wasn’t matched either. An 18% decrease in top speed, a huge 4.5-second increase of the 0-60 time and a 44% drop in the BHP output.
What Renault gave us was a durable, reliable, comfortable small family car, when we thought we were getting a space mobile.
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Chevrolet Volt
A similar situation happened with Chevrolet and their Volt concept car. It looks like something that even by today’s standards wouldn’t look out of place at a Geneva motor show, let alone back in 2007. Again though unfortunately car fans were left unsatisfied by Chevrolet’s production version released four years later.
20 MPH off the target top speed, 0.8 seconds slower 0-60 time and 10 less BPH all left the Volt short of the mark, the biggest of which was its new looks, something very in keeping with American saloon cars of the early 2010s.
As you see there have been some big flops over the years but also some incredible concept-to-production creations made by manufacturers, and even better, you can get behind one of them with LeaseLoco! Whether it’s one of the Jaguar masterpieces in the F-TYPE or F-PACE or the luxury of Bentley’s superb family SUV the Bentayga, we’ve got the perfect car for you.
Simply search through our site to find what you’re looking for, and if you’re having any trouble, take a look at our FAQs or ask any unanswered questions using our Live Chat and one of our team will be on hand to help out.