45 supercars that didn’t come true Part 1 A phantom concept that literally ended up as a “dream” – AUTOCAR JAPAN

Phantom supercars that never appeared in the world

Looking back at the history of automobiles, there are many cars that were never released. Some never materialized due to lack of funding, while others fell into despair due to styling and engineering failures.

This time, I tried to collect supercars that were shown to the world as “concept cars” and “future commercial vehicles” but were not realized for various reasons. Let’s introduce all 45 cars in chronological order, divided into two parts.

Here are 45 supercars that, for various reasons, never reached mass production.

If one thing had changed, the Jaguar XJ13, not the Lamborghini Miura, might have become the world’s first mid-engined supercar. In the early 1960s, plans were made for a new type of racing car (probably also commercially available), but one car was finally completed in 1966, and at that point it was already in 1969 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It may have been difficult to beat the Ford GT40, which had been winning every year until then.

The project was shelved, and the 5.0L V12-powered XJ13 might only make it through a few high-speed runs before crashing heavily during filming in 1971. The car has since been rebuilt and now resides at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon, England, a reminder of what the future might have been.

Jaguar XJ13 (1966)

It seems strange to think of a four-cylinder Vauxhall car as a supercar, but the XVR is something special. It’s a two-seater coupe with a clamshell bonnet, rear-hinged tail and two upward-opening doors.

What should be noted is the opening and closing mechanism of the door, and the glass has a special structure that doubles as a side window and a windshield. See for yourself how this intricate door opens. Engineers tried to make it a more orthodox gullwing style, but the design department rejected it.

Vauxhall XVR (1966)

The car pictured is the only one of the three built to actually run, normally powered by a Vauxhall Slant 4 engine, although it was fitted with a smaller engine when it debuted at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show. Unfortunately, it was damaged during the exhibition in Canada and was dismantled. Two fiberglass-bodied vehicles remained, but one was dismantled at the manufacturer’s discretion. The other survives and is in the Vauxhall Heritage Collection.

Alfa Romeo Carabo (1968)

Image I don’t want it to end as a dream…[See photos of the latest concept cars such as BMW, Nissan, and Alpine]All 115 photos