Cool Concept Cars From TV and Movies

[Sweet_Johnny]

Concept vehicles used to be something I'd see in car and truck magazines on a regular basis, and nearly every time there would be at least one that excited me. I let all of my subscriptions run out and don't buy many mags at the checkout line anymore, but still see the occasional concept car when the marketing powers shove them in our faces. It seems the concepts I've seen lately are geared towards someone with entirely different tastes than mine, as they all look to be based on the same boring box style SUV/ Crossover, whatever you call it. What happened to sexy cars with dangerous curves and lines so sharp they'd make your shadow bleed?

I just started watching Fallout on Amazon Prime and right there in the opening scenes is this beauty, and I liked it so much that I actually took a picture of my TV screen.



After seeing this I immediately thought of Firebirds, DeLoreans, and the De Tomaso Pantera- all of which I adore.

I didn't recall ever seeing this particular car before and wondered if it was just an AI rendering or some other form of fantasy, so I did a little digging and was happy to learn that it's a real (concept) car from 1959- the Plymouth XNR. Others refer to it as a Ghia, but it's a gorgeous work of art regardless of who gets credit. Apparently it's named after its originator, famed automotive designer Virgil Exner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgil_Exner but is pronounced by the letter, X-N-R.



According to karamelocycles.com "The car was built in Italy and then toured the world in 1960. It later returned to Italy before being purchased by the Shah of Iran."

"It had a 6 cylinder front in line but longitudinally to compensate for weights, if you look at the image, the fat part is on the passenger side. It could reach 9,000rpm with specifications of Nascar and it gave 250hp."



"After many years lost, it was found in 1980 in Beirut, Lebanon, where it was found by its current owner Kareen Edde, who sent it to Canada for restoration...by RM. After this it once again looked magnificent at the Amelia Island Concours d' Elegance."



Story by Supercars.net & Karamelocycles.blogspot.com
Other photos provided by http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2024/04/somehow-plymouth-xnr-is-in-opening.html

Now this is exactly the type of original concept car design that I enjoy, and would love to see more. Sadly, I rarely see actual custom cars at shows anymore and must satisfy this need online. What other concept cars from movies and television just reach out and grab you? The Stingray from Corvette Summer? The Speed Racer Mach 5? Share those secret obsessions!

 

[doood]

Can't say I'm a fan of the XNR; the lack of symmetry bothers me as a vertebrate.

I'm not on point with the OP, but styling is hit or miss... and when it misses (like the GM bubble B-bodies 1991-96) my reaction is visceral (want to puke). I like the Ford Mustang about every other generation (hate 2 platforms 71-79); the 80s C3s and C7 corvettes are God awful and the last good looking F-bodies were made in 1992. The Japanese sedans looked better when they were impersonating German cars (e.g. Gen1 LS400, Early 90's Maxima). The Kia Stinger and Genesis cars are among the best looking cars out there now; maybe I just like that they are rear wheel drive. I am not a fan of this HUGE GRILL phenomena that is on all the trucks and Toyotas and BMWs of today. WTF is that? God Damn.

Overall, the industry is dead. Everything is overdone and seen better days - that is why we are all clinging on to the last of the long hooded front engine RWD GM vehicles.

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

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Symmetry has always been a huge thing for me but I'm trying to let that go, and I really like the side profile of the XNR- it must be the quarter panels. I shudder to imagine doing the bodywork if the door got badly damaged though.

Are there any concept cars that you'd sell a kidney for if one became available? Or perhaps an over the top movie car that gets the ol' creative juices flowing?

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

Here's another one: the 2002 Lexus 2054 as commissioned by Steven Spielberg for the movie Minority Report.



"Collaborating with Calty, the Toyota/Lexus design studio in California, Belker envisioned the Lexus 2054 as a technologically advanced vehicle powered by fuel cells and equipped with cutting-edge safety features, including a crashproof structure and biometric security systems. This forward-thinking approach to automotive design captured the essence of futuristic transportation as imagined in Philip K. Dick's short story "The Minority Report."

Beyond its cinematic appearances, the Lexus 2054 garnered attention at various auto shows and public events, captivating audiences with its captivating design and futuristic allure. The vehicle also became the subject of marketing tie-ins, with Lexus investing $5 million in marketing rights to promote the car alongside the film. Additionally, Maisto produced a 1/24 scale replica of the Lexus 2054, further solidifying its status as an iconic movie car."


Source & Images: Lexus

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

1969 M-505 Adams Brothers Probe 16

"Often, cars in movies play a role no less than live actors. The vehicle can be the embodiment of the main character (Pontiac Aztec Walter White from Breaking Bad), one of the central locations (Cadillac Sedan DeVille in Green Book), and sometimes even the main villain (Plymouth Fury in Christine based on the novel by Stephen King). But if the movie needs to show the future, concept cars are used.

Take, for example, the Durango 95/Probe 16, created by brothers Peter and Dennis Adams, former Marcos designers. In 1969, he was one of the lowest cars in the world: body height - 86 centimeters! And in this "meter without a cap," they fit a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine from an Austin 1800 sedan and two full-fledged seats. The only way to get into the bright orange coupe was through a sliding roof section - such a low car did not need doors.



But what made the Durango 95 famous was not its appearance or British Leyland roots. In 1971, he became the car of the gang of Alex DeLarge - the protagonist of the film "A Clockwork Orange." Few things can complete the image of a group of psychopaths better than a swift two-door rushing through the thicket. Director Stanley Kubrick glorified the Probe 16, which, however, still did not become financially successful - only three copies of these were collected, one of which now stands in the Petersen Automobile Museum in Los Angeles."



Depicted in A Clockwork Orange (1971) as the Durango '95

Designed by Dennis and Peter Adams

Source & Images: motor.ru, Wikipedia

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

1984 Dodge PPG M4S

The Dodge M4S is an American high-performance prototype sports coupe originally engineered and built by Dodge in 1981 as a technology demonstrator vehicle. It was designed by the chief designer of Dodge at the time, Bob Ackerman in collaboration with PPG Industries as the Indy 500 Pace Car and was used intermittently from 1984 to 1987. At the time of the M4S's development, PPG — a supplier of paints and other coatings to the automotive industry — was sponsoring an open-wheel racing series called the CART PPG Indy Car World Series which attracted celebrated drivers like Mario Andretti and Emerson Fittipaldi. Besides featuring prime racing talent, the series was also known for its outrageous pace cars.



From its conception, the M4S was intended to be built as a fully engineered running prototype rather than as a display piece. The designation M4S denotes "Mid-engine, 4 Cylinder, Sport" and it was designed to reach a top speed of 200 mph (322 km/h) on a semi-monocoque race car chassis that was ordered from Huffaker of California. Chrysler designed the body and conducted extensive wind tunnel testing to achieve a drag coefficient of 0.236. Although Chrysler designed the car, actual construction of the vehicle was handled by subcontractors such as 3-D Industries of Madison Heights, Michigan, who modeled the body and created molds. Special Projects, Inc. cast the body panels, assembled the body and interior, and gave the car its signature "root beer brown" paint color by painting layers of pearl over a black base coat. Specialized Vehicles, Inc., of Troy, Michigan, handled fabrication, final assembly, and maintenance of the completed car.


The Turbo Interceptor was made famous in The Wraith, a 1986 supernatural film: In the town of Brooks, Arizona the leader of a gang of car thieves coerces people with fast cars into racing with the winner of the race taking ownership of the loser's car. The film stars Charlie Sheen and has appearances by Randy Quaid.



The mid-engined car had a tested and confirmed top speed of 194.8 mph (313.5 km/h) and could go from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.1 seconds, with more than 440 hp (328 kW) under the hood coming from its relatively small displacement of 2.2L 4 cylinder forced induction engine.

Six copies were made for use in the film: two stunt cars made from molds of the original car and four non-drivable "dummies" that were destroyed during filming. Some say that during production, the real Dodge Turbo Interceptor was used in close-ups and a single driving shot. Others claim the real car was only used for promotional posters and assorted photo ops. That original was located at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI until 2016, when the museum closed permanently.



The seller of a replica supplies no interior shots in his listing, but a screenshot was taken from a Facebook page he has created dedicated exclusively to this vehicle. It reveals a fit and finish level far beyond what is typical with many cars of this type and shows a host of hi-tech gadgets. The driver faces a stunning liquid crystal gauge cluster that appears to belong in a fighter jet, while a large touchscreen dominates the center dash. The photo quality makes it difficult to determine if the trim on the A-Pillars might be below par, but it reveals a quirky feature also found in the Rolls-Royce Phantom. The headliner is scattered with an array of miniature LEDs that provide a stellar feel.



Source/ Text: SlashGear.com, Wikipedia- Dodge M4S; Wikipedia- The Wraith, Car & Classic Magazine, BarnFinds.com

Images: Wikipedia, Car & Classic Magazine, MoparInsiders.com, BarnFinds.com

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

1992-'95 Mega Track

About 30 years ago in France Georges Blain founded Aixam on the wreckage of auto maker Arola. The latter, under able leadership, became the leading manufacturer of "voiture sans permis" microcars -the ones that didn't require a license. However, this was not enough for the ambitious Monsieur Blaine.



The first production road car produced by Mega was the Track. A four seater, it used the Mercedes V12 which delivered 394 horsepower to all four wheels. Technically, the car was more or less similar to most supercars of that time: it was based on a spatial tubular frame, and the suspension was on double triangular levers behind riders' backs. A unique feature of the Track was its adjustable ride height. The car raised its clearance from eight to thirteen inches at full size!



In the case of the Mega Track, the engine was a six-liter - from the Mercedes W140, as was the automatic transmission. At the same time, Mega engineers had to develop an all-wheel drive system on their own since all-wheel drive S-Classes did not exist then. The engine cooling system also had to be re-created using four electric fans.



Despite the mass of more than two tons, Mega Track had quite supercar dynamics: acceleration to "hundreds" took about 6 seconds, and the maximum speed reached 250 kilometers per hour. Moreover, the car did not need a road as flat as a table to get these indicators, which favorably distinguished it from its competitors. After all, Mega Track had no direct competitors. At the same time, the interior had armchairs with high-quality leather upholstery and electrical adjustments, air conditioning, an excellent audio system, and other benefits of that era.



It would seem that the car was destined for success since after the 1992 Paris Auto Show debut there was only talk about the new French supercar - millionaires stood with checkbooks at the ready in the hope of getting the Mega Track before the rest. However, Mega did not have production lines to produce such a complex car on a more or less industrial scale at the time. In addition, Mega Track required sea trials and perfection of quality - Blain could not allow otherwise. As a result, five copies (according to other sources - 11) were released only in 1995, when many had time to forget about the car.



Each of the Mega Tracks sold cost about $400,000 but even these prices could not cover the costs of its creation and production. After trying his luck later with the more traditional Mega Monte Carlo sports coupe, Georges Blain gave up trying to conquer the world of supercars, and Mega quietly entered Aixam. By the way, the lion's share of these cars ended up in Russia, where they are today. You can see Mega Track in the film Duhless or the clip of Timati and Guf.



Only five examples of the Track were completed before a new, more exciting product took its place: the Mega Monte Carlo.

Source: motor.ru
Images: Mega