ConceptCars.info

The Mercedes-Benz B 55 is a one-off, factory-sanctioned skunkworks project that turned a humble, front-wheel-drive B-Class (W245) into a rear-drive hot hatch with a naturally aspirated 5.5-liter V8. Conceived as a training and showcase exercise at Mercedes-Benz’s Rastatt plant, the B 55 transplanted the M273 V8 (about 388 hp and 530 Nm) and 7G-Tronic automatic into the compact MPV’s shell, added a rear-drive axle, and re-engineered brakes and suspension to match. The result was equal parts pedagogy and provocation: a perfectly ordinary white B-Class that idled like a muscle car and accelerated like a junior AMG, built by apprentices under master-technician supervision with support from group engineering. History The project’s spark came from Rastatt plant manager Peter Wesp , who challenged the site’s training workshop to create “something special” that would stretch apprentices beyond routine service tasks. The donor was a B 200 CDI already assigned to the training department. ...

The Ford GTX1 is a targa-roadster concept derived from the first-generation Ford GT and unveiled in 2005 as a modern tribute to the open-top GT40 X-1 that won the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1966. Conceived by Ford SVT engineering supervisor Kip Ewing , the GTX1 reimagined the GT as a configurable open car with a four-piece hard roof, structural reinforcements, and revised bodywork that preserved the supercharged V8’s drama while adding real-world usability. Rather than a mere static showpiece, the GTX1 was engineered as a complete, drivable prototype—and it went on to spawn a small number of customer conversions built outside the factory. History Ford revealed the GTX1 on the Ford stand at the SEMA Show , Las Vegas Convention Center , during the 2005 edition ( November 1–4, 2005 ). The world-premiere press text dated November 1, 2005 framed the car explicitly as an homage: “with the 1966 Sebring-winning Ford GTX1 roadster as inspiration,” Ewing’s study leveraged Ford’s SEMA Technolog...

The Dodge Viper GTS-R Concept is a track-bred, road-legal coupe study unveiled in 2000 as a dramatic next chapter for the Viper lineage. Conceived as a streetable distillation of the factory-backed Viper GTS-R race program’s success, it fused the familiar front-mid 8.0-liter V10 and six-speed manual with a one-piece carbon-fiber body shell, extreme aero, and a lower, wider stance. The car acted as a manifesto for what a second-generation Viper coupe could be: lighter and stiffer, with race-car cooling, visibility, and packaging solutions executed at show-car level. History Dodge pulled the cover off the Viper GTS-R Concept at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, January 2000 on the Dodge stand at Cobo Center. A few weeks later it appeared at the Chicago Auto Show (February 2000) , staged prominently on a glass platform to emphasize its sculptural surfacing and single-piece body. The timing was intentional: the Viper racing program had just dominated inte...

The BMW M8 (E31) Prototype is the stillborn apex of the first-generation 8 Series program: a front-mid-engine, rear-drive, wide-body grand tourer developed in the early 1990s by BMW Motorsport as a Ferrari-class halo. Finished in bright red and engineered around a bespoke, naturally aspirated 6.0–6.1-liter V12 with individual intakes and carbon plenums, it targeted power outputs unheard-of for a roadgoing BMW of its era. Lightweight closures, fixed aero lighting (in place of pop-ups), B-pillars added for stiffness, and stripped interior architecture marked it out as much more than a cosmetic exercise. Although only a single prototype was built, its hardware and lessons fed directly into the 850CSi (S70B56) and, decades later, informed the narrative for the production M8 (F92) . History Development of the E31 8 Series consumed over DM 1.5 billion through the late 1980s, with the series car debuting at the IAA Frankfurt in early September 1989 . Within BMW, an M-car derivative wa...