Forgotten Wonders: 5 Concept Cars of the Past That Time Forgot

Rare ONES - Nowadays, we are used to seeing sedans, SUVs, hatchbacks, and other 'normal' cars on the road. In general, the cars produced by manufacturers are not too different from the concept car. One of the goals of creating a concept car is to make consumers curious about the latest products that will be produced. However, there are several concept cars that are not widely produced but are created for personal satisfaction.

1987 Oldsmobile Aerotech ST took Indycar engineering and very advanced aerodynamic studies and wrapped them around GMs 2.0-liter Quad-4 powerplant. (Picture from: ClassicCars)

Indeed, there are many cars that have never been seen in this world. Among all those rare cars, we have summarized 5 cars that appeared in the 1990s and early 2000s. Here are 5 cars that you may have never seen before:

1. 1987 Oldsmobile Aerotech ST

Looking like a futuristic Batmobile, this Oldmobile Aerotech ST was part of an experiment of high-speed vehicles by General Motors (GM) from 1987 until 1992. A.J. Foyt, an Indy 500 winner who was the first to drive this car, and he set a course record of 257.123 mph (413.788 kph) on August 27, 1987 at the Fort Stockton test track. 

1987 Oldsmobile Aerotech ST. (Picture from: ClassicCars)

The outright top speed of the car was 267.88 mph (431.10 kph). The car designed by Ed Welburn, and featured with an extremely aerodynamic shell of the Aerotech originally incorporated a longer rear end, reportedly inspired by the Porsche 917 LH. 

However, its initial design went against Louckes' plan for setting a closed-course record on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so Oldsmobile eventually went with a short-tail version. And the first version known as the Short Tail (ST) was built around a March Engineering's 84C CART chassis with an all-enveloping body. It was powered by the Oldsmobile Quad 4 which was a twin-turbocharged inline-4.

2. 1995 Ford GT90

This Ford GT90 is officially unveiled to the public in January 1995 at the Detroit Auto Show, at the time the car is finished in bright white with a bright blue and carbon fiber interior. It features a mid-engine quad-turbocharged V12 that produces an estimated 720 horsepower and 660 pound-feet of torque.

1995 Ford GT90. (Picture from: Supercars.net)

Its engine located in a honeycomb aluminium chassis with carbon fibre body panels showed off Ford’s “New Edge” design philosophy, and was billed as a GT40 for the 1990s. As a result, it had a claimed top speed of 253 mph, which even by today’s standards would make it one of the fastest production cars in the world (faster than a McLaren F1), which was widely considered the world’s preeminent supercar at the time.

Despite its powerful performance, unfortunately this Ford GT90 supercar has never entered the company's production line, and the car is currently on display at the Hajek Motorsports Museum, Ames, Oklahoma.

3. 1998 Nissan R390 GT1

Unlike many others, Nissan built the road car first and built the racing version from it. The Nissan R390 GT1 design was the work of Ian Callum of Tom Walkinshaw Racing. The concept behind the creation of the Nissan R390 GT1 was to push reliability and dynamic performance to the absolute limit without compromising the driveability of a street car. 

1998 Nissan R390 GT1. (Picture from: CarRev-Daily)

Behind the driver sits the heart of this true supercar is a Nissan s VRH35L twin-turbocharged 3.5-litre double-overhead-camshaft V8 engine with electronic sequential port fuel injection which produces 410kW at 6,800 rpm while complying with all European market exhaust gas regulations. The R390 GT1 performance as one would expect is staggering and includes a sub-4.0 second zero to 100 km/h time.

Underneath the all-carbon fibre chassis is upper and lower A-arm suspension with coil springs at all four corners, inboard shock absorbers and front and rear anti-roll bars. Braking is handled by huge AP 14-inch vented front and rear disc brakes with six piston calipers and ABS. Inside are normal road car appliances such as full instrumentation and leather-covered driver and passenger racing seats.

4. 1999 Bentley Hunaudières

The Bentley Hunaudières, and the name of 'Hunaudières' refers to the famous high-speed straight at Le Mans where the Bentley legend was born in the 1920's with five victories in the Vingt Quatre Heures du Mans.

1999 Bentley Hunaudières. (Picture from: DisenoArt)

The British-made supercar powered by a 16-cylinder engine with 8 litre capacity. The engine has an output of 463 kW (623 bhp) and a maximum torque of 760 Nm (561 lb ft). Thanks to variable camshaft timing, 85% of the torque is available at as low as 1,500 revs.

Besides that the engine is made up of two banks of eight cylinders which are fitted at 72o to form a W, based on the VR principle with a cylinder angle of 15o. Another one off supercar and built with a a cost of over US. $1.5 Million.

5. 2005 Chrysler Firepower Concept

The Firepower grand tourer concept car, making its debut at the 2005 North American International Auto Show, exudes Chrysler brand attributes of elegance and performance with high customer value.

2005 Chrysler Firepower Concept. (Picture from: MoparInsiders)

Painstakingly crafted, the elegant and powerful Firepower concept is an example of automotive design and engineering within the reach of Chrysler brand customers. The exterior and interior design, flush with fine materials and meticulous details, are matched with its fierce performance. 

The Firepower concept designed by Brian Nielander (exterior), who also worked on the ME-412 concept; and Greg Howell (interior). It used the chassis of a Dodge Viper, a 6.1 Hemi engine, and stock tires. It had about 425 horsepower which could take it from 0-60 in 4.5 seconds.. *** [EKA [05032015] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CLASSICCARS | SUPERCARS.NET | CARREV-DAILY | DISENO-ART | MOPARINSIDERS ]

Note: This blog can be accessed via your smart phone.

Kindly Bookmark and Share it: