The year was capped off with one of the most widely seen and discussed concept cars of recent times, Jaguar’s controversial Type 00. Following hot on the heels of an even more hotly contested brand re-launch, Type 00 ticked all the boxes of a radical re-boot, a polarising proposal that manages to keep Jaguar’s production intentions swathed in some mystery.
Some manufacturers were content to let their concepts stay purely in the realms of the imagery – Renault’s R17 restomod springs to mind – while others put forward ideas that felt like their time would never come, for better or for worse. Concepts are mostly just that - from our list of 2023’s conceptual bests, only the Callum Skye has made it through to production readiness.
So what would we like to see built in 2025? If DS can distil elements of its SM Tribute into a production car, that would be a welcome sight, and Alpine’s A390 β Concept indicates there’s more scope to the performance brand than first appeared. Read on to discover our top ten.
01. Jaguar Type 00
Jaguar’s svelte Type 00 wasn’t really much of a provocation in design terms, but some people took the big electric GT concept very personally. New materials, new forms, new ethos and new branding, all wrapped up in a Miami Pink bodyshell that hints at next year’s all-new production car.
02. Tesla Cybercab Robotaxi
Tesla’s Cybercab was an inexplicably svelte two-seater that promised a level of autonomy many doubted it could deliver by 2026, when the production version arrives. Now that Musk has better access to the rule book, all that might change.
03. Verne autonomous taxi
Another ambitious conceptual foray into autonomous transport, Verne’s driverless machine also offered only two seats, albeit in a much more compact footprint. Rimac Automobili’s side project wants to get going in Europe before the end of the decade.
04. Scout Motors Traveler and Terra concepts
Volkswagen re-booted Scout, a venerable name in all-American SUVs, with the Traveler and Terra concepts. Electrified and simplified, the production cars that follow should hew closely to this admirable template.
05. SM Tribute by DS Automobiles
DS Automobiles finally found the right part of their archive with this fantastic homage to the SM of the 70s. The French company promises that upcoming models will contain more than a hint of the SM Tribute’s fine lines.
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06. Renault R17 electric restomod x Ora-ïto
Part of its strategy of bespoke one-off retro-reworks in collaboration with named designers, Renault took time out from its impressive production car revival to showcase the Ora-ïto-styled R17, a symphony in classy brown.
07. Cadillac SOLLEI Concept
Cadillac offset their line-up of chunky SUVs with this wild foray into conceptual design, a vast convertible that recalled the company’s 60s and 70s heyday. From its Manila Cream colour scheme to its elaborate marquetry detailing, the SOLLEI shone brightly.
08. KIA PV5 WKNDR and EV9 ADVNTR
Although Kia has a showroom full of futuristic production cars, it still found time to put out two conceptual visions of future campers. We especially liked the PV5 WKNDR, van-like and vowel-less, with a multi-functional interior.
09. BMW Vision Neue Klasse X
BMW’s clarity of conceptual vision has come into sharp focus in recent years, and the Vision Neue Klasse X was no exception. Promising a new design language for its X-series of SUVs, this was one vision we hope materialises soon.
10. Alpine A390 β Concept
Alpine’s A390 Beta was one of several high-profile French designs revealed at the revitalised 2024 Mondial de l'Auto in Paris. The stylish electric crossover concept showed a way for Renault’s sporting relation to break out into new markets.
