Universally recognised in the automotive industry as the very first concept car. The Y-Job was designed in 1938 by Harley J. Earl, General Motors head of design and future father of the Chevrolet Corvette. At the time all “experimental” cars were marked with an X: in this case the letter Y was chosen to emphasise the extreme originality of the project, just as in the aviation field. Anticipating what would become Earl’s aesthetic strands – sinuous lines, little but significant chrome – it featured a retractable metal roof, pop-up headlights and electric windows.  

The B.A.T.’s – or Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica – were a series of Italian concept cars designed by Alfa Romeo between 1953 and 1955. The trio is made up of B.A.T. 5, 7 and 9. All designed by Franco Scaglione for the Italian design house Bertone, these concept cars used the chassis of the successful 1900, the first monocoque car from Arese made on an assembly line. The B.A.T.’s boasted rear fenders topped with large curved fins. Despite their limited power of 100 hp, they could reach 200 km/h. Their rear windows – divided by a sheet metal part – and streamlined ends were used by more than one manufacturer, especially overseas.

The Alfa Romeo Carabo is the work of Marcello Gandini’s genius, the first of six dream cars created from the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. With its radical wedge-shaped design and the first forward-hinging doors, it created a real watershed in the world of supercars, dictating a stylistic paradigm that generated icons such as Lamborghini Countach and Urraco, Maserati Merak or Ferrari 365 GT4 BB to name but a few. Its influence can be traced almost everywhere: even in the legendary Lancia Stratos whose starting prototype – the Strato’s Zero – closely resembles the Carabo, now on permanent display at the Alfa Romeo Museum. 

Undoubtedly one of the most famous and photographed concept cars of all time. Conceived in 1967 by the then Pininfarina designer Paolo Martin, it was presented at the Geneva Motor Show just three years later. It has no doors, but has a manually self-propelled windshield and front section for entering the cramped cabin. Born as a static maquette and part of the Pininfarina collection until 2014, it is currently powered by a Ferrari V12, installed by its wealthy collector owner. All the controls are located on the driver’s left, integrated in an unusual spheroidal structure.

Unveiled at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and styled by Paul Bracq, head of BMW Style Centre at the time, the Turbo revolutionised the brand’s entire design approach. Its gullwing doors and shark-shaped body – with its resolutely bold colors – showed the world for the first time that BMW was capable of producing exciting cars too. Its design would later shape the lines of the M1, the Z1, the 8 Series and the M1 Homage concept car as well. Moreover, the Turbo was the first BMW to feature a true driver-facing cockpit, a solution adopted in several new models.

Launched in 1987 at the Tokyo Motor Show, this unique four-door inspired no less than the Subaru Impreza, universally regarded as one of the best rally cars of all time. The Estremo, a concept car that only a niche of true enthusiasts remember, was equipped with a supercharged 6-cylinder 24-valve engine, a new – for the time – continuously variable transmission (CVT), four-wheel drive with constant torque distribution – which would become the Japanese brand’s strongest signature – electronically controlled air suspension, power-assisted steering without a hydraulic pump and an anti-lock braking system (ABS).

The RSQ Sports is a concept car designed by Martin Ertl, which surprisingly appeared at the 2004 New York International Auto Show. It was ordered for the filming of I, Robot, a movie based on Isaac Asimov’s science fiction novels. The car is characterised by very futuristic solutions, as the film is set in 2035. It is the first car to have spherical wheels instead of circular ones, concealed by a sort of metal net with a honeycomb pattern. Director Alex Proyas also modified some of its features, inventing an autopilot not included in the actual car and opting for butterfly doors that were not initially planned.

The Furai was designed by Mazda to show the key features of the company’s new stylistic approach, adapted to mass production in the following years. It is appreciated for its body composed of straight, sharp lines that fade into soft curves while maintaining effective aerodynamics. It also celebrated Wankel rotary engine forty years of using – the flagship of the brand’s production – evoking, in mechanical terms, the 787B that won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991. The only example of the Furai ever built burned down in August 2008, during tests performed by a well-known British automotive magazine. 

With its lounge-style interior layout, the F 015 has raised the bar for comfort and luxury to a new level. An innovative four-seater, with monolithic exteriors – which seem to come out of a single block – and large front and rear LED lighting modules that allow the car to interact with the outside world. By means of their color, for example, this concept car indicates which mode it is in: blue for autonomous driving, white for manual driving. The low front end, the stiff, taut roofline, the steeply raked windshield and the very low tail give it a sleek, pleasant appearance.

The Terzo Millennio is the first product of the three-year partnership between Automobili Lamborghini and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. It was designed by Mitja Borkert, current head of the Style Centre, while the technology on board is the output of a collaboration between Sant’Agata Bolognese engineers and MIT professors and students. The Terzo Millennio uses high-capacity supercapacitors instead of lithium batteries, has an electric motor for each wheel and, on the outside, shines with multiple Y-shaped details that can be seen in today’s Lamborghinis.