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The streets would be so much more interesting if concept car designs overflowing with far-fetched ideas, jutting angles, and disconcerting shapes made it into the everyday vehicles riding on our roads. Alas, back in reality all we get are endless Priuses crowding parking lots.
So, let's take a moment to savor the creativity and imagination of some of the wild cars major automakers have dreamt up this year. And remember, these are all conceptcars. You won't be seeing them anytime soon.
Hyundai Elevate
This is a four-legged walking electric vehicle. It's intended for rescue missions in hard-to-reach-and-traverse places (like snowy mountain peaks, post-natural disaster rubble, and more) and can transform into a driveable vehicle with wheels instead of legs. It's creepy, but functional.
Walk or drive. Your call.Credit: hyundaiAudi AI:Trail
This rugged vehicle from Audi comes with five drone companions to provide extra lighting for the road ahead and camera vision. The (nearly) all-glass car can handle rough terrain and autonomously drive on city streets. How versatile!
In the backseat are two hanging chairs that are basically hammocks. The Trail is supposed to be an adventure vehicle made for the great outdoors.
An off-road SUV with drone companionsCredit: Michael Debets / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty ImagesLexus LF-30
When car companies start imagining the future, things can get weird ... and drone-filled. For its LF-30 concept, Lexus envisions its Airporter drones autonomously carrying your luggage from the house to the trunk. The rest of the car is very digitally connected, too, with augmented reality-enabled windows, touchscreen surfaces everywhere, and gesture and voice control in an all-electric vehicle with a 300-mile range.
The Lexus LF-30 comes with a friendly drone helper.Credit: MARK RALSTON / AFP via Getty ImagesHyundai Mobis
Autonomous driving means reimagined vehicles, like Hyundai's Mobis concept that includes lighting to communicate with pedestrians and other cars on the road. No more honking. Instead, just lots of flashing and blinking lights.
Hyundai's Mobis is an autonomous concept car with lots of flash.Credit: Gao Yuwen / Visual China Group via Getty ImagesToyota Rhombus
The best part of Toyota's electric car idea is the quote from its press release saying that it "aims to suit the values and lifestyles of drivers born after 1990." We're not entirely sure what that means. But the seating configuration is different from most cars with a corner-booth-at-a-diner vibe. Toyota calls it a diamond shape.
Definitely not a PriusCredit: GREG BAKER / AFP via Getty ImagesKia HabaNiro
The Kia HabaNiro mostly makes the list for its name. So fiery! The red interior and "lava red" exterior panel matches its name. It's all a play on the very real Niro EV that Kia already sells. The HabaNiro expands on that electric option with butterfly-winged doors, wide-set tires, and a "shark's snout" grille.
Coming in spicyCredit: Gao Yuwen / Visual China Group via Getty ImagesKia Futuron
If this electric car reminds you of a UFO, you're not alone. With huge wheels and sleek side-opening doors, we could definitely envision this thing flying through space. The seats look like space pods, too. Get ready for lift-off.
Houston, we have lift off!Credit: Ou Jinwei / VCG via Getty ImagesToyota LQ
Move over IQ and EQ, we've now got LQ — a new type of intelligence designed to build a bond between car and driver. Using AI, Toyota's LQ learns about you the more you drive and use it. So, over time, the driving experience becomes more personalized. Creepy or helpful? You decide.
The car that gets to know you.Credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty ImagesSuzuki Hanare
This isn't your average van. Instead, Suzuki's autonomous vehicle can function as a relaxing oasis or a work station for a productive drive. Either way, you're not driving.
A van where you can hang out or get work done.Credit: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty ImagesNissan Juke Personalization Adventure
The best concept cars are those that take a recognizable and real vehicle (in this case, the Nissan Juke) and push it to its weirdest bounds. Triangle wheels, anyone?
Concept car or concept tank?Credit: Anatoliy Cherkasov / NurPhoto via Getty ImagesVolkswagen ID Buggy
This electric dune buggy makes the list because of that bright green and beach-ready look. No roof, no doors, no problem!
An electric vehicle that isn't an SUV.Credit: volkswagenVolkswagen ID Space Vizzion
VW's latest concept EV is notable mostly because it doesn't have door handles. Otherwise, the car seems like a snazzy electric version of a station wagon.
A touchpad instead of door handles? Why not.Credit: volkswagenCitroen Ami One
More cute than bizarre, this two-seater is all electric and meant for commuting. It's "ultra-compact" and ready to squeeze into tight spaces in the dense city. The Ami One is a tiny thing, weighing only 1,000 pounds — half the heft of a Mini Cooper. But also, it's meant for quick jaunts with only 60 miles of range on the battery. Big city, little car, can't lose.
Teeny tinyCredit: Mustafa Yalcin / Anadolu Agency / Getty ImagesKia Imagine
Kia crushed it with the dashboard design inside its Imagine concept EV. Basically mocking other cars with lavish in-dash touchscreens (ahem, Byton and Tesla), Kia brought in 21 smartphones to build a dash screen. That's end-to-end coverage. Genius.
Imagine that.Credit: KiaBONUS: Tesla Cybertruck
It looks as strange as any concept car.Credit: teslaWe know the Cybertruck is not technicallya concept car, but it looks like something not fully formed. So even if Tesla balks at the conceptual label, it makes the list. Especially since production isn't set to begin for another two years.