10 Concept Cars From The 2010s We Wish Had Made Production

It’s a bit mad to think that the 2010s ended half a decade ago. Yes, time is a relentless beast and the world continues to rotate around the sun whether we like it or not.

That means we’re at the point of losing hope of those remaining on fleek concept cars which have yet to be yeeted into production. On the plus side, that miserable thought has given us an excuse to revisit some of them and remind you they never made it to the road.

Mazda RX-Vision

When production of the Mazda RX-8 ended in 2012, it would leave the Japanese manufacturer without a rotary engine in its lineup for the first time since the Cosmo was introduced in 1967. The future looked bleak for the Wankel, until a promising concept in 2015.

This was the Mazda RX-Vision, in effect a demonstration of the brand’s new ‘Kodo’ corporate design but also a glimmer of hope that an RX-9 could be coming. Oh, and if it did, what a thing it would’ve been.

But well, it didn’t. Nor did a rotary sports car, although the Wankel would be revived for a hybrid version of the MX-30 crossover eight years later. All hope is not lost yet, though, with serious talks of Mazda bringing the rotary to a new sports car back on the table.

Nissan IDx

There was a time when Nissan was the king of the affordable rear-drive coupe with the Silvia and its various rebadged offshoots, but that all ended in 2002 when the S15 left production with no direct replacement.

Hope was rekindled at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show though with the reveal of the Nissan IDx and a Nismo variant. Clearly inspired by the Nissan Bluebird (known to many parts of the world as the Datsun 510), Nissan didn’t confirm either car for production but many reports suggested a road-going variant would eventually arrive.

Yet, it didn’t. Partly because Nissan had nowhere to build it – given its Tochigi plant was busy with the 370Z and GT-R – and also because of fears that it’d cannibalise Z car sales with very little profit margin.

Volkswagen XL Sport

When the VW XL1 entered very limited production in 2013, the world got a magnificent piece of engineering, proving that it was possible to make a car that could travel 100km on one litre of diesel.

But it was slow, and when you think of a scissor-doored, mid-engined, carbon-tubbed car, most people want fast. That’s something VW clearly recognised when it revealed the XL Sport.

It looked an awful lot like the XL1 but wider, longer and altogether meaner. It also used a two-cylinder engine like its efficiency counterpart – albeit a 200bhp, 11,000rpm one from a Ducati 1199 Superleggera rather than a diesel.

Not a huge amount of power for a sports car, sure, but in a car that weighed 890kg it could’ve been a recipe for the ages. It seemed like production was very possible too, until a certain gate happened in September 2015 that meant VW had to put an end to big-money projects…

Porsche 919 Street

It’s been a long, long time since we last saw a road-going version of a top-class Le Mans car. Even with the new Hypercar regulations that were supposed to enforce homologation specials, although that will soon change when the Aston Martin Valkyrie takes to the WEC this season.

We could’ve been talking about one for the ages though had the Porsche 919 Street entered production. The LMP1 car won the 24 Hours of Le Mans three times, although it was so far removed from anything road-legal we never would’ve expected to see it take to the streets.

Porsche quietly toyed with the idea in 2017 though, and didn’t reveal that fact until it showed off a 1:1 clay model of the 919 Street in 2020. Unfortunately, its hybrid V4 powertrain was deemed too complex to put in a road car.

Opel GT

Here’s another ‘affordable, front-engined, rear-driven sports coupe from the 2010s that never made production’ to add to your list, and it’s far from the last on here.

This one was the Opel GT revealed in 2016, designed as both a modern-day tribute to its namesake and a throwback to the Opel Experimental GT concept from 1965.

It was powered by the same 1.0-litre turbocharged three-pot used in the then-current Corsa and Adam, albeit pushing out 143bhp. In a car weighing under a tonne as well, a production version could’ve been a wonderfully cheap sports car.

A road-going version was never ruled out but it’d have been a far cry visually from the concept, not least because of the red front tyres. Yet, with Groupe PSA (now Stellantis) buying the brand shortly after and a dwindling sports car market, it never seemed likely.

Toyota S-FR

Ah, we could’ve seen the twin tests across the front of magazines lined up in supermarkets a mile off had both the Opel GT and the Toyota S-FR made production.

Revealed a year ahead of the Opel, the Toyota S-FR came at a time when the Japanese brand was finally getting serious about making performance cars. The GT86 was in full swing, talks of a new Supra were on the cards and quietly brewing away were plans for Gazoo Racing to build road cars.

The S-FR was essentially the baby version of the GT86 – effectively the same concept, just scaled down and cartoonishly angry-looking. Power came from a 1.5-litre four-pot engine (according to Gran Turismo, anyway – Toyota never officially confirmed it) with around 130bhp, and in a car again weighing well under a tonne.

Rumours of production have since come and gone, although reports from Japan in 2024 suggested it may finally happen. Given Toyota is in the midst of making a new MR2 and supposedly a Celica, we wouldn’t put it past them. Just bring it to Europe, please.

Honda Sports EV

While not all hope for the Toyota S-FR is lost yet, we can pretty much wave goodbye to any chance of the Honda Sports EV entering production at this stage.

Following a month on from the Honda Urban EV Concept in 2017, which would eventually get a road-going version, the Sports EV was meant to bring the S600 to the modern age. It shared the front and rear lights with the retrotastic Urban EV but was attached to a two-door, two-seat sports car instead of a hatchback.

The Honda e entering production left us with some hope of the Sports EV following, and hopefully proving to us the days of the affordable sports car wouldn’t die as the world went electric. It hasn’t happened, though, and we’ll be surprised now if it ever does.

Jaguar C-X75

The story of the Jaguar C-X75 is probably one of the saddest ‘What ifs?’ in recent motoring history. Revealed in 2010, the original version of the C-X75 used four electric motors but utilised gas turbine engines alongside a 15kWh battery for power. The result? A healthy 769bhp and 1180lb ft of torque.

Production was announced in 2011, and Jaguar wanted to build 250 of them. Instead of the turbines, the C-X75 was to use a turbocharged engine alongside electric motors – creating what would’ve been the first hybrid supercar to make production.

Yet, the ongoing global recession would put a hold on those plans and we all thought that was that. Until the car then appeared in 2015’s James Bond film Spectre, leading us all to wonder if it’d happen again.

A few engineering prototypes did exist, and a road-legal one exists, but full-scale production has never happened. Original designer Ian Callum seems hellbent on making more happen though, with his self-titled design firm revealing another road-ready version last year.

Audi Quattro Concept

Given how much of a cultural impact the Audi Quattro has had, globally through Group B rallying and extremely nichely in the UK through Ashes to Ashes, it’s a surprise that the name hasn’t been revived for a model. Even if it laid name to the firm’s all-wheel drive system.

Audi has definitely thought about it, though. Revealed in 2010, the Audi Quattro Concept was revealed as a parts-bin special. It utilised a shortened RS5 chassis, the five-cylinder engine from a TT RS and enough interior bits from all of its other cars to make it seem feasible to build.

Indeed, the German manufacturer confirmed to Autocar that year it had plans for a small production run. Yet, by 2012, the increasing demand for SUVs meant Audi decided to invest its cash in a run of cash-milking, enthusiast-tut-inducing Q-badged cars. Sigh.

Kia GT4 Stinger

Oh, we know what you’re thinking. “Kia did build a Stinger, and in the 2010s, so what’s this doing here?”

Well, you’d be right but the Stinger that made production was a very different car to the concept we have here – even though just two years separated them. This, the GT4 Stinger, was envisioned as an affordable, two-door, rear-driven sports car. We told you more were coming, and we’ve delivered.

311bhp came from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-pot from the Optima, featured front- and rear double-wishbone suspension and weighed a respectable 1315kg. It was meant to be a proper driver’s car, although production wasn’t ever likely, truthfully.

We’re not really sure why the name then resurfaced for a four-door saloon car, although the GT S was a wonderful thing at least.