Compact Concept Cars From The Past
The notion of a concept car has been around for nearly a century; most gearheads and historians agree that the Buick Y-Job was the first concept car as we know it today. Showing up as a model intended to deliver a peek at new design and tech, it had the likes of hidden headlamps, wraparound bumpers, flush door handles - all things which were innovations at the time and indeed went on to show up on production cars for some spell.
As the calendar flipped into the 1990s, car manufacturers across the globe were busy continuing the tradition of churning out concept vehicles, bringing them to auto shows and other industry events. A world away in rural Canada, this author caught a look ones whose photos managed to make their way onto the pages of print magazines like Car and Driver.
[Images: Hyundai, Nissan, GM]
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Hyundai HCD-I
These days, Hyundai - and its Kia / Genesis extended family - is known for churning out great design. Machines like the new Palisade are striking while even bread-and-butter models like the Tucson are some of the best looking vehicles in their segments.
Hyundai HCD-I
But in the early ‘90s, this brand appeared with the HCD-I concept car, an open-top two-seater which was arguably aimed at the Mazda Miata. While the car itself was never produced, there’s an excellent case to be made that its design influences eventually went on to inform what would become the first Hyundai Tiburon.
Nissan IDx
Sometimes, though, car companies make concept cars which enthusiasts beg to have placed into production but for some reason or another - probably financial - the vehicle never sees the light of day in a showroom. One good example is the Nissan IDx.
Nissan IDx
That car appeared over 10 years ago now on the show circuit before being banished to the pages of history. Their just right proportions and riffs on classic Nissan/Datsun styling cues had some people murmuring about a spiritual successor to the 1992 Sentra SE-R. It wasn’t to be.
Chevrolet Code 130R
Nor were the Chevrolet Code 130R and Chevrolet Tru 140S concepts. Like the IDx, these cars were right sized for fun with pretty good proportions - especially the Code 130R. Both showed up side by each in 2012 at the North American International Auto Show and set the hearts of enthusiasts aflutter. The pert Code 130R was built with a rear-wheel drive platform in mind, with a turbocharged Ecotec up front and power sent to the back.
Chevrolet Code 130R
Despite bean counters killing the project (and a management team likely gunshy after the bankruptcy), Toyota went on to produce something very similar with the GR 86, proving it just takes having a gearhead at the helm - Akio Toyoda, in that case - to help push entertaining concepts to production.
