What's Your Favorite Failed Concept Car?

Photo: Subaru

We love concept cars. Flashy designs, out-there tech, things that won’t show up on production cars for years — hook them into our veins. But, sadly, sometimes those fancy concepts don’t just take years to hit production — sometimes, they never get there at all.

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Today, we’re asking for your favorite concept cars that never made it. Whether they were scrapped, quietly abandoned, or just never quite looked like their eventual production forms, what’s your favorite concept car that didn’t pan out?

Photo: Subaru

My pick this time is an odd one: The 2014 Subaru WRX Concept. Now, as you may be aware, Subaru did make a 2014 WRX. In fact, it looked much like this original concept. Yet, somewhere along the way, much of this concept’s unique character was… diluted. Take a look.

Photo: Subaru

The broad strokes are there! There are door, windows, wheels. Even the front grilles aren’t dissimilar in shape. The rest of the car, though, looks only vaguely like the style and sleekness of the initial concept. Details like those gorgeous headlights, the massive wheel arches, all just disappeared.

Some of those elements got a little closer to production in the current-generation WRX. That 2014 concept had such detailed lighting elements, and now parts of their look — the body color poking into the headlight, the texture on the tail — are possible in production.

That’s my pick for the best concept we never truly got, but what’s yours? Leave your answers in the comments below, and we’ll select our favorites later in the week.