We’ve seen endless mid-engined show cars, but which one disappointed you most by never reaching production?
June 1, 2025 at 13:30
Concept cars come in multiple flavors. There are those that claim to be testing the water but are in fact developed after the production car, and then there are true design studies, outlandish vehicles that will never make production but whose designs contain multiple visual Easter eggs hinting at what an automaker’s real cars might look like five years down the road.
Also: GM’s Corvette Concept Pushes C9 Into Radical New Territory Without A V8
Between the two lie some incredible auto show supercars that could have made production, and often nearly did. But development of each stalled, usually due to budgetary or political reasons, leaving us to consider what might have been. Let’s remind ourselves of a few of the biggest culprits and you can add your own suggestions for biggest missed opportunities in the comments section below this post.
1980 ASTON MARTIN BULLDOG
- Tech: 5.3-liter V8, 600 hp (608 PS), RWD
Terminally cash-strapped Aston Martin planned to make up to 25 of its twin-turbo V8 wedges, the brand’s first supercar, but in the end only one was produced. Aston claimed a 200+mph (322 kmh) top speed but it took until 2023 for the restored car to prove it.
1985 NISSAN MID4
- Tech: 3.0-liter V6, 242 hp (245 PS), AWD
We’ve all heard the story about how Honda built a better Ferrari with the NSX, forcing the European supercar establishment to up its game. But if development of the 1985 MID4 (and 1987’s twin-turbo MID4 II) hadn’t been axed it would have been Nissan lapping up the applause.
1991 AUDI QUATTRO SPYDER
- Tech: 2.8-liter V6, 168 hp (170 PS), AWD
More than 3,000 people slapped down pre-order deposits for Audi’s planned successor to the rally-winning Quattro after it debuted at the 1991 Paris Motor Show. But production logistics niggles and fears over spiraling costs and the AWD supercar cannibalizing Porsche sales brought the axe down a year later.
1995 FORD GT90
- Tech: 5.9-liter V12, 720 hp (730 PS), RWD
When Ford showed the GT40 concept in 2002 (and then turned it into the production GT two years later), it felt like the updated 1960s style was the only natural design for a Ford supercar. Yet just a handful of years earlier the stillborn GT90 had presented a radically different take on the theme, sidestepping retro cues – which weren’t yet in vogue – for Ford’s triangle-obsessed New Edge language.
2002 CADILLAC CIEN
- Tech: 7.5-liter V12, 750 hp (760 PS), RWD
Cien is Spanish for 100, and this spectacular interpretation of Cadillac’s angular Art and Science design language was created to celebrate the brand’s centenary. But GM high-ups did seriously consider putting it into production until panic over the mismatch between a likely $200k+ retail price and Cadillac’s customer base led to the idea being shelved.
2004 CHRYSLER ME FOUR-TWELVE
- Tech: 6.0-liter V12, 850 hp (862 PS), RWD
The success of Ford’s reborn GT40 concept must have been a driving factor behind the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve that appeared two years later. The name decodes as mid-engined, four turbos, 12 cylinders, those cylinders coming from partner Mercedes, meaning this was no make-believe engine. But the Daimler-Chrysler marriage was breaking down and greenlighting a risky $500k supercar was too big a gamble.
2011 JAGUAR C-X75
- Tech: 1.6-liter 4cyl hybrid, 850 hp (862 PS), AWD
The C-X75’s nutty turbine-powered range extender powertrain was ditched for a more sensible 1.6-liter ICE motor and dual electric motors when Jaguar confirmed production plans for its first supercar in 20 years. But the main thing is, it was still coming. Except it never came.
Also: If You Could Have One Cadillac Concept Produced, Which Would It Be?
A handful of prototypes were built before the recession stopped play, although the C-X75 (or V8 stunt cars that looked like a C-X75) did get to show us what we were missing out on by appearing in 2015’s James Bond movie, Spectre. Two of those movie cars were recently adapted for road used by former Jag design boss, Ian Callum.
2020 Porsche 919 Street
- Tech: 2.0-liter V4, NA hp, AWD
Porsche dominated world endurance racing in the late 2010s with its 919 Hybrid and this 919 Street spinoff could have cleaned up on the road, but it wasn’t to be. Porsche design boss Michael Mauer claimed the complexity of the motorsport-derived V4 hybrid engine was the major roadblock preventing this 918 successor getting the nod.
Which Missed Supercar Still Haunts You?
We’ve looked at eight stillborn supercars, but there are plenty more two-seaters that have teased us and then left us hanging, including the Volkswagen W12, Lamborghini Cala, Yamaha OX-11 and Bentley Hunaudieres. Drop a comment below and tell us what you think was the biggest missed supercar opportunity.
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