What’s the greatest car that never was?

"marshknute" (marshknute) 02/21/2020 at 14:17 • Filed to: None

2

50

I nominate the VW Golf GTI W12 650. A twin-turbo, 6.0L W12, mid-engine, RWD hot hatch with a roof scoop.

It had as much horsepower as a Ferrari Enzo, and more horsepower than a Murcielago LP640, Carrera GT, and Zonda F. In a Golf. Absolutely insane...even by the standards of today’s Horsepower Wars.

i86hotdogs > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:23

3

Honestly, I wish the Dart and 200 succeeded. It eventually would iron the kinks out, and there were rumors for SRT variants. Even if there was no turbo SRT Dart, a stick and a modified Pentastar would be a popular Dart. 

benjrblant > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:27

2

I suppose it depends on how you define “greatness,” but it feels like we’ve had a lot of promising concepts that didn’t pan out. Nissan IDx, Honda e, Volvo concept estate. Just a few on my mind.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > i86hotdogs 02/21/2020 at 14:28

1

An AWD SRT Dart would have made waves. I remember for awhile there was a Dart in World Rally X, and wondering why the hell it existed when they don’t even sell a performance variant of the  Dart.

phenotyp > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:29

7

Well.

There was this.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:30

14

Not the Greatest but the IDX, and SFR  are too in sad never came to reality.

UserNotFound > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:32

15

I’m going to stick with VAG and nominate the VW XL Sport, another casualty of Dieselgate.

They took an SL1, removed all pretenses of greenness, and stuffed an 11k RPM, 197 hp Ducati motor in there, bringing the weight to a svelte 1,962 lbs. Just LOOK AT IT. I would daily drive this.

MonkeePuzzle > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:33

6

the golf’s undrivea bility is absolutely irrelevant!

but it is fun to watch Jezza struggle with it

atfsgeoff > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:34

2

Easy

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:35

2

All of them. They’re all good cars, B ront.

MonkeePuzzle > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:37

4

there was a twin engined version of the smart roadster, with an engine in front and one in the rear, was there not?

but perhaps I’m wrong, becuase all I can find is info about a twin-turbo one. which is sad.

Jim Spanfeller > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:38

4

The Studebaker Lark R3. It’s the coolest factory sleeper supercar nobody’s ever heard of. It was fully intended to enter production and could’ve made Studebaker one of the biggest players in the early days of the muscle car, but changes in management happened and the new guy in charge was a killjoy who decided Studebaker was a lost cause and cancelled all fun projects, forcing Studebaker to make only Wagonaires until 1966, when he sold off all the company’s assets. It was in production so briefly that only one person was able to order one in time, so only that one man’s car was produced and sold. I’m planning on making a more in-depth post about this car later, but it gets my vote for the best car that never was. It could’ve saved Studebaker, but it never got the chance.

slipperysallylikespenguins > benjrblant 02/21/2020 at 14:40

0

The Honda E made it to production, although not quite the same as the concept.

OPPOsaurus WRX > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:41

2

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:49

2

I feel like saying a concept car is a “car that never was” is a bit of a stretch since it was obvious that there would be issues just dropping a W12 in themiddle of a FWD platform.

Using the interpretation of “a car they were about to build but then didn’t”, I have two.

1) 1964 Pontiac Banshee - Th ey had everything lined up, including the drivetrain and suspension components to be shared, and pulled out juuuuuust before final approvals and ordering tooling for it. A handful of roadgoing versions were made, and some even had the much more tame inline 6, to show that they intended this to be sold in some volume, and not just as a niche product.

2) Ch evrolet Lumina V8 sedan/ V8 Beretta - Soooooooo GM in the early 90s did a LOT of cocaine for a few years there after axing the Fiero and the Grand National. Looking for some ways to have a performance leg up on the competition, they started sticking V8s in everything. They added a V8 to the Beretta, called it the “Feretta”, and spent a year or two skirting the idea of getting it into production. An d this was further supported by them testing a V8, AWD Lumina sedan at the same time. Imagine rolling up to a stoplight in your new Audi V8 Quattro only for some chungus who works for the office supply store to stride aside you in his Lumina.....that also has a V8 and AWD....

Sadly, neither model made it to production. A LOT of work went into these cars. But it was also at that time that GM was spending money on the Saturn project as well as the EV1. So I think it just wan’t the right timing to finalize the upgrades needed for what would probably be minimal sales.

Shift24 > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:49

3

Cadillac Sixteen - Remember this was a concept from 2003 and was in couple movies dated in the future (Click and Real Steel)

Runner up - Cadillac Escala

slipperysallylikespenguins > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:50

2

I don’t know about the greatest but I like this one. Jeep Freedom Concept.

Arrivederci > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 14:53

13

Cadillac Elmiraj. It was the posterchild for what Cadillac can and should be. Aspirational, an undeniably American presence and the literal standard of the world instead of just a tagline.  Also, an actual name instead of alphbet soup . I’ll take one with a Blackwing please.

PowderHound > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 15:01

4

Prodrive P2

wafflesnfalafel > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 15:02

0

C ompletely agree - loved that car. The exterior mods to make it work just made it even cooler. I wish they’d been able to graft in AWD - woulda made 0-60 in NOW, and probably a little less touchy in the corners...

My bird IS the word > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 15:07

1

Alfa romero schighera: 400 hp twin turbo v6, awd.

Almost had legit limited production accordink to wikipedia

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/21/2020 at 15:10

1

I love the IDx and wish it had made it to production. :(

jimz > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 15:34

1

The Ford Interceptor (2007):

Even once it was “watered down” to be production feasible, it would have looked pretty good. Even today that styling would still fit in Ford’s lineup.

The Continental (2002):

Too bad Lincoln had changed their styling theme twice by the time the actual Continental arrived. All it ended up doing was influencing the styling of the 1st-gen Zephyr/MKZ and MKX. 

jimz > Arrivederci 02/21/2020 at 15:38

3

Funny, isn’t it?  Caddy doubles down on alphanumeric model IDs while Lincoln goes back to names, and look where each brand is headed. 

TrickJos > Arrivederci 02/21/2020 at 15:47

1

This was the first thing I thought of.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 02/21/2020 at 15:47

1

The V8 Beretta, and I would assume it’s Grand Prix counterpart would have sold like hot cakes, then they’d make cool LeMons cars now   

Chinny Raccoon > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 15:50

1

How about a spaceframe Defender? Riveted and glued aluminium- much like the current JLR models. Much more aerodynamic and capable of 0-60 in under 9 seconds.

With the upheval of the 90s on the Rover group, this never got the funding to progress beyond the prototype cars, but given the existing models looked like they were knocked together in a shed it looks close to what could have been done in production.

Of course, the BL/Rover family is no stranger to concepts that looked great in hindsight.

Khalbali > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/21/2020 at 15:56

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I would legit buy an sfr this year if they made it, I'm just tired of miatas lol.

Long_Voyager94 > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 15:59

0

As much as I hate the Pacifica, a Hellcat might win me over:

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/21/2020 at 16:09

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I think they would’ve sold decently enough, but it was a matter of limited resources to finish a lot of other projects. Plus the W-body chassis program had just sucked up a lot of cash, so how much more would you really want to spend on it?

I’ll also say that there was one motor in particular that made this project seem pointless - the supercharged 3800 was already making 240hp and almost 300 lb/ft in Series I guise. Series II was just around the corner and would push it even further. So why worry about the V8s when a V6 would fit better, give better fuel economy, and be cheaper to produce? So they ended the V8 program for the cars and instead shoved a supercharged V6 into everything.

Chariotoflove > Arrivederci 02/21/2020 at 16:10

1

So much this.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Snuze: Needs another Swede 02/21/2020 at 16:10

2

Yeah it’s baffles me that no one makes an MX5 competitor. 

RallyWrench > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 16:11

1

The M8 figures high on the list...

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 16:20

1

Obviously the Dornier Delta...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mrscharroo/7836899152

interstate366, now In The Industry > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 16:27

1

The FR V10 NSX that was cancelled around 2009.

It eventually made it into Super GT with a V8, but by then the current NSX development was already underway.

BeaterGT > UserNotFound 02/21/2020 at 16:33

0

It's at the Petersen fwiw

Noodles > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 16:44

1

Nardo W12 roadster.

Or the Air Rover 90.  https://liveandletdiecast.kinja.com/the-1985-air-rover-90-1837280563

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 17:08

0

“It’s  like marrying a super model, and the best thing about her is she looks like a traffic warden!

If you want a slow car that looks like a Golf, buy a Golf.”

Clarkson on the GTI W12

Ermahgerd! > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 17:17

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They teased us with a new Au di Quattro once:

Snuze: Needs another Swede > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 17:18

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Hard to say this one is the best, but I was certainly disappointed that it didn’t make it.

It was small, rwd, offered a manual transmission. It was supposed to get the Cruze 1.4T + a light hybrid system, totaling up to around 200 HP and increasing fuel economy. I would have held out for the 262 HP SS verison. I think it could have been the BRZ/FR-S people wanted .

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 18:04

1

My initial vote was the Saab EV-1, because as a kid I thought it was pretty awesome. 285 HP out of the classic Saab 16-valve Turbo engine... neat. But i will say the design hasn’t aged well.

So instead I’ll nominate the Saab PhoeniX, which I only just learned was a thing. The engine was a little meh, but the styling made up for it.

smobgirl > marshknute 02/21/2020 at 18:52

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Not the greatest for sure, but the one I most want to own.

Edgyhal94 > Chinny Raccoon 02/21/2020 at 18:57

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That Defender update would of been nice, as it would of meant the Defender developed over time, like the Range Rover or Discovery (well if we don’t count the Disco 5...) rather than having about 30 years of technical innovation and about three platform changes and skipped straight  to the new one. Apparently the Freelander killed that Defender, but it did also give LR a very good selling car that definitely was worth it.

cmill189 - sans Volvo > OPPOsaurus WRX 02/21/2020 at 20:16

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They'll always live on in my Need for Speed II memories. 

Speed > MonkeePuzzle 02/21/2020 at 20:38

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Not the same, but I saw this SMART based build on Speedhunters today.  http://www.speedhunters.com/2020/02/carbon-bodied-smart-roadster-built-for-snow-drifting/

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > marshknute 02/22/2020 at 00:16

2

VW bluesport/Audi r4/Porsche 914  killed with the 2008 collapse.

Tapas > marshknute 02/22/2020 at 02:40

1

Yes! I loved this when it was made!

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 02/22/2020 at 11:08

0

EL_ULY > RallyWrench 02/22/2020 at 13:14

0

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!

OPPOsaurus WRX > cmill189 - sans Volvo 02/22/2020 at 16:14

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Right? Such a good game.

Mercedes Streeter > MonkeePuzzle 02/22/2020 at 20:46

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There was a twin engine A-Class, but there was no twin engine Roadster.

Maybe you're thinking about the Brabus V6 BiTurbo. For that car they welded two of the standard engines together, making a W6 with two turbos. 9 were built.