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Five Supercar Concepts That Made the 2010s Gloriously Unreasonable

The 2010s were a strange, optimistic decade for supercar concepts. Automakers weren’t just chasing lap times or Nürburgring bragging rights—they were trying to predict the future, often with wildly ambitious tech, movie-car swagger, and just enough realism to make us believe production might actually happen. Most didn’t. All of them mattered.

Here are five supercar concepts from the 2010s that still live rent-free in our enthusiast brains.

01 Jaguar C-X75

The supercar that almost escaped the concept-car curse

When Jaguar rolled the C-X75 onto the Paris Motor Show stage in 2010, it didn’t just turn heads—it short-circuited them. Two diesel micro-turbines powering four electric motors? Sure, why not. Initially pitched as a design exercise, the C-X75 was so spectacular that Jaguar did the unthinkable and promised to build it.

Reality intervened. The turbine setup gave way to a more conventional 1.6-liter supercharged four-cylinder hybrid developed with Williams Advanced Engineering, and a limited run of 250 cars was planned. Five prototypes were built. One ended up terrorizing James Bond in Spectre. Then the global recession showed up and killed the project stone dead.

The C-X75 remains one of the greatest “what if?” cars of the modern era—a reminder that sometimes the hardest part of building a supercar isn’t engineering, but timing.

02 Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo

From PlayStation fantasy to real-world excess

The Vision Gran Turismo program gave designers a blank check, and Mercedes-AMG absolutely cashed it. Originally created for Gran Turismo 6, the AMG Vision Gran Turismo looked like a 300 SL that had spent too much time in the gym and discovered carbon fiber.

Then Mercedes built it. For real. Debuting at the 2013 LA Auto Show, the car featured gullwing doors, an aluminum spaceframe, carbon-fiber bodywork, and a frankly absurd eight exhaust outlets at the rear. Power came from a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 pushing 577 horsepower through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, all wrapped in a 1,385-kg package.

Only five examples exist, one of which appeared as Bruce Wayne’s automotive flex in Justice League. Add the Batmobile and, yes, that is a strong two-car garage.

03 Lamborghini Terzo Millennio

The concept car that sounded like science fiction—and meant it

Lamborghini has never been shy about drama, but the Terzo Millennio took things to another dimension. Developed with MIT in 2017, this electric concept wasn’t about specs—it was about rewriting the rules entirely.

The carbon-fiber body was designed to act as an energy storage system, woven with nanotechnology that could theoretically store electricity and even heal micro-cracks on its own. Instead of batteries, Lamborghini proposed supercapacitors. Instead of one or two motors, it envisioned four—one at each wheel. It even featured a “ghost” driving mode that could demonstrate the perfect racing line.

Was any of this realistic? Maybe not. Was it peak Lamborghini energy? Absolutely. The Terzo Millennio didn’t predict the future—it dared it to keep up.

04 Pininfarina H2 Speed

Hydrogen, but make it Italian

At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, Pininfarina quietly dropped a bombshell: the world’s first hydrogen-powered, track-only hypercar. The H2 Speed wasn’t just a styling exercise—it ran, drove, and made a serious case for hydrogen performance.

Two hydrogen tanks fed a pair of electric motors delivering 489 horsepower to the rear wheels, pushing the 1,420-kg car from 0–62 mph in 3.4 seconds and on to a claimed 186 mph. All of it was wrapped in a dramatic three-piece carbon-fiber body that looked every bit as fast as it claimed to be.

Pininfarina even teased a road-going version in 2018. Then, like many ambitious concepts before it, the H2 Speed faded into obscurity—aside from a cameo in Asphalt 9. Hydrogen may still be waiting for its moment.

05 Porsche 919 Street

Le Mans, but for license plates

When Porsche quietly revealed the 919 Street Concept in 2020, enthusiasts collectively leaned closer to their screens. Based directly on the Le Mans–winning 919 Hybrid, this wasn’t a styling tribute—it was nearly the real thing.

Underneath the body sat the race car’s carbon monocoque, suspension, and drivetrain, including a turbocharged V4 hybrid setup producing around 900 horsepower. Porsche genuinely studied the feasibility of putting it into limited production before deciding the complexity was simply too much.

The concept now lives in the Porsche Museum, a tantalizing reminder that Porsche came very close to building the most hardcore road car imaginable. Not long after, Porsche built something called the 963—and the idea of race tech trickling down suddenly didn’t feel so impossible after all.

The 2010s were a golden age of audacious supercar concepts—cars that weren’t afraid to be strange, complicated, or wildly optimistic. Some flirted with production, others existed purely to provoke, but all of them pushed the conversation forward.

Today’s hypercars are faster, smarter, and more electrified than ever. And they owe more than they’d like to admit to these beautifully impractical machines that dared to imagine the future first.

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Ringbrothers Just Redefined What a British Muscle Car Could Be

Ringbrothers has always operated in that sweet spot between genius and mild lunacy—the place where creativity flourishes because nobody stops to ask whether something is sensible. The Wisconsin-based brothers, Jim and Mike Ring, built their reputation turning American muscle cars into carbon-fiber fever dreams that somehow still drive like cars rather than science projects. They started with an autobody shop. They stayed with an autobody shop. And then, almost accidentally, they became the most interesting restomod builders on the planet.

So when one half of the duo showed up at The Quail during Monterey Car Week standing next to a radically reimagined Aston Martin DBS, it felt less like a left turn and more like destiny finally catching up.

Meet “Octavia.” No, not a Škoda—though apparently the name caused a mild tightening of legal neckties somewhere in Europe. This is Ringbrothers’ vision of what Aston Martin’s early-1970s DBS might have been if it were raised on cheeseburgers, superchargers, and a steady diet of American V-8 thunder.

“We’ve combined the ferocity of American muscle with the stiff upper lip of English sophistication,” Mike Ring says, deadpan but clearly delighted. “Octavia is beyond anything we’ve built before.”

That’s not marketing fluff. This thing is unhinged in the most deliberate way.

Googling Their Way to James Bond

The origin story is peak Ringbrothers. A local client—described as “super cool,” which in Ring-speak usually means extremely patient and financially brave—asked a simple question: What do you guys want to build?

The answer, apparently, came from a Google search.

“We literally Googled ‘European muscle car,’” Mike admits. “A DBS was at the top, and we’re like, yeah dude, we want to do James Bond.”

Within a week, the owner bought a non-running 1971 DBS off Bring a Trailer. Ringbrothers had never seen one in person. That didn’t slow them down. If anything, it emboldened them.

“They’re so flat-sided,” Mike says. “Straight away we knew we had to put some booty on the back.”

Carbon Fiber, Not Rivets

“Some booty” turned into ten inches of added width. The finished car measures a staggering 82 inches wide at the rear and 78 inches up front—roughly modern supercar territory and not far off a Lamborghini Revuelto for sheer presence.

The difference is execution. This isn’t a bolt-on widebody with exposed fasteners and wishful thinking. Every panel was designed in CAD and formed entirely in carbon fiber. The proportions stay intact, the surfacing flows, and the car somehow looks more Aston than the original while being dramatically more aggressive.

“It still looks balanced,” Mike says—and annoyingly, he’s right.

From CAD screen to finished car took roughly two and a half years, with about a year of actual assembly once parts began arriving. The original DBS shell didn’t survive in any recognizable sense. Ringbrothers stripped it down, bonded the body together, and turned what remained into—yes—a martini bar.

“It’s a James Bond thing,” Mike shrugs. “We got to serve martinis.”

Forget the Straight-Six

Purists, look away now.

Octavia does not run an Aston engine. Not even close. Early conversations with Aston Martin didn’t go anywhere—Ringbrothers is refreshingly candid about that—so they pivoted to what they know best.

Enter Ford’s 5.0-liter Coyote V-8, topped with a 2.65-liter supercharger and good for 805 horsepower. It’s bolted to a six-speed manual gearbox and sends power exclusively to the rear wheels, because of course it does.

“The last thing we want to do is build something we can’t make run,” Mike says. “We’re not engineers.”

That statement becomes increasingly hilarious the longer you look at the rest of the car.

The drivetrain lives in a bespoke chassis with the wheelbase stretched by 76 millimeters. A full structural roll cage is integrated into the body. There’s independent rear suspension, C7 Corvette sway bars, Fox Racing dampers, and Brembo brakes. This is not a hot rod pretending to be a grand tourer—it’s a genuinely serious piece of hardware wearing a Savile Row suit.

Coke-Bottle Bond Villain Energy

The design work was led by Gary Ragle, with what Ringbrothers describes as “echoes” of William Towns’ original DBS shape buried in the final form. The goal was “Coke-bottle curvature,” and they nailed it. The car looks taut, muscular, and vaguely menacing, like a Bond villain’s personal transport after an intense off-screen gym montage.

Inside, the madness continues—tastefully. Carbon fiber, stainless steel, and leather dominate, with subtle (and not-so-subtle) nods to 007 lore. The standout? A dipstick handle shaped like a martini glass. Shaken, presumably, not stirred.

The Cost of Doing It Because You Want To

As for the price, Mike won’t give a number. Not because he’s being coy—but because he genuinely doesn’t seem to know.

“We’re trying to sell another one so we can spread the cost a bit,” he says. “It was quite expensive.”

That might be the understatement of the week. The raw stainless steel for the exhaust tips alone cost $1,000. A first quote for four pieces of glass came in at $92,000. That’s not a typo.

Still, Ringbrothers isn’t interested in efficiency, scalability, or anything else you’d find in a business-school case study.

“If I had to build the same car over and over, I wouldn’t be doing it,” Mike says. “I’d lose interest. If it was all about money, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.”

Why Ringbrothers Matters

That’s the secret sauce. Ringbrothers doesn’t chase trends or algorithms or easy wins. They chase curiosity. Every project is an extension of their taste, their humor, and their willingness to learn by doing—sometimes publicly, sometimes expensively.

Mike doesn’t see himself as an artist. He sees himself as lucky. Lucky to work with his wife. Lucky that his son is now involved in the machining side. Lucky to keep building cars simply because he wants to.

“I don’t want to retire,” he says. “This is what I’d do if I was retired.”

Octavia isn’t just a spectacular Aston Martin restomod. It’s a manifesto—proof that the best automotive creations still come from people who care more about having fun than getting rich.

They’re not curing cancer, as Mike puts it. They’re just building ridiculously cool cars.

And honestly? The world needs more of that.

Source: TopGear

NEW CARS

Renault Filante: A Shooting Star Aimed Beyond Europe

Renault is dusting off one of its most evocative names—and aiming it well beyond its usual orbit. The French brand will soon reveal a new flagship crossover called Filante, a high-end, range-topping model designed not for Europe, but for the global markets where Renault believes the real money will be made over the next decade.

The name Filante, French for “shooting star,” is more than just poetic flair. It signals Renault’s intent to go big, bold, and premium as it retools its international lineup. When the covers come off next Tuesday, January 13, Filante will stand as the most exclusive vehicle in Renault’s global portfolio—and a clear statement that the brand wants a larger slice of the high-margin SUV pie outside its home turf.

A Global Flagship, Not a European One

If you’re reading this from London or Paris, don’t get your hopes up. Filante isn’t coming to the UK, and it’s not aimed at Europe at all. Instead, it’s a cornerstone of Renault’s “international game plan,” a strategy unveiled in 2023 by CEO Fabrice Cambolive that commits roughly £2.6 billion to launching eight new models outside Europe by 2027. The goal, as Renault bluntly put it, is to “position the brand in the segments creating most value.”

Translation: bigger cars, higher prices, and customers who still want roomy crossovers with a premium sheen.

Filante will be the fifth of those eight models—and the halo car of the bunch. Renault describes it as an E-segment vehicle, meaning it will sit above anything currently sold by the brand in Europe. Expect a footprint of roughly five meters in length, placing it firmly in the full-size crossover category, where presence matters almost as much as spec sheets.

Built in Busan, with Help from Geely

Production will take place at Renault’s plant in Busan, South Korea, initially for the local market before exports begin to other regions. Filante will share the production line—and much of its DNA—with the third-generation Renault Koleos, but don’t mistake this for a simple badge-and-trim exercise.

Under the skin, Filante is expected to ride on a Geely-developed platform and use a shared hybrid powertrain, reflecting Renault’s expanding strategic partnership with the Chinese automotive giant. It’s a pragmatic move: Geely’s architectures are modern, flexible, and already engineered for the kind of electrified drivetrains global regulations increasingly demand.

For Renault, it’s also a way to scale up quickly without reinventing the wheel—or the battery pack.

A Name with History (and Ambition)

The Filante name isn’t new, and Renault knows exactly what it’s doing by reviving it. Most recently, it was attached to a radical, aerodynamic concept car that reportedly covered 626 miles on a single charge at motorway speeds, using an 87-kWh battery borrowed from the Scenic E-Tech. That concept, in turn, drew inspiration from the original Renault Filante of 1956, a single-seat, record-chasing machine built with one purpose: efficiency through extreme design.

No one expects the production Filante crossover to look like a jet-powered teardrop, but the name carries connotations Renault is keen to exploit—speed, distance, and a sense of effortless motion.

According to Renault naming manager Sylvia dos Santos, Filante “instantly alludes to shooting stars, outer space and journeys,” adding that these themes “beautifully reflect our vehicle’s stately design.” That choice of words—stately—is telling. This won’t be a sporty hot rod; it’s a long-distance cruiser meant to project calm authority and premium confidence.

Renault, Aiming Higher

Filante represents a quiet but significant shift for Renault. In Europe, the brand has leaned into compact EVs, value-focused hybrids, and retro-inspired charm. Outside Europe, the gloves come off. Here, Renault wants size, luxury, and the kind of perceived prestige that allows for healthier margins.

Whether Filante can deliver on that ambition remains to be seen, but on paper, the ingredients are there: a large footprint, shared high-tech underpinnings, electrified power, and a name that carries both heritage and aspiration.

Renault isn’t just chasing shooting stars—it’s betting that, in the right markets, this one will land squarely on target.

Source: Renault

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