Sometimes a car company gets an idea that it truly believes will help advance the motor industry. Sometimes they have technical theories they want to prove. Sometimes they want to gauge customer reaction to an idea or a change of direction.

We take a look at some of the most luscious concept cars from years gone by, and wonder why we never got a chance to take them for a spin.

German brands are keen to play on their heritage, and BMW has created a string of ‘Hommage’ concepts that do little more than reference some of its most famous old models. This is the 328 Hommage, a 2011 tribute that marked the 75th anniversary of the original car.

Toyota’s Setsuna concept was never intended to reach production; this fun creation was actually revealed at Milan Design Week.

Lexus is chasing customer awareness in Europe, and its UK division decided to grab some headlines by commissioning an ice sculptor t make ice tyres for its NX crossover.

Toyota KIKAI, making its European debut at the Geneva motor show, has been designed to explore the fundamental appeal of machines: their intricacy, mechanical complexity and motion.

BMW’s GINA concept wasn’t meant to reach production – but its fabric ‘bodyshell’ showed how the company was planning to develop the metal surfaces of its production cars.

This is the Peugeot Exalt concept car – another confident sign from Peugeot it’s back to building handsome, desirable creations with some innovative tech to back up the fashion-show lines.

Renault’s vision of future back in 2006 was designed to play around with packaging but was never likely to reach showrooms.

Audi quattro concept was rumoured to be planned for production but since it appeared more than 5 year ago, its moment wouldn’t seem to have passed.

source:cnn