These three cars were too advanced for their time
Despite being innovative and quirky, these cool cars were soon forgotten.
Every once in a while, manufacturers from around the world come up with an idea. Something interesting. Something unique. Something inspiring. Yet, when put onto the road, many are soon forgotten by boring people, who dismiss these ideas as pointless. Here are three such cars.
Image Credit: Motoring Research
Audi A2
This quirky compact made its debut in 1999, just two years after the similarly-styled AI2 Concept was unveiled at Frankfurt. The long, rounded 5-door hatchback body gave it an impressive drag coefficient of 0.29Cd, which - when paired with lightweight aluminium construction and an efficient array of engines - made the A2 a very economical car.
Image Credit: RAC
When compared with your average 2000s supermini, the Audi A2 was much better at preserving fuel, whilst retaining a very spacious interior and a punchy 3-cylinder diesel or 4-cylinder petrol engine. However, the price of building this aluminium-clad oddity made this fantastic car into a failure, which is why most examples are sold for only about £1000. What a bargain.
Image Credit: Honda
Honda Insight
The Honda Insight was the first hybrid vehicle to grace the shores of North America, arriving seven months before the wildly successful, but much more mundane Toyota Prius. This subcompact 2-seater was based on the Civic, with a mostly restyled body to minimise drag. In fact, with a drag coefficient of 0.25Cd, it was the most streamlined production car on the road.
Image Credit: AutoEvolution
Under the skin, the Insight was unlike any other car. Aluminium construction kept the weight under 900 kilograms. The 1-litre 3-cylinder engine runs with an air-to-fuel mixture of 25.8 to 1, making it very efficient, and its power is aided by an electric motor. Although Honda used this innovative car as a 'real world test car for hybrid technology', it could have been so much more.
Image Credit: Parkers
Renault Avantime
What happens when you try to turn an ordinary MPV into a grand touring coupe? Here's the Renault Avantime. With the strong partnership between Renault and Matra leading to the creation of the beloved Espace, it was only natural that they did something new. This car used many design elements of your typical MPV, and combined it with the styling of a 2-door coupe.
Image Credit: Car & Classic
The Avantime was a strange, space-age vehicle like nothing else on the road. It could seat four people with ease, giving lots of interior room for the passengers. There were many more fun features, like the 'grand air' mode, which opened all the windows at once, but sadly, it suffered from very poor sales because of its strange design, despite what an amazing car this was.
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Comments (32)
Renault could release the Avantime tomorrow with dual electric motors and most people would assume it's a brand new design 😂🤣
They could probably pull it off with such an amazing design!
I always thought the Avantime was pretty cool.
Me too 😎
Me three, was working in the motor trade when it was released and my mate from Renault brought one round to show us and it was cool as F. Do you know what I’m going to look to see if any are for sale right now
I bought an A2 when they first came out, loved it so much I had to buy another 16 years later.
Nice! How is it to own and drive? (Thinking of getting one for my first car)
Brilliant although I have a good one. If you find a good on you’ll have a virtually depreciation free car that’s cheap to run and will never rust.
Sorry to say, but these look hideous. Good article though.
Thanks, I guess some people have mixed opinions on the design of these particular cars.
I see that. I don't mean that they are bad in any way, it's just not my taste
I thought these were all AWFUL!
Maybe that’s why they didn’t sell too well. Lots of people didn’t like these cars, which was probably part of the reason they failed.