Prototypes & individual pieces
Too expensive, too ugly, too dangerous: these cars were more of no use
Whether nuclear reactor or clumsy toilet: there is little in the world of automobiles that did not yet exist. star shows which “innovations” never made it into series.
Before a vehicle goes into series production, research is carried out. Does the concept work? Does anyone want that? Is it economical? Is it realistic at all? These and more questions can be answered with concepts and prototypes. Sometimes almost finished cars come out, sometimes it stays with a wild idea – and sometimes it is only enough for a single piece.
Atom or electricity?
It can have many reasons why a car does not bring it to series production. In the fifties, it was considered whether you should not replace the combustion engine with a nuclear reactor – and collected ideas on how to build such a car. On paper, this also sounded like a revolution: the French Simca Fulgur should drive 5000 kilometers per reactor’s filling, Ford even spoke of 8000 kilometers for the nucleon – without exhaust gases. What nuclear cars ultimately failed – there will have been many reasons. In any case, it did not make a concept onto the street.
BMW, on the other hand, showed that advanced drives can be just a little too early. With the E1, the company presented a purebred electric car at the beginning of the nineties that would have been a real alternative for cities with a targeted range of 200 kilometers. BMW wrote on an IAA information sheet in 1993: “If the market also confirms this conception, the study could become tangible reality in the near future,” recalls the “”. The market – and rather BMW – did not confirm. It was only in 2013 that it was returned with an electric car – the i3.
Economic developments often also ensure early funding of new ideas. For example at the Audi Avus, the unofficial predecessor of the Audi R8. The super sports car probably failed because Audi had different concerns in the nineties than the construction of a record -breaking super sports car.
It is not always unfortunate that certain things have not found the way into road traffic. The best example is the Rolls-Royce clumsy toilet in the Silver Wraith of the American industrialist Joseph J. Maschuch. It is not documented whether he has ever really used the individual production, but the idea is enough to wrinkle his nose. Because the golden bowl had no rinsing on board, but only opened a flap that winded the contents on the spot.
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Source: Stern
I’m a recent graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism. I started working as a news reporter for 24 Hours World about two years ago, and I’ve been writing articles ever since. My main focus is automotive news, but I’ve also written about politics, lifestyle, and entertainment.
