Sometimes your wallet won’t stretch to purchasing your dream motor. But don’t worry too much, there are some cars that even the biggest bank balances can’t buy, the dream cars that will forever remain a dream. These are the concept cars that never go into production.
BMW Turbo
Designed by legendary French designer Paul Bracq, who had cut his teeth at Citroen and Mercedes before joining BMW in 1970, the Turbo concept was created to celebrate the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
With gullwing doors, the Turbo was based on a modified 2002 chassis, the sports sedan which had been popular for the German manufacturer since 1962 and to complement those futuristic doors, the Turbo also came with a mid-mounted engine, which was popular with a host of supercars of the era.
As to be expected from a concept which was designed to stay long in the memory, the Turbo featured a host of innovative features and while the chassis was similar to the 2002, the engine had been beefed up to a 276hp turbocharged version. The Turbo also came with foam-filled front and rear sections which effectively replaced the old style bumpers and were included to absorb any potential impact, side-impact beams and a futuristic radar system which judged the distance of vehicles and objects in front of it to measure braking distance.
With a top speed of 155mph, the BMW Turbo certainly lived up to its name, reaching 62mph in just 6.6 seconds.
The wedge style design would have worried the Italians across the Alps had BMW ever had plans to put the Turbo into full production, however Bracq’s brief was to produce a design study which would give impetus to the BMW M1 and the first generation of the 8 series.
The BMW Turbo was possibly Bracq’s finest moment at BMW, he pulled the company out of the doldrums of the 1960s with his vision for the 7 Series, but was on his way to Peugeot by 1974. The Turbo was recognised as the Concept Car of the Year on its launch in 1972 and of the two vehicles that were produced one was for road use and the other for display purposes.