Also known as a show vehicle, concept vehicle or prototype, a concept car refers to a car that is manufactured to showcase new technology and/or styling. They are normally displayed at motor vehicle shows to measure customer reaction to present- day and radical designs that can or cannot be mass- produced. Concept vehicles do not go directly into production. They are required to undergo several changes prior to finalizing the design for the purpose of practicality, compliance, cost, regulatory, and safety.
How Concept Cars are Designed
Concept vehicles are normally radical in design and engine. Some of them use expensive, exotic, or non- traditional materials, ranging from carbon fiber to paper to refined alloys. There are others which also have unique layouts like five or more wheels, gull wing doors, or special capabilities not normally found on normal cars.
Reasons Why Concept Vehicles are Often Made
While concept vehicles themselves might not make their way to the market, they are meant to offer the fundamental DNA for vehicles to come. Here are some of the reasons why automakers make them:
#1: Showcasing Technology Automakers make concept vehicles as way of showing off a new technology they opt to reveal. These experts prefer to show off their new automation by making a concept model since they believe adding that new technology in regular vehicles will not get enough attention.
#2: Testing the Waters An automaker can also build a concept vehicle and put it on display in order to find out whether potential clients will like it and desire to purchase it or not. The way potential customers react to a concept item hugely assists in fine tuning the product prior to launching it in the future. Concept cars allow vehicle manufacturers to also test different kinds of technologies which they are planning to utilize in the future.
How much it can Cost an Automaker to Make a Concept Vehicle
Though scale- model concept cars might cost less than 100,000 dollars to make, the cost involved to develop a full- sized concept vehicle for major automakers generally is above 100,000 dollars and can even be greater than 300,000 dollars with much of this cash being used as salary for the various highly- skilled designers being utilized.
Bottom Line
By making concept cars as a way to showcase the importance of new- age technology, automakers are able to make vehicle enthusiasts be more knowledgeable and informed about what to expect in the future.
