It may have looked more than just a bit weird but the Capsula really pushed the boundaries when it came to packaging. Here was a car that could be a car, van or just about any other type of vehicle, just by plonking a different bodyshell onto the chassis that contained all of the Alfasud boxer engine and running gear.
MG E-XE (1985)
Perennially broke British Leyland/Austin Rover/MG Rover rarely created pricey concept cars, but this E-XE proved they could pull it off when they tried.
It clearly influences the MGF sports car that arrived a decade after the E-XE made its first appearance, complete with Metro 6R4 running gear. We reckon it still looks great today, not bad for an eighties concept aged 34.
GM CERV III (1990)
GM showed its first CERV (Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle) concept in 1962 and followed it up two years later. The third iteration was a very different beast and while it was a looker, it was the engineering that set it apart.
The car’s raison d’etre was to be capable of being driven at massive speeds – 200mph – without the need for super-human skills – even if driven on tricky or slippery surfaces. Its design language can clearly be seen in the Corvette C5 that arrived in 1997.
BMW E1 (1991)
The smallest cars are often the most innovative, and so it was here with a concept first seen in 1991 then reimagined for 1993. While the first iteration came with electric propulsion only, a redesign two years later led to three powertrains being engineered: petrol, electric and petrol-electric hybrid, and a lightweight aluminium bodyshell to cut weight.
This concept was important as it showed the world what a small BMW could look like, at a time when the company – like its main German rivals – were associated with conventional saloons.
It’s said that this car might have been made production had the company not instead bought Rover, and concluded it could do BMW’s small cars instead; that didn’t end well, but BMW did at least get Mini from its misadventure, which has flown the small car flag for the company since. We finally got a small BMW-badged car with the first 1 Series of 2004.
