In today’s editorial that isn’t an editorial, I want to talk about missed opportunities. No, not that girl in school that could have been your first if you had your own car. I’m talking about a really cool concept that was never built.
Every year, at least one amazing supercar concept comes out. We hear all sorts of rumors and then nothing happens. The French are the best at this, because their road cars are positively awful, while the concepts are brilliant - Citroen, Peugeot, Renault and yes, even smart counts.
In 2012, Peugeot had the “Onyx”, which had copper wings and a powerful diesel engine. I bet none of the rumors about its production ever turn out to be true, but that doesn’t bother me. Copper is something you put on a building, and using recycled paper in a car is for hippies, not drivers.
My favorite French concept that will never be built is the Survolt, from 2010. It’s four years old and still better than anything Citroen has ever built. I know that making a sportscar like that costs billions, but it would have been such a head-turner, such a jaw-dropper. The corporate bosses probably looked at some numbers and thought it wasn’t worth it, but the GT-R isn’t either and Nissan would be nothing without it.
So what do you guys think, am I alone on this one? If one car could save Citroen, shouldn’t it be the Survolt?
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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