Year in review: top 10 concept cars of 2023, as selected by Wallpaper’s Jonathan Bell

The most intriguing concept cars of the year, from E Ink-skinned saloons to electric off-roaders and svelte supercars

BMW i Vision Dee Concept, a multicoloured addition to Jonathan Bell's top 10 concept cars of 2023
BMW i Vision Dee Concept
(Image credit: BMW)

Electrification has given car designers freer reign than ever before, telescoping the time required for a conceptual vision to reach the real road. That’s not to say there aren’t some things that are still truly out there, but our round-up of the top 10 concept cars of 2023 is most concerned with purist prequels that point to near-future transportation.

Top 10 concept cars of 2023


01. BMW i Vision Dee 

BMW i Vision Dee Concept

BMW i Vision Dee Concept

(Image credit: BMW)

We kick off with BMW’s polychromatic styling exercise. Under the colour shifting E Ink skin, the i Vision Dee previews the next generation of electric BMWs, along with its sister concept, the Vision Neue Klasse.

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02. Callum Skye

Callum Skye

Callum Skye

(Image credit: Callum)

Hoping to shape a new niche, Ian Callum’s Skye is a proposed electric off-roader for high days and holidays (and very large country estates), with road-going practicality and plenty of charm. 

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03. Mercedes CLA Concept

Mercedes-Benz CLA Concept

Mercedes CLA Concept

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz)

Mercedes had a couple of conceptual heavy hitters in 2023. We’re torn between the ‘new wedge’ form of the Mercedes-Benz Vision One-Eleven concept and the convincing simplicity of the Concept CLA Class, seen here. The latter is more likely to find its way to reality. 

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04. Pininfarina Pura

Pura Vision Concept

Pininfarina Pura

(Image credit: Automobili Pininfarina)

The company’s Battista is currently the hypercar to beat, but Pininfarina’s transition to full-scale luxury carmaker should be cemented by the imminent arrival of the Pura-inspired production car, a ‘luxury utility vehicle‘.   

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05. Lexus LF-ZC

Lexus LF-ZC

Lexus LF-ZC concept

(Image credit: Lexus)

Revealed at the Japan Mobility Show alongside the LF-ZL electric SUV, the Lexus LF-ZC was a fine indication of the brand's future electric design language, freed from the confines of ICE-derived proportions.

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06. Makkina Triumph TR25

Triumph TR25 concept by Makkina

Triumph TR25 concept by Makkina

(Image credit: Makkina)

We were very taken by this elegant one-off conceptual idea. Developed by the low-key but highly experienced London-based automotive consultancy Makkina to celebrate 25 years in the business, the little TR25 roadster was granted the rights to use the historic Triumph badge courtesy of the brand’s current owners, BMW. 

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07. Porsche Vision 357

Porsche Vision 357

Porsche Vision 357

(Image credit: Porsche)

Like Mercedes, Porsche also gave us a vision of an electric supercar, the dramatic Mission X. Fans of the brand should pay more attention to its other key 2023 reveal, the Vision 357. Celebrating 75 years of Porsche’s family of sports cars, the concept holds a clue to the forthcoming all-electric 718. 

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08. Audi Activesphere

Audi activesphere concept in snowy mountainous terrain with bike on back

Audi Activesphere

(Image credit: Audi)

One of a quartet of bold conceptual visions, the Audi Activesphere was designed in the company’s American design studio and intended as a fresh look at the crossover segment. Vast wheels and a flexible interior make this the thinking person’s Cybertruck. 

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09. Peugeot Inception

Peugeot Inception Concept Car, 2023

Peugeot Inception

(Image credit: Peugeot)

A riot of angles and razor-edged shapes, the Inception concept spliced the spirit of the 1970s with the zest of a Formula 1 car. The striking interior is even more angular than the bodywork.

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10. Nyobolt EV

Nyobolt EV by CALLUM / Julian Thomson

Nyobolt EV

(Image credit: CALLUM / Nyobolt)

Another product of the prolific Callum studio, the Nyobolt was built to showcase a new battery technology. Working alongside his former Jaguar colleague Julian Thomson (now at General Motors), the designers re-worked the classic Lotus Elise to create an electric sports car that could theoretically charge in just six minutes. 

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Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.