WHEN INNOVATION DEFIED CONVENTION: TEN CARS THAT BROKE THE MOLD

It would not be easy to make any short, definitive list of the most innovative cars from the past since there have been many models and ideas that were forward-thinking. Below is a selection of just a few cars from the 50s to today that were in some way avant-garde, ambitious, pushed boundaries, or previewed what was to come later. Automotive design evolves slowly, yet some innovations occur from time to time that shake things up - turbochargers, for example.

Some manufacturers chose to fit cars with engines that pushed the envelope - the Cadillac V16 for example. Or the Audi V12 TDI. Other designs focus on efficiency and harnessing the power of hydrogen. We looked at both production cars and concepts from the past to see if some lesser-known or underappreciated models left their mark on history, influencing the future in ways that were maybe not clear at the time.

1949 Oldsmobile 'Futuramic' Rocket 88

Average Used Value: $18,100

Specs

Oldsmobile released the 88 series in 1949 and this middle-tier model line sat above the six-cylinder Oldsmobile 76 but below the flagship 98. It was available as a coupe, sedan, or wagon. Thanks to its weight advantage over the larger 98 and the new Rocket V8 engine under its hood, it became quickly known as a fast car.

It became a racing favorite and Rocket 88 coupes won five of eight races on the schedule in the first year of the NASCAR Strictly Stock Division. It is widely believed that the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 was the first muscle car and, at the very least, it set the stage for what would come later, culminating in the golden age of the muscle car in the 60s/70s.

1956 BMW Isetta 300

Average Used Value: $34,400

Specs

There have been many innovative designs that tried to encapsulate what the ideal personal transport device could look like, fusing a compact, affordable body with a small efficient engine. The Austin Mini, the Reliant Rialto, and the Fiat 126. Even smaller cars such as the Peel P50 have been built to take the small car idea to the farthest degree possible. BMW's Isetta was similar to the Iso Isetta which came before it; BMW bought the rights to the model in 1954, just a year after Iso had revealed this quirky design to the public. It was small, powered by a twin-cylinder and later, a single-cylinder motorcycle engine.

The front opened like a refrigerator to allow access to the cabin. If you're wondering, the steering wheel hinged outwards with the door. The BMW Isetta received various upgrades, such as a more powerful engine, but the standard 300 only made up to 13 horsepower, so you had to plan for inclines like hills. A three-wheel version was also sold, but the standard model was a four-wheeler, with around 20 inches between the rear wheels.

1960 Chevrolet Corvair Monza 900

Average Used Value: $8,200

Specs

Another forward-thinking car, the Chevy Corvair was short-lived and its rear-engine, rear-wheel drive format didn't catch on. The engine in the back was inspired by the Volkswagen Beetle and provided few benefits aside from increased cabin space, but the Corvair enjoyed some success thanks to its style, features, and performance.

Built in a variety of body styles and trims, the Corvair blueprint was supposed to inject GM's affordable car with European qualities and one thing it did bring to the table was its optional turbocharged engine - one of the first uses of this tech in a production car, second only to Oldsmobile's Turbo Jetfire. The Corvair lived from 1960-1969 until slow sales, lackluster marketing and some negative press about its suspension setup caused it all to come to an end. It stood out from the crowd for its optional turbocharged engine and rebellious engineering.

1963 Chrysler Turbine Car

Average Used Value: N/A

Specs

Chrysler's '60s concept is full of the buzz of the space race and post-war optimism, a car that the brand really wanted to get off the ground. Rather, the engine under the hood, which despite its usual applications, was not designed to work like a typical jet engine. It sent its power to the rear wheels via a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission.

The reason for the interest in turbines was the reduced weight and complexity, as well as the engine's ability to run on various fuels - it's commonly cited that the Chrysler Turbine Car could be made to run on peanut oil or even Chanel No. 5. 50 examples were sent out for testing with selected members of the public and the feedback was good, but the price ($10,000, or about three times the going rate of a mid-sized car from the period) made the project unviable. Jay Leno has one of the nine examples saved from the scrap heap, with the rest in museums or with Chrysler.

1981 DMC Delorean

Average Used Value: $52,300

Specs

Another car that did make production, but was beset by a multitude of problems was the 1981-1983 DMC DeLorean, sometimes called the DMC-12. Famous for its role in the Back To The Future movie franchise, there's no denying the striking looks and out-of-the-box thinking that was leveraged by John DeLorean and his engineers.

DeLorean played a key role at Pontiac and Chevrolet during his career, later starting DMC and choosing to build a sports car in Ireland thanks to the UK's promise to fund a huge part of the project in return for the creation of many jobs. Unpainted stainless steel body panels, a rear-engine design, input from Lotus, and gullwing doors were all commendable ideas. Unfortunately, there were issues with build quality and quality control, performance was subpar for all the car's exotic design, delays were inevitable, and pricing was too high.

Peugeot 205 GTI

Average Used Value: $14,400 (Classic.com, all years)

Specs

The Peugeot 205 GTI is commonly held as responsible for creating the hot hatch category, and it did show how much could be done with a modest city car and a few tweaks. Peugeot's bland hatch was itself an important car, but the performance-focused GTI that was released in 1984 helped to solidify a niche that continues today. Despite its modest engine, the GTI provided thrills and performance thanks to its low weight (under 2,000 pounds) and handling, courtesy of a lowered, stiffer suspension with new wishbones and a new sway bar.

Aesthetically, extended wheel arches, altered bumpers, and other minor differences differentiated the GTI from the standard commuter's tool. A convertible called the CTI was also made and designed by Pininfarina. The GTI could hit 60 mph in the eight-second range. Later, a more powerful 1.9-liter version was produced with up to 126 horsepower and the 1.6 also received a power bump to 115 horses.

2000 Honda Insight

Average Used Value: $2,000 (Kelley Blue Book)

Specs

This is a lightweight, aluminum-bodied, two-seater, Japanese car built alongside the Honda NSX and Honda S2000 that's worth only $2,000. However, it can only muster up to 73 horsepower because speed is not the goal here - it's efficiency. The Honda Insight existed in the Toyota Prius' shadow in the US and was built in three distinct periods from 2000-2022. Despite its modest value and the fact that the Prius got a larger share of the limelight, the Insight was an engineering masterpiece.

An aluminum monocoque swept rearward behind the front two seats and partially covered the rear wheels to optimize the Insight's aerodynamics. For this reason, there are only two seats and the thin rear wheels (in low-rolling resistance rubber) had a track a few inches narrower than the front. Aluminum was used extensively, as well as magnesium for the engine. With a fuel economy figure of 53 MPG combined, the Insight arguably accomplished its goal.

2001 Renault Clio V6 RS

Average Used Value: $43,000 (Classic.com, Phase 1)

Specs

Renault's Clio is another economical hatchback, but various hot hatch variants were also produced. The Clio V6 RS was made from 2001 (it will be eligible to be imported to the US next year) and is on this list because it shows how far the performance hatchback recipe can go before things get out of hand. Based on the second-gen Clio, the V6 model shared very little with that front-wheel drive city hatch, with engineers swapping the platform for a custom, mid-engined, rear-wheel drive setup.

A 3.0-liter V6 (the successor to the PRV V6 from the DeLorean) occupied the place where rear seats would normally reside. It could hit 60 mph in the low six-second range. Unfortunately, thanks to its extra weight, the V6 RS was only half a second quicker to 60 mph than the front-wheel drive Clio 172 (another warm hatch from the time) and it was expensive, as well as a handful, thanks to its mid-engine, rear-wheel drive design and potent V6. Less than 3,000 were made over two generations and some examples change hands for serious money today.

2015 Volkswagen XL1

Average Used Value: $89,000

Specs

Volkswagen actually built this car with butterfly doors, staggered seating, a hybrid motor, and half of a diesel engine, although only around 200 examples were built. Today, the car changes hands for serious money. Designed to be the world's first '1-liter car', the goal was for the XL1 to use one liter of fuel (diesel) for every 100 kilometers traveled (about 0.26 gallons every 62 miles). Following a series of prototypes, the production model, produced in 2011, supposedly has a fuel economy figure of 250 MPG, although this isn't EPA-rated.

A 1.6-liter turbodiesel engine was cut in half, leaving 800cc of capacity and only 47 horsepower. Then, it was coupled with a hybrid motor that offers 27 horsepower, which lets the XL1 also run on electricity alone for 31 miles. The magic lies in its low mass (around 1,750 pounds), skinny, low-resistance tires, and low drag coefficient, as well as its immensely frugal powertrain. It reveals how weight savings, diesel, and hybrid tech could work in tandem to take fuel efficiency to new heights.

Koenigsegg Gemera

Average Used Value: N/A

Specs

Despite not coming to fruition, the Tiny Friendly Giant (TFG) in the pre-production Koenigsegg Gemera supercar is one of the most promising pieces of engineering of this century. The Swedish brand's first four-seater was slated to offer a hybrid with either a conventional V8 or a downsized, three-cylinder turbo engine called the TFG. Despite its size, the smaller unit produced huge power and torque numbers, thanks in part to its camless, 'Freevale' technology.

Koenigsegg's revolutionary Freevalve tech uses uses electro-pneumatic actuators to control valves with greater accuracy and flexibility depending on conditions and load. It never made it to the production model thanks to the overwhelming majority choosing - no surprise here - the larger, charismatic, and more powerful V8. It's still such a promising design though and the TFG is ripe for use in a mid-sized sports car.

2025-02-14T11:16:54Z