• Jay

  2010.09.29 ::: 22:37 #

  These are great!!

  [Reply]

  • Curse

    2010.11.27 ::: 08:07 #

    Some of these blow...... and some of these could have been better........ A few of these should be put into service and a couple should be in my garage....... The rest need scraping.....

    We need air-vehicles to get of this stinking planet people...... Duh!

    [Reply]

• plague

  2010.09.30 ::: 01:09 #

  All, the Orochi needs is a 5 painted on its side and it's good to go!

  [Reply]

  • Ultra Optimus

    2010.09.30 ::: 15:59 #

    Actually, the Orochi made it past the concept phase and is a real car that you can buy for around $100,000 US Dollars. For that much money, you get a 3.3 liter V6 that puts out 230HP. James May drove one on Top Gear 2 seasons ago.

    [Reply]

    • Jimi

      2014.05.18 ::: 23:51 #

      Just a shame that it's so awkward from the front.

      [Reply]

• jason

  2010.09.30 ::: 02:59 #

  I feel like the cars from the 60's and 70's are really ready for the market now. Geez, they would have been awesome for the market then. They are beautifully streamlined. The Daihatsu TA-X80 would make an awesome chassis for an electric car as would the Mazda Taiki or Toyotas EX II (the best ultimate city vehicle). Where's my electric car. There's certainly no lack of beautiful and functional designs. I just wish they'd put motors instead of engines inside them.

  Also about the new cars - I'm sure many said the same thing about the concept cars of the 60's onwards, but they just look silly now, just bursting with eye candy but lacking elegance. I wish they'd show concept cars that had actually met road conditions with dust and scratches and mud on them to give a glimpse at what one of those would really look like on the street.

  Great article. Hope there's more to come

  [Reply]

• Slow Joe Crow

  2010.09.30 ::: 03:27 #

  It's interesting to see the influences and references in the earlier cars. The Toyota Proto has a definite GM Futurama flavor. while the Mazda RX87 looks like a 65 Corvair with a grille and the Isuzu Bellett is clearly influences by the Lamborghini Miura. Further on the the Toyota EX1 looks like George Barris custom of Toyota's own 2000GT while the Mazda MX500 has a strong flavor of Mercedes C-111 (also Wankel powered), while the Isuzu MX 1600 seems like a variation on the Alfa Romeo Montreal or Maserati Merak. After that things get less derivative, except for the Nissan Figaro, which was actually produced and the Infiniti Kuraza which has a roof line that was clearly taken from the new Mini. As for Mitsuoka, the less said the better, since they seem to exist solely to provide Jalopnik,com with punchlines.

  [Reply]

  • Mark Williams

    2010.10.15 ::: 00:34 #

    The Mazda RX 87 is sooo much more like an Alfa Romeo 105 series Bertone GTV

    [Reply]

    • ovais909

      2014.06.23 ::: 05:02 #

      @Mark williams thats because it was designed by the same designer Giorgetto Giugiaro and the name is not mazda rx 87 its mazda luce Luce R130

      [Reply]

  • Daniel

    2010.10.21 ::: 15:24 #

    Is it you, captain slow?

    [Reply]

• yellow

  2010.09.30 ::: 09:36 #

  Wow some of these seriously need to be made, they're excellent. The Isuzu line of public transport/trucks I wish would happen, they could really give a company or city a distinct look and because they're not consumer vehicles I think the adventurous design could take off.

  If the Nissan Jikoo existed, I would be forever jealous of anyone who owned one.

  [Reply]

• BubbaJoe

  2010.09.30 ::: 11:51 #

  lol, looks like the Jikoo was made for leprechauns.

  [Reply]

• Seamus Dubh

  2010.09.30 ::: 14:19 #

  You know, I could see some of those pre-2k designs on the road these days. Sometimes looking to the past for new innovation is a good thing.

  [Reply]

• El Destructo Inc

  2010.09.30 ::: 16:43 #

  The Lexus Minority Report Concept and Mazda Miata Mono-Posto made it to production as Hot Wheels.

  [Reply]

• walperstyle

  2010.09.30 ::: 16:50 #

  http://pinktentacle.com/images/10/concept_car_29.jpg

  They made these, and I've seen them driving in Canada now that we can legally Import them. Sure your picture may be a concept, but you could post concepts for the NSX, 240SX etc etc etc.

  [Reply]

• franco brambilla

  2010.10.01 ::: 16:12 #

  All the 70s mazdas looks like they come directly from UFO, the british tv show! So cool!

  [Reply]

• Don M

  2010.10.01 ::: 21:31 #

  That Acura sedan concept is the worst looking concept of all time. Sadly the current Acuras look just like it, ugly as hell. Shame

  [Reply]

• Alfie Goodrich

  2010.10.01 ::: 21:59 #

  I had a Matchbox toy version of the Mazda RX-500. Amazing how much the Nissan 216X looks like the Maserati engined Citroen SM. Very cool post.

  [Reply]

• Andrew

  2010.10.01 ::: 22:11 #

  A few notables missing but otherwise great list. Didn't realize Isuzu had so many concepts.

  That Acura sedan concept is UGLY!!!!

  [Reply]

• Todd

  2010.10.02 ::: 02:49 #

  This post was replicated by another blog with no attribution: http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2010/10/japanese-concept-cars-of-last-50-years.html

  [Reply]

  • Gilbert

    2010.10.02 ::: 23:57 #

    Damn uncool!

    [Reply]

• slanty

  2010.10.03 ::: 22:24 #

  the 1989 figaro concept is a production car! quite a few of them around ireland. jap imports i believe

  [Reply]

• Ken

  2010.10.05 ::: 02:11 #

  Not only is the pro-drag HONDA CIVIC Si not Japanese (it is originally built in UK, and sold worldwide), but it's also not a concept.

  [Reply]

• J

  2010.10.06 ::: 09:02 #

  japanese cars just plain suck.

  [Reply]

• Craig

  2010.10.06 ::: 11:56 #

  I want the super heavy dump truck, the awesomeness just drools from how BIG it is :)

  [Reply]

• James

  2010.10.07 ::: 17:05 #

  Awesome concepts ... bar a few, but how could they miss out the mazda furai :O

  [Reply]

• Uncle B

  2010.10.08 ::: 04:08 #

  And then the Chinese, Nuclear/electric sourced electric bullet train network and its associated infrastructures came along and obviated the need for automobiles for individuals altogether!
  A new society will be borne from this: and oil free, veggies and rice society of happy people doing what they must to survive to be sure, but enjoying a personal debt free lifestyle under communist Chinese rules! America will try in vain to duplicate this Chinese miracle and fail because Capitalism is given to enrich only a few at the top and enslave the balance of the population, feeding them propaganda in place of sharing the riches they generate! Beware the wily corporatist and his powerful propaganda machines! He will eat you alive as he lies to your very soul! be reminded:He is the cancer of democracies and has infiltrated Chinese communism too!

  [Reply]

• Jose

  2010.10.08 ::: 11:19 #

  Aren't most of those early Isuzu concepts by Italdesign?

  [Reply]

• Michael

  2010.10.09 ::: 01:43 #

  I'm sad that the 1990 Nissan Gobi truck concept didn't make the list.

  [Reply]

• Unknown

  2010.10.11 ::: 01:25 #

  Those are some weird cars. xD But I like some of them.

  [Reply]

• Pedro

  2010.10.11 ::: 21:44 #

  Apart from a few exceptions these are mostly ugly as shit :/ For the love of God, who whans to drive a fuckin lunchbox on 12" wheels?? Maby it's practical and economigall, but personally I wouldn't be seen dead in this piece of shit

  [Reply]

  • Monte Lukast

    2014.01.19 ::: 05:59 #

    That was a whole bunch o' misspelled, profane nonsense there, Pedro. My personal favorite is "economigall."

    [Reply]

• Tyler

  2010.10.12 ::: 04:26 #

  They all get progressively dumber.

  [Reply]

• Steve

  2010.10.12 ::: 17:05 #

  I don't know if I'm alone in this, but very few things depress me more than the realization that we live in a world of "production" vehicles rather than "concept" vehicles.

  Life in the year 2000 and beyond is boring, boring, boring, boring.

  [Reply]

• Rose

  2010.10.12 ::: 19:20 #

  Yeah, i'm with you Steve. Current cars are just so damn boring. Would it be so hard to produce cars that have some character??!!
  Many of these concept cars are ugly, but at least they have some character. There were a few cool ones in there too.

  [Reply]

• KGVee

  2010.10.15 ::: 17:46 #

  Isuzu Zen, 200: Complete with its own source of power with a wind turbine attached to the roof. Don't think that this ever took off, literally!

  Isuzu FL-4, 2002: Must have been watching Dune and got inspiration from the Guild Navigators tank?

  Isuzu FC-12: Dusted of the old Dune video off again.

  Isuzu FL-1/FL-4/FL-10: Can't get that Dune movie out of the head.

  [Reply]

• Joe

  2010.10.17 ::: 23:10 #

  Really enjoyed this collection. Quite a few of these I've never seen. I agree with others that commented on the early Italian designed and or influenced cars, versus the later vehicles. Some really great looking vehicles early on, but with some exceptions, concepts just seem to get goofy as time goes on.

  Fun looking at some of these, but I cannot imagine anything like them on the street. A clear exception is the Infiniti Essence is very elegant, and seems to be a nod to Aston Martin. The Nissan Pivo on the other hand, along with many of the later vehicles, just seem to be an exercise in absurdity.

  [Reply]

• awesome

  2010.10.20 ::: 01:28 #

  I love the nissan trail runner. That thing looks awesome.

  [Reply]

• Cyber Police Man

  2010.10.21 ::: 10:48 #

  All the designers of these concepts have been reported to me and will be found and will have to spend some time warming their asses in the cyber jail.

  end of conversation

  [Reply]

• Klaus Janssen

  2010.10.26 ::: 22:30 #

  It is a shame that some of them did not make it to production.

  [Reply]

• doug

  2010.10.29 ::: 03:45 #

  i would definitely buy the toyota rv-2 , mtrc, and the Mitsuoka Orochi, 2005.

  [Reply]

• sam

  2010.10.29 ::: 20:42 #

  on the 'Isuzu Lunar Rover' one, how can you see the moon, whan it's on the moon?

  [Reply]

• Nasty Nate

  2010.11.06 ::: 00:59 #

  I have to say the Lexus Minority Report Concept car is a beautiful car. The movie sucked ass but the car looks great.

  [Reply]

• Stevie

  2010.11.13 ::: 07:11 #

  I am with the other Steve, the world is a sadder place with the plain ordiary looking cars produced today. I wish these companies had the gumption to produce some of these models. There is is probably enough people out there that would like to drive something unique and individual and be prepared to pay for it, enough to make them profitable.
  Stevie

  [Reply]

• dan

  2010.11.14 ::: 09:18 #

  F*cking Awesome, some got bulit as well, also you can see how the new cars have evolved like the Honda one, looks like the new Civic, the Nissan 60's car got built into the fiagro, etc love it

  [Reply]

• sarah

  2010.11.30 ::: 03:59 #

  the following autos should `ved been made and brought to the u.s.a. toyota proto 1957 , toy concept 1966 , toy rv-2 1972 i tought were good ..now fr the others nissan 126,1970 nissan 270 , 1970 and the trail runner of 1997 i thought was good but oh well thnks bye now...

  [Reply]

• kery

  2011.01.04 ::: 17:23 #

  wow, some of these are completely rediculous. but some are super cool.

  stumbled!!!!

  [Reply]

• Steve

  2011.01.07 ::: 13:24 #

  Really interesting to see.
  Point of note, isn't Infiniti KOREAN? I would check because if it is and any Korean's discover this list will probably take your site down.

  [Reply]

  • Steve

    2011.01.07 ::: 13:27 #

    MY BAD. Seems it stems from Nissan. I live in Korea and have only ever seen them here, and when you search, it takes you straight to the Korean site. A little more digging though reveals the brand history. My bad. Sorry about that.

    [Reply]

• uhh

  2011.01.24 ::: 09:57 #

  The Toyota MTRC 2004 is mine!

  [Reply]

• Tobsterio

  2011.01.24 ::: 18:13 #

  some of the older models look good so all the need is a bigger engine the only one i dont get is the 1st fire fighter the sketch

  [Reply]

• blablablablablabla

  2011.03.01 ::: 23:54 #

  Honda Fuya-Jo, 1999 is super ugly

  [Reply]

• Zorak

  2011.03.31 ::: 21:35 #

  ah..the new Nissan Patrol gets its shape from the Nissan Terranaut concept

  [Reply]

• Jared

  2011.11.06 ::: 13:00 #

  wow these are really nice...

  [Reply]

• Archie Dux

  2012.01.27 ::: 12:23 #

  Neato burrito!

  LOVE that Totyota EXIII from 1969.

  [Reply]

• Wiley Robinson

  2012.05.10 ::: 23:05 #

  Nissan bevel reminds me of ArkII from the 70s TV show...

  [Reply]

• Denis

  2021.07.15 ::: 08:20 #

  the "Acura Advanced Sports Car" looks awfully like 2017 Acura NSX, doesn't it?

  [Reply]

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

1. Curiosa coleccion de diseños de coches Made in Japan
2. Nissan Figaro Concept, 1989 « NÜÜK
3. Site: Concept Cars… – Rockman Design
4. Awesome Thread... [Automotive Edition]
5. Interesting Reading #590 – Star Wars in 3D, Martin Jetpack, Cable TV’s death, Near miss asteroid and much more… – The Blogs at HowStuffWorks
6. Prototypes «
7. 50 years of Japanese concept cars « auto
8. Link - Estadao.com.br
9. Islands « things magazine
10. ElsCunyats » Blog Archive » 50 Años de Prototipos Japoneses
11. olddogg.com
12. Enlaces Recomendados de la Semana (Nº 70)
13. cars and mars « n i j o m u
14. Constant concept | Segundo intento
15. PROMAGO.de Gadgets » Blog Archive
16. Four-Links – Japanese concept cars, MGBGTV12, Autoettes, Oregon land-speed racing at Hemmings Blog – Classic and collectible cars and parts
17. Frikimoment
18. Japanese concept cars (1957-2009) | Japan Offbeat
19. Japanese concept cars (1993-2009) | Japan Offbeat
20. 50 years of Japanese Concept Cars
21. Offbeat roundup (October 4, 2010)
22. Conceito | Peregrino Mutante
23. 50 Years of Mirai: Japan’s Forgotten Concept Cars : Hooniverse
24. Japanese Concept Amazingness!
25. PSTOC » 50+ Years of Japanese Concept Cars – pinktentacle.com
26. Elsewhere, on October 6th - Once a nomad, always a nomad
27. Galaxy Patrol » Blog Archive » Japanese concept cars
28. Más de 50 años de "concept cars" japoneses
29. CarBEN Model -- 1/24th scale model and 3D computer model for EV - Page 19 - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com
30. Photos: 50+ years of Japanese concept cars ::: Pink Tentacle
31. Comedy Guys Blog » Blog Archive » Photo History of Japanese Concept Cars
32. (Tech Headlines) Solar On The Rise, Digital Pamphlets & Facebook Delete - PSFK
33. links for 2010-10-13 « Unscrambled
34. Why is the future strangly familiar? « Medaily
35. Japanese Concept Cars from 1957-2009 - TSXClub.com Forums
36. Car Design Mash-up | KLAD - Set Design for the Entertainment Industry
37. “Got Kleenex?”
38. Japanese #concept #cars #history « [ The Daily Laur ]
39. links for 2010-10-19 « fragment
40. Links of the damned « www.wtf-u-thinkin.com
41. Gas Around The Web #12 « La.Ga.Sta.
42. For all the misguided ford lovers out there - Page 3
43. confessionwall.com
44. Futureness » Toyota EX-III, 1969
45. Futureness » Isuzu Super Heavy Dumptruck
46. Shawn Hazen
47. Cool Japanese Prototypes 50's to present
48. 50 Years of Japanese Concept Cars - Genesis Forum: GenCoupe Hyundai Genesis Forums
49. Gallery of Japanese Concept Cars | Japanese Nostalgic Car
50. Photos: 50+ years of Japanese concept cars ~ Pink Tentacle | Current Distractions
51. Japanese concept cars
52. Car of the Day : Nissan 126 X Concept von 1970