Concept cars are all about fantasy. Most don't end up gleaming on showroom floors and those that do are often toned down to the less exciting side of sensibility.
Yet since it's the season of giving, we've drawn up a fantasy wish list of all the 2013 concept cars that we'd just love the car companies put into production in the coming years. And wouldn't they look great under any Christmas tree?
Audi Sport Quattro Concept
This Frankfurt show stunner was Audi's salute to the original Quattro rally legend of the '80s. Though drawing inspiration from the past, this is a modern muscle coupe in every sense of the word with its aggressive design and 515kW plug-in hybrid drivetrain that mates a growling V8 to an electric motor.
Audi Nanuk Quattro Concept
Audi's Nanuk takes the crossover theme to the extreme with a five-litre twin-turbo V10 that shoves 400kW and 1000Nm through all four wheels to get it from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds. Penned in collaboration with Italdesign Giugiaro, the Nanuk was built to tackle sand and snow in addition to twisty asphalt.
Alfa Romeo Gloria by IED
Young design graduates of the European Design Institute of Turin (IDE) were tasked with conceiving an Alfa Romeo sedan to "communicate to the American and Asian markets." We reckon they got it spot on with this sumptuously elegant sedan.
Giugiaro Parcour
Iconic design studio Italdesign Giugiaro chiselled this 'go-anywhere' GT car before working on the similar Audi Nanuk. Like the latter, it's also powered by a Lamborghini V10, sending its fury to all four wheels.
Kia Niro Concept
A little crossover-type device complete with gullwing doors, the Kia Niro Concept looks like a young driver's fantasy. Designed in Frankfurt, less than a kilometre from the show venue where it was unveiled, the Niro is said to hint at a future small car that could see light of day, albeit toned down somewhat.
Mazda Deep Orange 3 Concept
To conceive this edgy design concept, Mazda tasked a pair of US design students to provide fresh and inventive ideas from sketch pad to sheet metal. Its load-bearing structure is based on innovative sheet-folding technology and powering it is a hybrid system that automatically chooses between front, rear or all-wheel drive.
Mercedes-Benz Concept S-Class Coupé
Unlike the rest of the concepts featured here, the gorgeous S-Class Coupé concept is most certainly headed for production, and those elegant lines are unlikely to be toned down too much.
Nissan IDx Freeflow Concept
The Nissan IDx Freeflow design study, like its IDx Nismo racing counterpart, was designed to engage with younger customers and their exciting ideas. Yet we really love the way it pays tribute to older-generation rear-wheel drive Skylines.
Volvo Concept Coupé
We could hardly think of a prettier way to pay tribute to the Volvo P1800 of the '60s, which is exactly what this concept does. According to Volvo, it also showcases a fancy new Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) platform and hints at future design themes. Now just cut the babble and built it, Volvo!