12 Cars That Predicted the Auto Industry’s Future

They weren’t necessarily the most revolutionary or bestselling vehicles of their eras. They simply recognized what was coming next. 

The automotive world has never been short on conventional wisdom. Sometimes, though, the most interesting vehicles have been the ones to ignore it.

Rather than follow established formulas, these vehicles took a different path. Their ideas weren’t always immediately understood, and a number of them struggled to find buyers in their time. But occasionally those unconventional choices paid off, and years later, those same ideas went on to become common templates across the industry.

These are the cars, SUVs, and trucks that didn’t wait for the industry to show them the way. They went looking for their own road forward, and in doing so, they provided an early glimpse of where the automobile would go.

Acura’s long-rumored successor to the iconic NSX of the 1990s and early 2000s spent more than a decade in development, going through a variety of engines and layouts before making its debut for the 2017 model year. But aside from its cylinder count and mid-engine layout, the reborn sports car shared little with its predecessor, either mechanically and philosophically. Perhaps the most controversial difference, though, was that it paired a 3.5-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 with a hybrid system.

The concept of a performance-focused hybrid had already proven its worth thanks to hypercars like the Porsche 918 Spyder and Ferrari LaFerrari a few years prior, and the new NSX’s total system output of 573 horsepower and 476 lb-ft of torque put it squarely in contemporary supercar territory. However, it was still a relatively new idea to the more mainstream buyers the second-generation NSX had in its sights. And in contrast to the relative simplicity of the original, the reborn all-wheel-drive machine was both complex and relatively heavy for a sports car of its ilk at the time. Acura sold less than 3,000 examples during its seven-year production run.

Although its sales didn’t meet the automaker’s expectations, the modern NSX proved to be a harbinger of things to come for the performance segment. Today, vehicles ranging from the Honda Prelude to the Lamborghini Temerario pair an internal combustion engine with a hybrid system. And as stricter emissions regulations continue to roll out over the coming years across various regions, we expect this sort of electrification to become commonplace in performance cars.

Introduced for 1963, the Jeep Wagoneer combined genuine off-road capability with a level of comfort and refinement that was virtually unheard of in a sport-utility vehicle (a term that was itself unheard of at the time; it would be another decade-plus before Jeep introduced the term for the SJ Cherokee). Its four-wheel-drive system and rugged construction made it capable of venturing far beyond the pavement, while its roomy cabin, carlike ride, and available automatic transmission gave it a broader appeal.

The concept became even more prescient with the Super Wagoneer a few years later, which added air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, a power tailgate, tinted windows, and a 270-hp V-8 as standard equipment. And in doing so, the Wagoneer anticipated the modern luxury SUV by decades. Long before vehicles like the Range Rover and G-Wagen turned off-road capability, comfort, and status into a single package, the Wagoneer had already demonstrated an off-roader could be both genuinely capable and genuinely luxurious.

Although it was beaten to the U.S. market by the Honda Insight, the 2001 Toyota Prius was the car that brought hybrid technology into the mainstream. First introduced in Japan in 1997, the Prius combined a gasoline engine with an electric motor and battery, a setup that allowed the vehicle to recover energy during braking, shut off its engine when stopped, and drive on electric power alone in certain conditions to increase efficiency.

This gave the Prius exceptional fuel economy, particularly in city driving, without requiring drivers to plug it in or change how they used their cars. The two-seat Insight was more efficient, but the Prius offered four doors, useful passenger space, and everyday practicality. And by making hybrid technology accessible to ordinary car buyers, the Prius helped establish the gasoline-electric powertrain as a viable alternative to the conventional internal combustion engine.

The GM EV1 looked like something from the future because, in many ways, it was. Introduced in 1996, its slippery teardrop-shaped body, aluminum structure, regenerative braking, and purpose-built electric powertrain were years ahead of the industry. But the EV1 also exposed the limitations of early EV technology, with a short driving range, expensive batteries, and a lease-only business model that kept it from becoming a conventional mass-market car.

When GM ended the program and reclaimed (and subsequently destroyed) most of the cars, it fueled the conspiracy theory that the company had deliberately abandoned electric vehicles, a controversy immortalized by the 2006 documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? Whatever the motives behind its demise, the EV1 still demonstrated that a practical modern EV was possible, and it pointed toward the electric cars that would follow decades later.

If the EV1 paved the way for the electric cars that would follow in the decades to come, the BMW i3 was one of the first to show what that future could look like. Like the EV1, it was designed from the ground up as an electric car rather than adapted from an existing model, and also like the EV1, the i3 used lightweight construction to minimize the burden on its battery.

BMW took the concept much further, though. Its LifeDrive architecture paired an aluminum chassis with a passenger cell made largely from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic, dramatically reducing weight and allowing a smaller battery to deliver useful range. Its futuristic styling, recycled and renewable interior materials, rear-wheel drive, and purpose-built packaging were equally unconventional.

But perhaps more important, BMW presented the i3 as a premium electric vehicle rather than a cheap compliance car. More than 250,000 i3 vehicles were ultimately produced, demonstrating that a purpose-built EV could be more than a technological curiosity. Its lightweight construction, luxury positioning, and sustainability-focused design anticipated many of the ideas that would become increasingly important as EVs moved into the mainstream.

Before the Tesla Model S, electric cars were largely defined by compromise. Most were small, short-range vehicles built around existing platforms, making them difficult to consider as replacements for conventional cars. The Model S changed the equation.

Designed from the ground up to compete with gasoline-powered luxury sedans like the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, it combined an 85-kWh battery with up to 265 miles of range and startling straight-line performance. The battery’s placement beneath the floor also lowered the car’s center of gravity while freeing up interior space, creating a flat cabin floor and generous cargo capacity.

A massive 17.0-inch touchscreen replaced much of the conventional dashboard, putting vehicle controls, navigation, and entertainment into a software-driven interface that could evolve through updates. Tesla also developed the Supercharger network to address the challenge of long-distance EV travel, making extended trips considerably more practical for Model S owners.

The success of the Model S helped establish Tesla as a serious automaker, giving the company the foundation to develop higher-volume models such as the Model 3 and Model Y. In doing so, it helped transform Tesla from an electric-car startup into a global automaker while establishing many of the defining tropes of the modern EV.

The idea of a performance-oriented “street truck” wasn’t entirely new when the GMC Syclone arrived for 1991. Dodge’s Li’l Red Express had turned a pickup into a factory hot rod in the late 1970s, while the Shelby Dakota and Chevrolet 454 SS later explored the formula with V-8 power and sportier chassis tuning. The Syclone, however, took the concept far beyond novelty.

Its 4.3-liter turbocharged V-6 produced 280 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, while rear-biased all-wheel drive, a lowered suspension, and wide tires helped put that power to the pavement effectively. GMC claimed a 4.6-second 0–60-mph time, making it exceptionally quick for the time.

With 2,998 ultimately produced, the Syclone demonstrated that a pickup could be engineered as a serious performance vehicle rather than simply dressed up as one. And more than three decades later, trucks like the Ram 1500 Rumble Bee and Ford Maverick Lobo continue to embrace the street-truck formula the Syclone helped legitimize.

The 1957 Ford Ranchero established the concept of a car-based pickup, and in the late 1970s, Subaru pushed the idea further with the Brat’s unibody construction. The 2006 Honda Ridgeline, however, went all in, rethinking the pickup around how people actually used it while retaining the drivability of a car.

Its unibody construction, fully independent suspension, and electronically controlled all-wheel drive delivered a smoother ride and more composed handling, while clever packaging brought an in-bed trunk, a dual-action tailgate, and a flat bed with minimal wheelwell intrusion. The result was a relatively compact, civilized pickup that sacrificed little everyday usability for its unconventional design.

MotorTrend named the Ridgeline our 2006 Truck of the Year, recognizing its challenge to traditional pickup conventions. Two decades later, the Ridgeline’s basic philosophy lives on, while the success of unibody pickups such as the hugely popular Ford Maverick has helped validate the car-based truck concept for a new generation.

The 1991 Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4 arrived with a level of technology rarely seen outside exotic cars. Its twin-turbo V-6 and all-wheel drive were impressive enough, but Mitsubishi went much further, adding four-wheel steering, an electronically controlled adaptive suspension, and active aerodynamics that automatically lowered the front air dam and adjusted the rear spoiler at speed to increase downforce.

These features seemed almost excessive at the time, but they also made serious performers out of the 3000GT VR-4 and its American-market mechanical twin, the Dodge Stealth R/T Turbo. And what seemed exotic in 1991 has since become familiar; rear-axle steering, adjustable dampers, active aero, and sophisticated all-wheel-drive systems are features found throughout the performance vehicle market today, from sports cars to super SUVs.

When the Toyota RAV4 arrived in the U.S. for 1996, most SUVs were still body-on-frame machines derived from trucks. The RAV4 took a different approach, using a unibody platform, independent suspension, and carlike driving characteristics while retaining the high seating position, cargo space, ground clearance, and available all-wheel drive that buyers expected from an SUV. At just 162 inches long, the original four-door RAV4 was also remarkably compact, yet it proved surprisingly versatile and attracted buyers who had little interest in traditional SUVs.

The formula proved prescient. Each successive generation grew larger, more powerful ,and more sophisticated, eventually adding V-6, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid powertrains while retaining the basic car-based philosophy. What began as an unconventional little SUV ultimately became one of the world’s bestselling vehicles, and it helped establish the template for the crossover-dominated market that would follow.

The 1962 Oldsmobile F-85 Jetfire was the first production vehicle to use a turbocharger. Working with Garrett AiResearch, Oldsmobile fitted its 215-cubic-inch aluminum V-8 with a small-diameter turbocharger and integral wastegate, deliberately favoring quick response over high-rpm power. The system produced about 5 psi of boost while allowing the engine to retain an unusually high 10.25:1 compression ratio, helping the Jetfire produce 215 horsepower, exactly 1 hp per cubic inch.

That high compression created a problem with detonation under boost, though, so Oldsmobile developed a fluid-injection system using a 50/50 mixture of distilled water and methyl alcohol. It gave the mixture the suitably space-age name—Turbo-Rocket Fluid—and the system automatically metered it into the intake under boost to cool the charge and suppress detonation. The added complexity limited the Jetfire’s appeal, though, and turbocharging would remain a relatively niche technology in production vehicles for decades.

Today turbochargers help power everything from economy cars to luxury sedans and family SUVs. What was once exotic technology has become a nearly ubiquitous part of the modern internal combustion engine.

When the Lamborghini Miura made its debut in 1966, it established a formula that would go on to define the modern supercar.

It was the first production road car to combine a V-12 with a transverse rear-mid-engine layout, placing the engine behind the cockpit and ahead of the rear axle while keeping the car remarkably compact. The mid-engine layout had already been proven in racing, but the Miura brought it to the road with a level of performance and sophistication that was unprecedented for its time. Its 4.0-liter V-12 produced 350 horsepower, while its lightweight construction and centralized powertrain helped give the Miura the proportions and dynamics of a genuine exotic.

Just as revolutionary was its appearance. Marcello Gandini’s sleek, low-slung Bertone bodywork, dramatic air intakes, pop-up headlights, and distinctive headlight “eyelashes” made the Miura look unlike anything else on the road. Together, its mid-engine architecture, exotic performance, and breathtaking design created a framework that automakers continue to follow to this day.

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Bradley IgerA lover of noisy music, noisy bulldogs, and noisy cars, Bradley completed his undergraduate degree in rhetorical studies at the University of California, Berkeley and relocated to Los Angeles shortly thereafter, where he used his obsession with cars and background in information technology to create a unique journalistic voice in the automotive realm. His work has appeared in Car & Driver, Popular Science, Hemmings Motor News, DuPont Registry, Porsche Panorama, and numerous online publications. When not behind the wheel, Bradley can often be found standing too close to a dimed guitar amp. 

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