Often we look at concept cars that are the first offering from a manufacturer and have two different schools of thought on the concept.  We either feel like these concepts are not ready and might have a few good ideas but need a lot changed in order to come to market or we look at them and wonder where we can get one of these cars.  When you see a concept brought to market the interesting part is typically looking to see how many changes have been made between the time of concept and the new production model that makes it to market.  Here are several cars that went from concept to production for us to enjoy.

2007 Chevrolet Volt Concept – This car looked like a sport sedan with a more forward thinking style and appearance. Under the hood was to be a plug-in hybrid powertrain but this was to be backed up by a gasoline engine that would charge the battery pack as you drove to improve the overall range of the car which was problem for normal EV driving.

2011 Chevrolet Volt – This was one production model that never looked at all like the concept.  Instead, the production model resembled the Toyota Prius and the powertrain ended up being a hard sell, which wasn’t aided by the falling fuel prices.  The new model of the Volt is coming out in 2016 to give us better power and a change in styles to attract more buyers.

2005 Lexus LF-A Concept – This car was built to give us the height of the F1 racing efforts for a road ready car.  This was the way Toyota wanted to be able to compete with the supercars of the world and was to come with a 500 horsepower V10 engine to give us the power we wanted.  A second concept made the show circuit in 2007 to give us some upgrades to look at.

2010 Lexus LF-A – It took five years to go from the first concept to production, but the car hit the road as one of the most amazing cars ever made.  This beauty offered a sleek super sports car style that was powered by a 552 horsepower 4.8-liter V10 engine that really produced for Toyota.  This car can be considered to be even better than most of the other sports cars on the road including the exotics.

2007 Fisker Hybrid Sedan Concept – This was a concept that looked like a long super sports car that has four doors on it.  This certainly gives you the height of advanced engineering and style with four doors that can be the family sedan that you would be more than proud to show off to your family and friends.  Not only did this concept have a great look it also rode with a hybrid powertrain.

2011 Fisker Karma – The first difference you see with this car is the fact the front end is not nearly as long as the concept model.  This was one of the most impressive looking sedan to make it to the production line and even though it was hard to sell because of the cramped interior and gorgeous style it wasn’t known as one of the more reliable cars on the market but 2,500 were built and sold before the company had to close down in 2012.

2009 Tesla Model S Show Car – This was how the Model S began life.  Offering a sedan that has the battery power to make a 300 mile range from a battery pack that makes up the floorboards of the car this is a car that we immediately wanted to drive.  It looked cool, sleek, luxurious and was a highlight of the 2009 car show circuit coming from a company that was basically new to the market.

2012 Tesla Model S – Some though the car would never make it to market, and certainly the production model was much different from the original concept version but it has been one of the most lauded cars since it made its way to the market in 2012.  The top model is one of our favorites, the P85 D with could hit 60 mph in 3.2 seconds and had a range of 295 miles.

2011 Jaguar C-X16 Concept – Because Jaguar had produced the E-Type they had a great basis for this new concept that would eventually be the F-Type.  A long, low sleek build that looked perfect as the model that would garner attention for Jaguar once again.  This car debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show and had a V6 hybrid powertrain to show one of the first concepts to boost power using hybrid power.

2014 Jaguar F-Type – We have seen and loved the F-Type from the first time it came off the line ready for us to drive.  using the six-cylinder engine or the massive V8 on the R model that makes 550 horsepower.  The F-Type is a car that makes noise on purpose and lets you know it’s coming down the road to make sure you will look and take notice of this awesome car.

1999 Bugatti Veyron EB 18.4 Concept – Bringing the Bugatti nameplate under the Volkswagen Group in 1998 was going to be super successful and it was only a matter of time before we saw just how.  In the first year the 18.4 Chiron was offered that had an 18-cylinder engine and the Veyron concept showed up to let us know Volkswagen was serious about this car.

2004 Bugatti Veyron – It would take a few years, but the Veyron finally made it to market and carried in a quad-turbocharged sixteen-cylinder engine that produces 1,000 horsepower.  This would be the fastest car in the world for the time with a top speed that was close to 270 mph and come in at a price of $2.5 million for one of the few of these beauties that was ever made.  This car certainly was worth the wait and has set the bar high for Bugatti.