10 Best Concept Cars From 1960s & 1970s... What They Showed Us and What We Got Instead
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Prepare to journey back in time with, "10 Best Concept Cars From 1960s & 1970s: What They Showed Us and What We Got Instead." Join us as we explore the fascinating world of classic cars and prototype wonders that graced the automotive scene in the 1960s and 1970s, only to be replaced by what we know today.
From the futuristic Mercury El Gato to the iconic Ford Mustang Milano, we've curated the top 10 concept cars that once promised a glimpse into the future of automotive design. Witness the innovation of the Chevrolet AeroVette, the sleekness of the Pontiac Banshee, and the power of the Ford King Cobra, as we uncover the stories behind these automotive dreams.
Delve into the era of vintage cars and muscle cars, where the AMC AMX3 and the Plymouth Rapid Transit System dared to challenge conventions. Discover the ingenuity behind these concept cars, featuring the Hemi-powered beasts and the legendary Boss 429 that left an indelible mark on automotive history.
But wait, there's more! Uncover the reality of what we got instead - the cars that hit the streets and became part of the classic car legacy. From the Camaro ZL1 to the Chevrolet Monza 2, we'll compare the dreams of the past with the reality that shaped our automotive present.
Whether you're a fan of futuristic cars, muscle cars, or simply curious about the evolution of automotive design, this video is a nostalgic ride through time. "10 Best Concept Cars From 1960s & 1970s: What They Showed Us and What We Got Instead" is your ticket to the past, exploring the dreams that once drove the automotive industry.
#classiccars #ConceptCars #ClassicCars #VintageCars #MuscleCars #AutomotiveDesign #Magnalume #1960sCars #1970sCars #Boss429 #FutureCars #PrototypeCars #Top10ConceptCars
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:30 10 1970 Chevrolet Aero Vette
01:27 9 1970 Mercury El Gato
02:35 8 1962 Chevrolet Monza II
03:41 7 1962 Ford Mustang 1 Concept
04:52 6 1968 AMC AMX 3
06:10 5 1970 Ford Mustang Milano
07:12 4 1964 Pontiac Banshee
08:23 3 1970 Rapid Transit Concepts
09:23 2 1970 Ford King Cobra Prototype
10:39 1 1969 Camaro ZL1 Concept
11:58 Outro
Love the El Gato! Such a beautiful, minimalistic car.
that side line on that AMX 3 is peak auto styling. Stunning.
Some of these cars looks so good, way ahead of its time, much better than today's versions
Wow. That AMX3 looks awesome, a real beauty. What a missed oportunity.. Love the El Gato! Such a beautiful, minimalistic car..
What I find truly sad is that alota these car designs are better than what we are seeing even now.😥
You just read my mind. Now car means SUV and coupes and sedans are rarities
Truth brother.
@@docmccoy9813 yep. Take the Toyota emblems off my wife’s Venza I’d be hard pressed to pick it out of a half other makes that look almost identical. I’ll keep my old Alfa Romeos
The 5 mph bumper is what started the downfall of good looking American cars and the fuel crisis was the K.O.
Amen!
That Mustang Milano would have been an instant classic!
AMC's AMX/3 should have been produced. I loved my three Javelins ,(68, 70 and 71) and 68 AMX. I'm still an AMC enthusiast, decades later
My bucket list car... check out the Prestone Javelin that was built...insane!!!! Nice first name you have...😉
I love the "oddballs".
Biggest mistake they made. Not having produced it was, in the end, the reason for their demise.
It's a shame the AMX 3 was never produced in numbers. My God it's a beautifully designed car... WOW!
Dick Teague was a design genius
I think there are 3 of them in the world.
0:42 That concept Corvette is gorgeous. That's a dream car there.
That AMX-3 is a work of art
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing this 😊
Wow. That AMX3 looks awesome, a real beauty. What a missed oportunity.
I'll take the 70 mustang Milano the 64 banshee and the 70 rapid transit out of all these. The Milano looks totally badass, they need to build one for us today with a 428 cobra jet in it.
Yes, that is the best-looking one in my opinion. Love to drive that. Cars were so cool back then.
Chevy made quite a few all aluminum 427 camaros in 69 for their super stock drag race teams
Yes, they did. 69 in 1969 only, to be exact, and I believe a few made it into Corvettes that year as well. RPO ZL1 had the COPO 9561 427 CID aluminum engine. I’ve seen 1 of the 2 garnet red Camaros. My brother restored it for a collector on the east coast back in the ‘90s. At the time, there was only 1 garnet red car believed to be produced which was in the Floyd Garrett collection. Upon making his way thru layers of repaints and verifying the paint code, my brother uncovered the 2nd known garnet red COPO 9561 ZL1 Camaro. It was part of the Dick Bridges collection and featured in one of the muscle magazines of the times. An incredible unexpected find!
My ex father in law had an emerald green '69 ZL1 collecting dust in his garage in El Cajon, a suburb of San Diego. He moved to SD from N Hollywood due to health issues. He told me that the car used 4 tanks of gas which was hard to believe as it's only 125 miles. He passed away back in 2008 and his widow sold the car along with his professional tools for about $100k. It was a very easy resto.. just needed freshening up. Can only imagine what it's worth today..
No matter what brand you are loyal to you gotta admit that Mopar really understood the young testosterone crowd with their cars and advertising campaigns. That concept Cuda had _everything_ about 1970 down. The wheels, the slicks, the sidepipes, the rake, the painted scallops, the shaker hood... It really was Hot Wheels all grown up. It would have sold like _mad_ if it could have been made affordable enough. The taillights on that Ford Mirano made a lot of sense. What a great safety feature that really telegraphed what driver was doing to following traffic. Way, way ahead of its time.
In my opinion the Cuda was too rounded and bubbely as far as the sheetmetel went, the interior had real cheap and boring door panels etc, the other E body the MIGHTY DODGE CHALLENGER had great sharp body lines, more curb apeal and one of the best door panel and seats combos ever, the Challenger was the hottest looking of both Divisions, just look at the grill and tail lights on the 1971 Challenger no other manufactuer ever came close to that futureistic design.
Ngl I want those taillights on new cars too, so many years ago and we STILL only have stoplights and reverse. Sigh
@@velocity5918 I think the Cuda was much better looking. The Challenger had a longer wheel base and body and looked less clean to me.
@@lancelotlink3907 yes, I can dig it but dig this, I was never a Ford man but as far as auto sex appeal goes, nothing was cooler looking than the Shelby line of Mustangs, 20 feet of hood, a FAST BACK design that was almost flat, today I would cut em both off to have a Boss (any CID) yellow with black secondary paint! The very best Detroit design studio effort ever And I am not a Ford fan but those cars were the hottest! Now , as far as we go my fellow muscle car enthuseist(?) goes ....DODGE RULES OVER PLYMOUTH every time. But just for fun in 1968 my neighbor had a slingshot small block dragster, i was 13 at that time, he would take me to Cordoba drag way and the US 30 Dragway and to this day I can still see DANDY DICK LANDY in his Super Stock Dodge running the track with his open face helmet and a long cigar in his mouth. Them was the days! But for you my friend we also pitted next to the legendary HEMI UNDER GLASS Cuda.
My wife actually came up with that idea before Ford. That is how the universe works: once a thought is thunk, it floats around looking for mind that will make it concrete. Careful what U wish for folks....😁
@ 9:03... that Roadrunner looks sick.They should have made *THAT* a production model.
I wasn't aware of the Mustang Milano but good God that may be one of the most beautiful cars I've ever seen and I think it's dethroned the GT40 as the best looking thing Ford has ever made in my book.
My God all these Concept Corvettes Looked AMAZING
It truly is a shame that magnificent designs like these never show up on the road and so often we end up with boring, nondescript, ho-hum production models.
and sometimes, a car company goes ALL OUT, and produces a phenomenal work of art and driving machine, like mazda did with their 3rd gen RX-7, and sold very very very few, even though the car out-competed cars 3 or 4 times its price, and with gorgeous, timeless, classic good looks to boot.
Collectors scooped up the best cars, as investments, and hid them away in garages, never to see the light of day.
I actually pulled the gauges out of a factory S&H replica Gran Torino back around 2010. I was blown away that it was in a junkyard and had no idea that it was factory ordered like that. Looked great too. I modified the gauges and used them as working gauges in my Chevy Van for a few years before switching them out and putting them up in a box for later.
Damn, that car is worth so much
The Mercury El Gato and Mustang Milano both look killer!
I always thought GM should have made Pontiac their performance brand. Most concept cars could have been made it to production. From big cars to small sports cars this could have worked but to many bean counters running the corp.
U R SO RIGHT, Bean counters running the show. Same went for Plymouth, Chrysler, Dodge. The Ram Charges designed and raced, the Scat Pack Studio made em sell (always look for the little Rumble Bee decale on the quarter glass) Dodge was my favorite but they got to expensive to find so I went back to next favorite, Poniiac where you could find good T/A s cheap until just a few years ago. Seems the old Vetts still havent gone up in price, if you even want one. Killing Pontiac was a fatal mistake for G M! Chevys were popular affordable cars as they were intended to be, Buick was legendary even Grand ma's Wildcat was beast like the Riveara but Pontiac ruled the G M corp. Except of course the Corvett which had some pathetic generations just like the Mustang did,.
I agree. Pontiac should have always been the "Well what about this?" division. They kind of did that with the Aztec, Lemans, and Vibe but never in a truly performance (power) way.
@@velocity5918 Oldsmobile was a brand that deserved to die. Chrysler, Cadillac, and Lincoln were luxury. Fiero was neat and like a Boxer or MR-2. The mid-engine Corvair only needed a brand change as the balance of a mid-engine avoided spinouts without deflating the front wheels.
The AutoZam Kei car from Japan is a 650CC 3-cylinder Suzuki gullwing door 2 seater mid-engine at 64 bhp. If you put a 1200 axle driven 4 cylinder water cooled BMW at 174 HP, or 1000CC Honda, or 750CC Honda, that would be a pocket rocket.
@@Douglas-yf6nb I don't think you mean Aztec. How about the Soltice instead? The Vibe did have a 195 hp six speed version starting in 2005 - the same engine/trans that Lotus used in their Elige, but way lighter. I have a 2003 Vibe as my daily driver. 225K miles and still going strong. Not exciting, but it still gets 32 mpg.
amazing man, thank you so much!
Great video. Thank you for making it.
AMX 3 and the show Baracuda are my favorites. Really loved the Carman Ghia too!
I actually got to see it amx3 when I was very young and I fell in love with that body style! Thank you so much for the video
Im a mopar guy but that AMX 3 , Pontiac Banshee and the Ford King Cobra were my favorites .
The story behind the king Cobra is interesting. After Mopar debuted the winged warriors in nascar Ford and GM knew they had to do something to compete. Ford decided if you can't beat them then join them and developed the king Cobra. But at GM they took a different path and since the nascar was mainly run by former GM guys they pressured them to make aero cars illegal. It's things like that that makes me hate nascar and GM not to mention their cars are rolling scrap piles
The Mustang Milano looks like a Challenger.
Especially from the back .
It does😂
Eeehhuuhh no.
Best looking pony car on this list in my opinion. I had a 69 AMX which bears a little resemblance to the rear quarters of this car. Had they gone with this design though, I'm sure it would have been a huge hit! Especially that deep plumb color!
Excellent video. Neat to see all those very interesting cars!
You out out a great video here. I have never seen over half these cars before. Well done!
Thank you very much!
Awesome assessment! Thank you!
One of the 427 camaros race in Australia by Bob jane, in the early 70s, he brought in 2; one manual the other auto, the manual race car still exist today
If you are racing a rear drive automatic. It needs to act exactly the same as a stick shift. A friend of mine has one of each. Guess which one he lost control of left the road and tore up the under carriage? Oh and I have never had automatic engine last as long as a stick. The automatic adds heat to the engine and worsa vicsa.
nice concept cars...especially the mustang mach 2 and AMC AMX iii
Great video. Thanks!
Love concept cars. Thought I had seen'em all, but you showed me the ones I missed. Only recognized two.
Thanks for a few steps down memory lane. My wife (and kid) sort of steered me away fron a 69 Boss 302 in Calypso Coral factory paint.
first video of your's i seen, and i'm totally on board; these were some super sick whips, thanks for sharing 🙏👹🖤
The Milano front fenders and hood were directly used for the 1969 Shelby production (but with a different grille and headlights).
Also a lot of the Milano styling cues wound up on the 1972 Australian Ford Falcon XA GT coupe including Naca scoops and fender scoops. Also the fast back design.
Asymetric design can work so well and I wish it was played with more. The El Gato fuel cap is pretty cool. I think it also doubles as the reverse as well.
Great video - well done. I’ll have an El Gato and a 70 GTX thanks.
Very cool video 📹! I appreciate the hard work!..from Wyoming USA 🇺🇸 👋🤠
The AMX/3 was such a beautiful design piece.
They could make these now and there would be a stampede to buy them. I’d sell my soul for a Purple El Gato, a AMX/3 or a Milano with White Interior, 🤤
AMX 3 you know, it's also known as the "SPEEDRACER" cartoon car? I can't believe I'm actually looking at the real life equivalent of it!🎉
Great vid and nice bits of humor!
The Mustang Milano looks like a cross between a '73 Falcon XB, and, a '71 Challenger.
great automotive history! thanks!
Damn! That El Gato! That was one fantastic looking set of wheels.
Some really cool designs! As far as concept cars fleshing out as production vehicles: It seemed Dodge started a trend of "concept as production precursor" after their Viper was put in production nearly identical to the concept, which brought A LOT of visibility to the brand.
Nice! Hadn't seen most of those.
The AMX/3, Mustang Milano and Pontiac Banshee, should be brought back to life.
Great vid!!! 👍👍
It’s a massive shame that the Rapid Transit cars were never mass produced, that black and gold roadrunner was the bomb
Selling specially made cars wasn't how dealers made their money. They would pre-order plenty of 'almost as good' cars, because they knew most drivers couldn't drive the top of the line hemi engined cars easily on the street. So while you read about the Hemi Cuda, what you would find on the lot were 440 tri-power wedge engines. NO HEMIS.
Yeah, the Hemi was temperamental and expensive. it added $800.00 to the cost of a $4000.00 car. @@d.e.b.b5788
Interesting video
AMX 3 was a very cool concept. I immediately, saw resemblance to the Pantera. Some great concepts featured here. But why did manufacturers start making larger vehicles in the first place?? Had they kept making relatively smaller vehicles, maybe there wouldn't have been such an issue with oil and fuel shortages in the 70's.
Yep. My father and uncle were shaking their heads at those boats.
It hasn't stopped. Cars are still getting bigger and heavier today. Compare a modern Corolla to a 1970's Corolla. It's really about marketing. If you have a 5 year old Corolla, why would you buy a new one if it didn't offer some real advantages? But if it has more legroom in the back and more luggage space...
Maybe a little lamborghini huracan 😮
Reading my mind. Pantera.
The vehicles needed added weight to go with the added horsepower. Gas was 28-32 cents.
The 60's and 70's production lineup that did get produced was adequate enough to keep people dreaming of the era, being older I got to drive or ride in most versions of muscle cars and whereas these people talked down the AMC Gremlin and admittedly it was not a pretty car but You could order it from the factory with a 401 cubic inch big block and a 4spd it was a monster of a car.
You could order it, but good luck in getting one. The wait list for performance special orders was long, plus add in the special 'dealer mark up' fees to get those cars. Most buyers couldn't afford to wait several months plus pay UP FRONT for the special dealer fees for those cars.
I was a mere child by the end of the 70s but, coming from a poor family, the late 80s and early 90s were fairly kind to me. I, at least, was privileged to have driven at least half of those actual production cars. The cheaper half of course, lol.
As a child of the 70's my self in 83 when I could drive all of these cars were dirt cheap and owned many of them .My first car was a 71 Deamon duster I got for 100.00 bucks1983 in primer and a new exhaust in the back seat. 360 and she was fun at 16 it was too much of a car for me, now I wish I had 1/2 of the cars I have owned over the decades. Edit the car had to be sold to pay fines LOL
I feel all these beautiful & cool concept cars MUST go into immediate production!!
At least we are looking at what we use to call stylish. Now all we have are stupid trucks and SUVs!
I am so tired of people’s obsession with trucks and suvs I mean most of these suvs can’t even go off-road and they look so ugly, most of them don’t even have as much space as full size sedans
Whirlpools with wheels John.
Check out the new chevelle ss 70 and the new Buick skylark. Totally badass!
Here in oz its spastic plastic.
I really hope this obsession with trucks, SUVs and crossovers will die out. It's just plain stupidity.
Hermosas rarezas aunque solo fueron conceptos tienen un encanto de nostalgia 👍
well done, thanks
I have pics of my mother in the Aero Vette. It was on display at the GMAD Fremont plant and the car was right outside her office window.
The El Gato and Milano are real beauties!
Fantastic video!!!
Glad you liked it!
There is a Ford King Cobra at the savoy auto museum in Cartersville, ga. It’s a pretty cool car to see!
Good Video/Info.
Lots of GM representation in this group of concepts, so 2 more to add in. The Hurricane, GTR X and EFIJ, fully functional, built on very low budgets and stunning. . As for the ones shown, well the AMC takes my vote. Thanks
dude the mercury el gato such a sick shape loving it
A Friend of mine had a "Reverse" Starsky & Hutch-mobile. His was Factory White with a Red Stripe (rather than Red with the white stripe) that he got from his Brother in Law. His Brother In Law was a Police Officer down in Houston who would buy a new vehicle, keep it for a couple of months, then get Rid of it. So my Friend's had very little miles/ no body damage/ and was pretty much like it came, straight from the Factory. WE, however, put a LOT of miles on it, LOL!
In my hometown, the Truant Officer had the full Starsky & Hutch Grand Torino...
The Milano was the biggest winner from my point of view. It's a pity the Milan looked nothing like it.
Some of these concept cars need to be brought back into production.
The Dodge Diamonte would have made an excellent addition to this video. Pretty good overall, thank you!
That el Gato is insane 🔥 🔥.
Big mistake by AMC not to move forward with the AMX/3. That was a cool looking car!
They made a large undrivable Ford Seattle XXI car for a movie called Year: 1999 AD.
The Mustang Milano just may be one of the most gorgeous cars I’ve ever seen. It truly sucks that Ford never made it.
Entertaining, thx.
The craziest thing is that most cars actually looked at least relatively close to their concepts back then.. Now none of that happens.
Out standing, sir!!!
Those taillight features based off Ford Milano changing color to green to signify the car accelerating...is truly a masterpiece design. Wish some performance muscle car took notes and adopted this fantastic feature! 😎
Think maybe the NTSB might have had something to do with quashing taillights that could operate like that? Me thinks maybe so 😅
You are correct. AMC proposed that exact design to the Feds around 1968 and they said no way Jay. @@walcoman
Good job
Nice video. Thank you. I am watching you from Russia
I remember in the 80s there was a prototype of a chevrolet minivan that could be 2 in 1 because it was a small car and joining as a minivan was a change for our times ahead of the future
The front of that King Cobra looks like the bigger version of the Z cars from the 70s!
Interesting video. Can you talk about Gr-1 on your next video? Thanks!
Gotta love concept cars , thougn its a shame that some never made it into production
You won me right over by showing the Ford GT90. :D
AMX 3 what a beautiful car
Well done.
That was cool.😊
Well the Milano wouldve been an awesome production car for sure..but as bloated as the 71-73 Mustangs were, they were still downright cool. The 71 year had some fast examples with the 351 Boss and the HO for 72 I believe. If a regular Mach had a 429 cobrajet, it was no slouch either..
The 71-73 Mustangs are my favorite body style of Mustang.
That Mustang Milano would have been such a badass ride. I want one so bad.
One of the Rapid Transit concept cars just sold at a Barrett Jackson auction for 2.5 million.
AMX3 ! Wow ! Someone should make that
My favorite from this time was the Mercury Cougar II, a two-seater sports coupe.
Ford's Cougar II was a beautiful little fastback coupe based on the AC Shelby Cobra. It looked a bit like a slightly shrunken Corvette. Unfortunately, only the name made it to a production model.
AMX3 was soo stylish.
8:35 Top right... The front end, sure looks like a Capri.
Super sweet ride
really cool
the "el gato" looks wonderfull