Concept cars have long been a way for manufacturers to showcase futuristic technology and bold design choices. Unlike production cars, which prioritize user-friendliness, concept cars allow designers to experiment with innovative, sometimes impractical, interior layouts.
The 1980s, in particular, saw a surge in digital dashboards and button-laden cockpits, leading to some of the most bewildering designs ever seen in the automotive world. Here, we count down the 10 most bizarre concept car interiors of all time.
1. Oldsmobile Incas (1986): The Ultimate Button-Filled Cockpit
The Oldsmobile Incas concept took the idea of fighter jet-inspired interiors to an extreme. Its steering wheel contained around 40 buttons, responsible for managing every function of the car, including gear selection, cruise control, and lighting.
The dashboard consisted entirely of massive screens packed with an overwhelming amount of data. While visually impressive, the Incas interior was a usability nightmare, proving that more technology isn’t always better.
2. Lancia Orca (1982): A Digital Nightmare
Lancia’s Orca concept was an aerodynamic marvel with an interior that bordered on chaotic. The steering wheel housed controls for turn signals, air conditioning, and lighting, while the dashboard was overloaded with glowing bar graphs displaying speed and RPMs.
A secondary diagram showed the status of the vehicle’s doors and other warning indicators, further adding to the information overload. With its complex digital cluster and scattered controls, the Orca’s interior proved that too much tech can be a bad thing.
3. Volkswagen Orbit (1986): A Digital Overload
The Volkswagen Orbit was an ambitious attempt at integrating cutting-edge digital technology into a vehicle. The dashboard was divided into multiple sections, featuring a digital gauge cluster on top of the air vent-filled dash.
The left side housed digital displays for trip information and temperature, while the right side featured an extensive infotainment system, including an early satnav and even a built-in TV. The touch-sensitive controls and excessive buttons, though futuristic, made the interior overwhelming and impractical.
4. Renault Ondelios (2008): The Transparent Dashboard
Renault’s Ondelios took a unique approach to interior design with its transparent gauge cluster, which emerged from the dashboard. Adding to the futuristic theme, a glass wave extends from the right side of the dash to display additional information.
A headliner-mounted projector beamed navigation instructions onto the dashboard, creating a high-tech but impractical driving experience. The most puzzling feature, however, was a built-in keyboard embedded in the leather dashboard, meant for vehicle controls.
5. Lancia Stratos Zero (1970): The Original Digital Display
Decades before Tesla popularized vertical touchscreens, Lancia’s Stratos Zero concept introduced a massive vertical instrument panel integrated into the dash. With its almost horizontal seating position and lack of traditional doors, the Stratos Zero was a marvel of innovation.
The windshield served as the car’s entry point, flipping up to allow access. Though its wedge-shaped design was groundbreaking, the impractical cockpit layout made it clear that this was never meant for mass production.
6. Lancia Medusa (1980): A Button Overload
The Lancia Medusa continued the trend of overcomplicated concept interiors. Its steering wheel alone featured 25 buttons of varying sizes, controlling everything from climate settings to the digital clock.
Wrapped in carbon fiber skins, the buttons made the steering wheel uneven and difficult to use. The gauge cluster relied on a vast array of LEDs to display crucial information, creating a cluttered and confusing layout.
Ironically, despite all the digital advancements, the Medusa still featured an old-fashioned keyhole, placed in a Porsche-like position on the left side.
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7. Pontiac Pursuit (1987): Fighter Jet Steering Wheel
Pontiac took cockpit-style design to the extreme with the Pursuit concept. The most striking feature was its steering wheel, which contained an astonishing 29 buttons, closely resembling aircraft controls.
Behind it, even more buttons controlled lights and wipers, color-coded for differentiation. Despite its high-tech digital gauge cluster, the rest of the interior was surprisingly bare, making the button-laden steering wheel feel even more out of place.
8. Mercedes-Benz F200 “Imagination” (1996): Joystick Controls
The Mercedes-Benz F200 offered a vision of a future without steering wheels or pedals. Instead, the car was controlled using joysticks mounted on the center console and doors. This bold innovation freed up dashboard space for expansive digital displays, which showcased rear-view camera feeds, satnav, and traffic sign recognition.
However, the spherical control panel in the center console, which managed climate settings and windows, was one of the least intuitive designs ever conceived.
9. Maserati Boomerang (1972): The Most Confusing Steering Wheel Ever
The Maserati Boomerang earned the top spot on this list for its truly baffling interior design. Its gauge cluster and steering wheel were combined into a single rotating console, meaning the wheel spun around a fixed set of gauges and switches.
The result was a cockpit that looked stunning but made little practical sense. Essential driving information, such as speed, was absent, leaving only RPM, fuel, oil pressure, and temperature gauges. While undeniably cool, the Boomerang’s interior was more of a design experiment than a functional space.
10. Lancia Sibilo (1978): A Toy-Like Design
The Lancia Sibilo took minimalism to an extreme, resulting in an interior that looked more like a toy than a car. Dominated by brown plastic and purple leather, the cockpit featured a nearly featureless steering wheel with just three buttons.
The dashboard housed essential instruments high up, supposedly to reduce driver distraction, but the overall design lacked refinement and practicality. Though intended as a futuristic vision, the Sibilo’s interior felt more like an afterthought.
Concept cars have always been playgrounds for designers to push the boundaries of technology and aesthetics. While many of the interiors on this list were impractical, they played a crucial role in shaping the future of automotive design.
Some ideas, like digital dashboards and vertical screens, have found their way into production vehicles, while others, like joystick-controlled steering and button-filled cockpits, have been (thankfully) left behind.
As technology continues to evolve, it’s exciting to imagine what the next generation of concept car interiors will look like.
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