The ten best concept cars of 2013

A concept car is supposed to kick you in the satchels and nick your lunch money; it's a visual punch of fantasy metal designed to shock and provoke awe. A car designed to test the waters for future production, but also be completely and absolutely bonkers.

This year we've seen Lamborghini at its absolute, bonkers best, while Honda rolled out a car so cute that we just want to wrap it up in cotton wool and feed it milk. We've also seen the future of Vauxhall, the future of Cadillac, a Renault Twizy after a few disco biscuits and a Mercedes surely designed by Satan himself.

Have a click through the very finest concept of 2013...

A really, really pretty looking car, and one that British designer Mark Adams tells us will influence the next generation of Vauxhalls. "It's Vauxhall design 2.0, if you like," Adams told us earlier this year. Gullwing doors, a shooting brake-style body and a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo engine underneath mean it really is the future.

Read more on the Monza

An F-Type concept car viewed through the lens of Le Mans; Jaguar has taken seven outright victories at La Sarthe, and the Project 7 is a little tribute. There's a 542bhp supercharged V8, a new rear fairing section and rollover hoop, plus lots of carbon fibre Things. We let Stig loose in it. Safe to say the tyres never stood a chance...

Stig vs Jaguar's Project 7

A proper mid-engined tribute to the old R5 Turbo and Clio V6. While the business line is that the Twin'Run previews the next Twingo, the party line was, well, it likes to party. That's because it has a 3.5-litre V6 and 320bhp from a Megane Trophy engine. We've driven it too, and... it's brilliant.

Exclusive video: Twin'Run on track

With the Ciel concept of 2011, Cadillac wanted to reignite the luxury of open-air driving. With this Elmiraj, it wants to reignite cool. Magnificent thing, and a brute too: underneath there's a twin-turbo 4.5-litre V8 delivering 500bhp and 500lb ft of torque. 500 is a good number.

Read more on the Cadillac Elmiraj

A 600bhp ode to selfishness and celebration, all wrapped up in an aluminium and carbon fibre package with... anti-radar detection. Unveiled as part of the company's 50th anniversary party, the appropriately-named Egoista packs a modified version of the Gallardo's 5.2-litre V10. It's supposed to represent hedonism, according to VW Group design chief Walter De Silva. It certainly represents something. You know what.

More on the Lambo Egoista

Is this the coolest EV in history? True, competition is stiff - who can forget our little ‘Geoff'? - but then so's the engineering behind the Bladeglider. Skinny front wheels, three-abreast seating, massive G-force... and Nissan's serious about building it. Good.

More on the Nissan Bladeglider

The spiritual successor to the Beat gets a 660cc three-pot turbo, a flappy-paddle auto ‘box and the promise that it'll reach production at some point soon. But possibly not in Britain. Boo.

Honda reveals S660

This Mercedes monster concept was commissioned by Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi to appear exclusively in the new game (so you'll get to drive it virtually this year, not in 2189 when robots have enslaved us all). Merc liked the car so much, it knocked out a real, moving concept for the LA Motor Show. TG was there. And very much afraid.

Merc's Vision GT is evil

Retro, right? Not to be outdone by that pesky GT86, Nissan brought two coupes to the Tokyo Motor Show to gauge opinion on whether it should build a back-to-basics, cool looking rear-drive motor. The answer? Yes, yes, yes...

Nissan's IDX concept

Safe to say we didn't see this one coming. Renault's long history in both Formula One technology and road cars collided spectacularly in the shape of this: a Twizy with KERS, a gigantic downforce-generating rear wing, endplates on the front wing and slicks. In fact, its power-to-weight ratio is but a fraction off the Megane RS 265s. We like very, very much.

TG drives the Twizy F1