10 Green Concept Cars That Are Waaaaay Out There

Practicality is the last thing anyone considers when designing concept cars. A car made of glass? Windows like gun slits?

But practicality isn't the point. Concept cars are flights of fantasy carrying auto design into the future. Since our future will be a place where a gallon of gas costs more than a gallon of Scotch, the students at Royal College of Art designed their cars that run on things like electricity and algal fuel.

These outlandish designs will influence the cars you drive tomorrow. RCA has been teaching vehicle design since 1967 and its alumni include big-name designers at Ford, Mazda, Volvo and other companies. An RCA grad has probably worked on the car you're driving now, even if it isn't made of glass.

Photo: The Airflow by Pierre Sabas of France has wheel-mounted electric motors and is made entirely of glass. "I’ve tried to wrap it around like fabric. It allows for a new driving sensation and it gives the occupants a new perception of the outside world," he says. The car won the Best Design Interpretation Award at the Pilkington Automotive Vehicle Design Awards.

Source: http://www.wired.com/cars/futuretransport/multimedia/2008/08/gallery_green_concept_cars