Dead on Arrival

Sometimes cars make it all the way to production possibility before being snuffed out at the last minute. Here are 44 of the most memorable

The ultimate 'dead on arrival' supercar is the Cerbera Speed 12, a car even TVR was too afraid to put in public hands

It's unimaginable now but here was a Jaguar concept that absolutely everyone loved... and mourned when it didn't make production

It was a four-door with a Porsche flat-six at the rear – which was exactly what ’60s America didn’t want

How the Italian supercar maker once put its name to a 4x4 intended for the American military

Progress on this Citroën SM-derived four-door stalled when the French firm faltered in the mid-’70s

It could’ve re-ignited a lust for Lancias, but instead this retro two-seater stalled at the concept stage

This lightweight, mid-engined Brit came achingly close to being an affordable ’80s hero

The tale of how a revised ’80s Alpine nearly became a halo car for Renault in America

This compact four-door might have rivalled the mighty Mini in the 1960s if Alfa had kept the faith

This mid-engined miniature hero was another rally-ready special lost with the cancellation of Group B

The Swedish brand’s failed 2010s revival meant we missed out on a 400bhp hybrid TT rival – and more

In 1982 Alfa Romeo showed off a widebody, mid-engined Alfasud destined for Group B rallying. Here's why it never came to fruition

How General Motors’ performance linchpin was spared the indignity of losing drive to the rear

This 750bhp rallying MR2 could have seen Toyota conquer the stages, but instead fate intervened

In 2004, Chrysler showed off a radical supercar concept with an 850bhp V12. Sadly it never came to be.

This miniature marvel could have seen Porsche enter the ’90s with a truly affordable entry-level sports car

A genuine supercar from the maker of people’s cars seemed tantalisingly possible – until logic prevailed

Daihatsu was on the verge of launching a lightweight MX-5-rivalling roadster in the '90s, but it never came to be

This Ghia-styled, mid-engined V6 coupe came close to becoming Ford’s answer to the Honda NSX

This 4WD homologation special with 400bhp potential could have rescued the Mk3 Golf’s reputation

In an alternate reality, the MGF could have been a front-engined V8 roadster

A 613bhp V12 and a 340kg diet could have enhanced the original 8-series’ reputation – but for the price

The Sunbeam Lotus successor was mid-engined and turbocharged, but lacked another vital ingredient

It didn’t get to succeed the A610, but instead transformed into one of the ’90s most extreme sports cars

Despite strong demand, this V12-powered supercar was denied production – but its legacy lives on

This racing-inspired 7-litre Holden Monaro garnered more than enough interest for its limited production run to sell out. But sadly the sums didn’t ad…

Not one but two attempts were made to spin a two-seater sports car off the original Mini’s platform, but flaws in their designs would see both stall a…

Few cancelled automotive projects have had such significant consequences, or been as costly, but the culling of VW’s original choice for a Beetle succ…

It was supposed to be Ford’s first mid-engined rally contender, to be joined by 500 homologation road cars, but a plethora of problems saw it stall at…

This V8-powered hatchback was all set to take on the Australian muscle car establishment until the twin 1970s woes of the oil crisis and Leyland build…

A V10-engined ‘Baby Lamborghini’ was in development more than a decade before the Gallardo was launched in 2003. This is the story of why it it never …

​​It would have been the understated successor to the Lotus Carlton, if only it could’ve stayed cool

This mid-engined, V8-powered three-seater could have been Rover’s first sports car, but a wary rival within the British Leyland empire ensured it wo…