Gallery: 2012's best concept cars

Design flagellation, whimsical conjecture and, if you're lucky, a dim clue of what a manufacturer's new car's going to look like. That is, more or less (and in that order) what a concept car usually is.

But sometimes they're not. Sometimes they're 95-per-cent-finished versions of the most anticipated hypercar... in the world. And this is it, the McLaren P1. And though it's only a concept, the manufacturer took us for an exclusive preview, spilling a few beans in the process...

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It's made from is made from paper, felt and copper AND a hybrid V8 and gearbox from the Le Mans car. In the show-but-no-go world of concept cars, this is called going the extra mile...

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Most Bentley owners have five or 10 other cars. And one of those other cars tends to be a fancypants off-roader. Bentley can see an opportunity here. And it revealed its plan to everyone a the Geneva motor show. Wasn't half divisive...

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The Honda NSX is back. And just like the original this is not just a sledgehammer supercar clone, but a fascinating, intriguing contemporary take on the genre.

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Oh my. A hot-looking, mid-engined... Infiniti? Yep. And there's more - it was engineered in Britain, and runs a Lotus engine.

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This actually very pretty Panamaera wagon gives us a glimpse into the future of how future Porsche hybrids will look, and drive. More on the latter soon...

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You're looking at the Lamborghini for daily use, for the family, for holidays, for shopping.... Luckily, there's 600bhp, permanent four-wheel-drive and traction control. Best strap the Tesco's bag down...

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The Renault Alpine A110-50 makes a hell of a racket. This is a rare compliment to pay a concept car, because most don't make any noise at all. The A110-50 isn't most concept cars...

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While this doesn't tick quite as many preview boxes as the rest of our round-up, it is ruddy gorgeous...

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It's a steroidal G-Class built for riots, intimidating people and driving around off-road. But underneath lies a cuddly heart - mounted on the roof are specialised water tanks, which transfer recycled H2O to a "hydro-tech converter" turning it into hydrogen. This hydrogen is used to power the fuel cells, with electricity storage cells hiding in the side skirts. The wheels are fitted with motors, and power is adjusted individually according to the terrain.

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