Top five concept cars of 2019

We love a concept vehicle here at carsales, be it a preview to an upcoming production model, a portent to new technology or just a left-field contraption conceived to crystal-ball a Jetsons-style future.

In 2019, it seemed concept cars also struck a chord with our readers. And performance-oriented concepts were particularly appealing.

Here are our top five, counting down to the most popular.

5. Lexus GX off-road concept is tough

Given Australia’s love of the Toyota Prado, it should come as little surprise that a story on the Lexus Prado spin-off performed so strongly.

The GX Off Road Concept, or GXOR, takes the premium Lexus GX 460 – an Audi Q7 rival – and modifies it for serious bush bashing.

The concept SUV is hooked up to a custom-made Patriot X1H camper trailer (which is built in Queensland, Australia) and is powered by a 4.6-litre petrol V8 (225kW/446Nm) which has enough pepper to tow up to 3000kg.

Concept or otherwise, it’s easy to imagine the GXOR tackling some of Australia’s tougher off-road tracks.

Full story on the Lexus GX Off Road concept

4. Hyundai Type R killer concept unveiled

Hyundai’s N division made yet more inroads on traditional performance car marques in 2019, and it seems that interest in hot hatches showed no sign of waning.

Proof? Behold our story on the Bisimoto VelosterRaptor N concept, a mouth-watering prototype with all manner of performance upgrades conceived to deliver a final output approaching 250kW.

Full story on the Hyundai Bisimoto VelosterRaptor N concept

3. Hyundai Veloster N Performance Car concept outed

Not content with just one concept car story hit, Hyundai’s N car division featured again in the top five list in October.

This respective creation was debuted at SEMA in Las Vegas, and though the Veloster N isn’t currently sold in Australia, the concept held some relevance to enthusiasts by offering up the kind of aftermarket solutions that are currently available for your Hyundai hot hatch.

Full story on the Hyundai Veloster N Performance concept

2. GFG-style Kangaroo concept revealed

What does a Chinese-backed, Italian-designed SUV have in common with one of Australia’s national emblems?

Well, aside from its name and potentially some special suspension that allows this concept to traverse rough terrain -- very little. But that didn’t stop carsales readers from clicking away, levering the Kangaroo concept car to number three on our list.

Full story on the GFG Kangaroo concept

1. Subaru coupe-crossover concept revealed

Subaru loves a concept car. Better yet, it loves a VIZIV-branded concept car, as evidenced by the fact it has released seven of them since 2013.

The latest is this VIZIV Adrenaline Concept shown at this year’s Geneva motor show. The high-riding contraption arguably asked more questions than it answered, piquing the interest of carsales readers in a big way.

Full story on the Subaru VIZIZ Adrenaline concept

...And a special mention to the the Subaru WRX STI concept’s unveiling at the 2018 Tokyo Auto Salon, this yarn from nearly two years ago still is one of the most popular concept cars and gathers thousands of eyeballs every month.

Full story on the Subaru WRX STI concept