1995 Daihatsu FX-21

Proving you could chew up and spit out a prettier design, the squinty FX-21 (1995) can at least mitigate for its mutilated back end by virtue of the fact that it had a rear-set, three-cylinder, one-litre engine. A 900cc two-stroke diesel was also planned. Gearchanges were fly-by-wire, via a dial on the dash, while a head-up display warned of any road block ahead. Possibly from the style police.

DAIHATSU FX-21: The company is now more than one-third owned by Toyota, which apparently means the designers have been smoking the same stuff. They call this mad grub a "mini-car proposal for the 21st century". Well, it sort of goes back to the Volkswagen beetle, with a three-cylinder one-litre diesel engine in the bum.

The steering wheel is connected to the steering box by a flexible cable and pulley (a bit like the billycarts I used to build), and the gearshift and transmission are linked by electronic signals from a dial switch on the dash. That still doesn’t excuse the use of huge Ferrari-copy air scoops ahead of the rear wheels.