Becoming an automotive designer takes hard work, practice and, most importantly, a vivid imagination. Judging by some of these drawings, we reckon most of those boxes have already been ticked.
Car Keys asked a bunch of kids to dream up what they think the coolest car in the world would look like, and then to draw it. Scrap emissions tests and crash safety restrictions. The laws of physics? Who cares about those? So long as it’s cool, it’s good enough for us.
The results have been utterly fantastic, and after a bit of slight bribery in the form of an Easter egg for each budding designer, some truly weird and truly wonderful designs have made their way back to us.
Interestingly, although each was designed by a different child, many of them feature solar and electric power. Are the kids of today more receptive to alternative energy than current generations?
That said, they all seem to have a thing for massive wings and crazy wheels too, so maybe the future’s still bright for those of us who prefer our cars more super than sensible.
Take a look below at the cars of the future as drawn by the designers of the future. Reckon you could see yourself with any of these parked in your driveway?
The Solar-Powered Entertainment Flying Car
Thought your car with its seven-inch touchscreen, HDMI port and seven-speaker sound system was the last word on in-car entertainment? Sorry, but it looks like The Solar-Powered Entertainment Flying Car has you beat.
Designed by five-year old Keir and kitted out with a fantastic technicolour paintjob of the sort that would make Joseph and his dreamcoat blush, the car also comes with a special space for a jester to stand and entertain the passengers.
Yep, you read that correctly. An actual jester. It’s attention to detail like this that can’t be matched by virtually any other manufacturer, so it’s your move Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
Solar powered, as the name suggests, it also features a rubber bumper inspired by barges that surrounds the outside of the car to protect from bumps and scrapes. Always handy when you’ve got a fancy paintjob to protect!
Get this, it’s got an engine mounted in the rear, meaning that this thing’s basically a 911! Are you listening, Porsche? The future is here, and it’s got 24 wheels!
The Confectionary Car
The perfect sweet ride for somebody with a sweet tooth, the Confectionary Car dreamed up by eight-year old Matilda is as crazy as it is unbelievably cute.
Take, for example, the fact that it comes with four flying chairs and even a flying sofa, each of which is powered by a set of rocket boosters and can independently fly inside the interior of the car. We have to admit, we’d feel slightly sorry for the parents who owned this car; kids are hard enough to control when they’re all buckled in. Wonder how it affects crash safety ratings as well?
Perhaps the marshmallow lights on the front would go a long way to helping absorb impacts? The confectionary theme continues with a cake floorpan and four wheels made of Wagon Wheels. That’s the jam-filled Wagon Wheels, mind you, not actual wheels from a wagon.
It also features a built-in sink which would prove useful for washing down chocolate-covered hands as well as its own toilet, something we wish all cars had on long motorway trips. Wonder where it goes when you flush it, though…?
Audi Cameleon Explora
When it comes to all-weather capability, Audi has had that locked down for the best part of 40 years thanks to its dedicated Quattro four-wheel drive. Well, seven-year old Michael has just taken things a step further with his innovative and unique Audi Cameleon Explora concept.
Along with, we presume, Audi’s signature four-wheel drive system, the Cameleon also features extendable skis underneath the chassis, which extend downwards to help the car effortlessly glide across snow, water, mud and more.
On the outside, the car gets a rad bodykit with huge alloys and skinny, low-profile tyres, plus what looks like a twin sports tailpipe at the rear. Michael, you’re well and truly speaking the Car Keys language. Just ignore the little clouds of emissions coming out the back, we promise you those are strictly Euro 6-compliant…
Incredibly detailed, the Cameleon Explora also features an ejector seat with a parachute, handy to launch annoying passengers out of the car, and the car’s even capable of talking to its driver like KITT from Knight Rider. Completing the exterior is a personalised registration plate, but we can’t help but wonder how much the DVLA would charge for that one?
Interestingly, the Cameleon Explora is also capable of changing its colour to match in with its background. It comes with six presets that allow it to blend seamlessly into sand, water and jungle environments, plus earth, rock and night modes. The only thing we reckon it’s missing is a feature that makes it invisible to traffic wardens…
The Rainbow Boat Car
Three-year old Genevieve designed this fantastically-coloured Rainbow Boat Car, and we have to say that if this were real we’d buy one in a heartbeat!
Along with its bright colour scheme which means it can be easily seen on the road, the vehicle also comes with a built-in bed like several driverless car concepts, so presumably the Rainbow Boat Car is also capable of driving itself.
Lots of wheels mean perfect traction in all conditions and a smooth ride, which is always handy if you’re trying to catch 40 winks on a long journey while the car drives itself to wherever your destination is.
Also, true to its name, the Rainbow Boat car is also amphibious. Equally at home on the water as it is on the road, one minute you can be zooming down the motorway and the next cruising by the coast or on a river somewhere. Does it have room for our fishing rods, we wonder?
The Brickmobile
Six-year old Oscar has presented this fantastic Brickmobile, which offers a notably more rustic take on the automobile as we know it.
Eschewing steel and aluminium in favour of a roof made of brick, wooden body panelling and stone steps to allow the driver to climb up to the steering wheel, this homespun little car also features a neat little smokestack-style exhaust pipe.
There’s no word on what kind of engine powers the car, but that really doesn’t matter, because far more interesting are the wheels. The left one (there are only two on the basis that it’s a 2D car, you see) is made of vitamins, while the right-hand wheel is made entirely of chocolate.
What’s more, if you’re tempted to take a bite out of either one of the tyres - and let’s be honest with ourselves, who among us hasn’t been - they can regenerate back to their original state. Unlimited amounts of chocolate and no more tyre change bills? Sign us up!
Other interesting noteworthy bits and bobs include a steering wheel in the shape of the sun, plus windows made from buttons that, when pressed, can magically transform the car into anything you want it to be.
MccLane’s E1 Land and Air
Now how’s this for a mean-looking design? Meet Henry’s MccLane Land and Air, a flying supercar that features a blade-like front end that’s a dead ringer for hypercars like the Lamborghini Veneno.
Like many previous Lamborghini designs, the car’s also clearly inspired by the aerospace industry judging by its fighter-jet style canopy and cockpit, plus its overall aerodynamic design that helps it slice through air resistance like a hot knife through Play-Doh.
The aerospace inspiration doesn’t stop there; The E1 Land and Air also features retractable wings on the side which allows the car to, as its name suggests, take to the skies. Rear-mounted buttresses keep it stable and act as a rudder when the car’s in flight, and we have to say having something like this would come in dead handy when you’re stuck in a traffic jam.
Alongside its highly-detailed exterior is the manufacturer’s badge mounted on the front, along with the hot contrasting black and red paintjob, plus those killer red alloy wheels.
Most noteworthy of all, however, is how this car is powered. A rear-mounted electric engine powers what looks like thruster packs, and is powerful enough to launch the E1 to a top speed of 7,000mph both on the road and in the sky.
That makes it nearly ten times faster than the current world-record holder for the world’s fastest car, the Thrust SSC. It’s also 3,000mph faster than the fastest manned aircraft and, get this, seven THOUSAND times faster than the world’s fastest electric vehicle. Phew.
Watch out Bugatti, you’ve got competition!