Eight Volkswagen concept cars that the world has forgotten about.

After their moment in the spotlight is over, concept cars are often forgotten. However, Volkswagen recently took a look back at eight concept cars it has unveiled over the past three decades.

One of the earliest concept cars in VW's retrospective is also one of the strangest: the Italdesign Machimoto, unveiled in 1986, was a motorcycle, a convertible, and a family car, according to VW. Built on the Golf GTI 16V platform, the car lacked a roof and doors, but featured a steering wheel that could be converted into a steering wheel.

Powered by a GTI engine that produced approximately 139 hp, the Machimoto was drivable. Passengers were advised to wear helmets.

Also introduced in 1986, the scooter was a three-wheeled vehicle with gullwing doors. Weighing just under 1,400 pounds, it was powered by a 40-horsepower engine that drove the front wheels through a four-speed manual transmission.

VW seems to have a penchant for gullwing doors: the 1989 Futura minivan concept also had gullwing doors, and the 2005 Eco Racer diesel sports car had a carbon-fiber body and removable roof that could transform the coupe into It could be transformed into a speedster; according to VW, this pre-diesel-gate artifact produced 136 hp and could do 0-62 mph in 6.3 seconds and reach a top speed of 142 mph.

For more serious performance, look no further than the W-12 Nardo. This was the first serious supercar VW unveiled in 1997, with a 600 hp W-12 engine, all-wheel drive, and a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 s. VW continued development of the Nardo into the early 2000s, but it never went into production. Instead, it was used to develop the W-12 engine for the Bentley lineup and for high-end Audi and VW models.

The 2014 XL Sport offers a somewhat different take on performance. Based on the ultra-efficient Volkswagen XL1, it is powered by a Ducati two-cylinder engine that produces 197 hp. This allows the 1,962-pound XL Sport to go from 0-62 mph in 5.7 seconds and reach a top speed of 168 mph.

Its counterpart was the 2002 Magellan Concept, a three-row SUV with what VW called "2+2+2" seating. At the time, such a vehicle seemed like a stretch for VW, but Magellan foretold the VW Touareg and Atlas.

Speaking of the Atlas, the last concept we'll cover here is the Atlas Tanoak pickup, which was unveiled at the 2018 New York International Auto Show The Tanoak is essentially an Atlas with a bed, much like Honda's Ridgeline is a Pilot and basic similar to the platform it shares with the Pilot; VW has been tight-lipped about a possible production version.