Dezeen's top 10 car designs of 2023
Next in our review of 2023 we round up 10 eye-catching car designs featured on Dezeen this year, including Tesla's Cybertruck, a muscular SUV by Rezvani Motors and David Beckham's designs for a pair of Maserati cars.
Electric vehicles and designs integrating digital technology dominate this year's list, which also saw BMW reveal their prototype for a colour-changing sedan and an Australian student invent an affordable kit to convert vehicles to hybrid electric powertrains.
Here are Dezeen's top 10 car designs of 2023:
David Beckham sports cars for Maserati
While perhaps not the most groundbreaking car design of the year, this celebrity-brand collaboration was one of the most popular vehicle-related stories on Dezeen in 2023.
British ex-footballer David Beckham designed a pair of luxury sports cars for Italian brand Maserati to promote their customisation program Fuoriserie Essentials, which will allow customers to personalise their Maserati vehicles.
According to the brand, the cars were informed by Beckham's own "Savile Row sartorial wardrobe" and historic Maserati designs, including the 1986 Maserati Quattroporte Royale and 1967 Maserati Ghibli coupé.
Find out more about David Beckham's Maserati designs ›
California automotive company Rezvani Motors launched a muscular SUV designed by video games designer Milen Ivanov, aiming to put a car informed by science fiction onto people's driveways.
Dubbed the "world's most aggressive SUV" at 6,200 pounds (2,812-kilograms), the eight-passenger car integrates security features such as pepper-spray-emitting wing mirrors, electrified door handles and electromagnetic-pulse protection.
Find out more about Rezvani Motors' Vengeance ›
Electric-car conversion kit by Alexander Burton
An Australian design student developed a prototype kit to convert petrol and diesel cars to hybrid electric, aiming to create a more affordable and user-friendly alternative to current conversion services.
The REVR (Rapid Electric Vehicle Retrofits kit) uses a compact axial flux motor, battery and controller system to circumvent the usual conversion process of removing the combustion engine. Melbourne-based student Alexander Burton won the James Dyson Award for his invention.
Tesla's much-anticipated Cybertruck was officially launched at the end of November following its first reveal in 2019 and subsequent delays in production.
The polarising bulletproof electric car was designed to combine the handling of a sports car with the utility of a pickup truck, and is defined by a distinctly angular, stainless-steel panelled exterior.
Find out more about Cybertruck ›
Iris van Herpen's Rolls-Royce Phantom Syntopia
In collaboration with Dutch designer Iris van Herpen, British company Rolls-Royce revealed its Phantom Syntopia, a shimmering car modelled on the brand's customisable line of Phantom vehicles.
According to Rolls-Royce, the car is the most technically complex Phantom ever produced and integrates shapes and patterns found in nature, informed by Van Herpen's interest in biomimicry.
Find out more about Phantom Syntopia ›
i Vision Dee concept car by BMW
BMW revealed an updated version of its colour-changing technology with the i Vision Dee concept car, which is capable of complete colour and pattern customisation across the vehicle's exterior.
Designed to enhance the bond between vehicle and user through digitisation, the i Vision Dee's shell is finished with an e-ink film that can produce 32 on-demand colours across 240 unique and controllable segments.
Find out more about i Vision Dee ›
Electronics company Sony and carmaker Honda launched an entertainment-focused electric car prototype under their joint car-brand venture, Afeela.
Projected to go on sale in 2025, the all-wheel drive sedan prioritises interaction with a "media bar" display screen, customisable surround sound and interfaces by Epic Games fitted to the interior and exterior of the car.
Find out more about the Afeela prototype ›
Armada Model Zero by Alef Aeronautics
The Armada Model Zero is a prototype flying electric car by California-based company Alef Aeronautics that was awarded an airworthiness certificate by the US Federal Aviation Administration this year and is expected to begin production and delivery at the end of 2025.
The mesh exterior was designed to hide a system of eight rotors, which allow the vehicle to take off and land vertically like a drone.
Find out more about Armada Model Zero ›
Luvly O flat-pack electric car by Luvly
Stockholm-based startup Luvly revealed its Luvly O electric car designed by Joachim Nordwall, aiming to trigger a shift away from oversized vehicles in urban spaces.
Weighing just under 400 kilograms, Luvly set out to create a modular vehicle that can be shipped flat-pack to discrete assembly locations, and offers a more energy efficient, cheaper-to-run alternative to other electric cars through its lightweight configuration.
Telo electric pickup truck by Yves Behar
Swiss designer Yves Behar designed a prototype electric pickup truck, Telo, with a full-size cargo bed and passenger cabin that fits within the size of a small city car.
Working with his design studio Fuseproject, Behar took advantage of the space that electric technology allows for in vehicle design to create a flexible layout for urban and suburban adventures.
This article is part of Dezeen's roundup of the biggest and best news and projects in architecture, design, interior design and technology from 2023.