Beaulieu exhibits the most eye-catching cars ever built - or imagined

The National Motor Museum at Beaulieu is showcasing a weird and wonderful collection of visionary vehicles, some of which never made it past the drawing board.

A new exhibition called Motopia? focuses on how people in the past envisaged the future.

A sci-fi-style poster that forms part of the new Mytopia? exhibition at the National Motor Museum at Beauilieu (Image: Todd and Kristin Kimmell Collection)

It comes as the motoring industry faces up to the challenge of replacing petrol-driven cars with more eco-friendly alternatives, including those powered by electricity or hydrogen.

Many drivers have already switched to electric vehicles, possibly unaware the concept has existed since the late 19th century.

Exhibits at Motopia? include a 1901 Columbia Electric once owned by Queen Alexandra, who drove it around the grounds of Sandringham House in Norfolk.

The silent and fumeless car was equipped with a foot-operated bell instead of a horn.

It was among a range of electric vehicles made in the USA under the Columbia name and marketed in Britain by the City & Suburban Electric Carriage Co of London.

A 1901 electric car once owned by Queen Alexandra, who drove it around the grounds of Sandringham (Image: National Motor Museum)

Also on show is a Sinclair C5 and its spiritual successor, an IRIS eTrike developed by Sir Clive Sinclair's nephew.

Dubbed the world's fastest street-legal electric bike, it includes a cooling system with an air purifier and is capable of reaching speeds of more than 30 mph.

Its shape and design are based on the aerodynamic helmets used by people taking part in velodrome cycle races.

Other exhibits include a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, a luxury American car with futuristic styling that reflected the post-war preoccupation with rockets and astronauts.

A hydrogen-powered car is one of the exhibits at the new Mytopia? exhibition at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. (Image: National Motor Museum)

Motopia?, which runs until April next year, looks back on 130 years on attempting to predict the shape of things to come.

Jon Murden, the museum's chief executive, said the display featured concept cars, century-old visions of the future, and ideas on how we should travel and power our vehicles.

He added: "It’s the first of a series of exhibitions that will focus on the future as well as the past of automobility.

"We’ll explore how radical concepts from the past remain relevant today and how these have influenced what we drive, the nature of our towns and cities, and the way we work and socialise."

An IRIS eTrike, dubbed the spiritual successor of the Sinclair C5 (Image: National Motor Museum)

The exhibition's title reflects the work of architect Geoffrey Allan Jellicoe, who in the 1950s envisaged a world where people and vehicles co-existed in perfect harmony.