L.A. Auto Show Design Challenge: Hottest Movie Cars of the Future

For the last eight years, the <a title="L.A. Auto Show" href="http://laautoshow.com/" target="_blank">L.A. Auto Show</a> has sponsored a design competition that asks manufacturers and designers to create <a title="Inhabitat: concept car" href="http://inhabitat.com/index.php?s=concept+car" target="_blank">cars</a> to wow twelve design studio executives. For this year's design challenge, entrants were asked to create outlandish <a title="Inhabitat: The Dark Knight Trades in His Batmobile for a Greener Ride" href="http://inhabitat.com/the-dark-knight-trades-in-his-batmobile-for-a-greener-ride/" target="_blank">movie cars</a> of the future, submitting a complete concept design along with a character and plot line. Check out all the pics in our gallery to see the first renderings of this year's design competition entries, plus get the scoop on which automakers are already on track for a year's worth of water cooler bragging.

Perhaps the most exotic entry in the competition, the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow is designed to look like a late 1930's W125 race car. In Mercedes' vision of the future, two crash test dummies named Hanz05 and Franz02 break out of their crash testing existence to fight the evil Dr. Crash-Barrier. Maybe we should focus on the hoop-like, independently powered wheels instead of the storyline.

The Honda IH (Intelligent Horse) features artificial intelligence and is easy to build locally, in a world where the global auto industry and the economy in general has been decimated.

The Honda IH Concept envisions a future in which a massive drought has rendered the earth nearly waterless. Think WaterWorld in reverse.

The Maybach Berline is an electric fuel cell vehicle designed to look like a traditional carriage.

The Berline carries its character, Cindy, who was lent the car by her father to go on a fabulous adventure that is curated by her virtual chauffeur.

One of our favorite entries in the competition is the Smart 341 Parkour, which combines spunky reporter Annie Angle with a car that can climb walls.

The Smart 341 Parkour is aptly named for its ability to go anywhere, even on vertical surfaces. It has a 360-degree swiveling seat and 360-degree view.

The Hyundai Stratus Sprinter, built for a Countess Elena, protects freedom and justice by fighting communism with its off-road capabilities.

We hope that with that melodramatic of a back story, the Sprinter is also decked out with all possible green technogadgetry for fighting communism--however that works.

Subaru's Horizon concept sees the future differently, picturing the car that would be needed if the planet stopped rotating and half the world was plunged into darkness.

The Horizon throws Chinese stars from its electricity-generating wheels, can resist strong electromagnetic fields and of course the scorching heat of the Daysphere, where it must travel to glean precious energy-generating materials to power the dark side of the planet.