Pininfarina BMC 1800 Berlina Aerodinamica (1967 concept car)

This is the concept that drew the 1970s family car. Pininfarina built it on its own initiative on the humble Austin and Morris 1800, wrapping that roomy platform in a low-nosed, wedge-tailed fastback shaped for air flow rather than fashion. BMC passed on it, and other companies took the hint. The Citroen GS and CX, the Rover SD1 and a string of two-box sedans from Italy and Germany share its profile closely enough that historians treat it as their common ancestor, although the designers of those cars deserve their own credit. The idea that made the jump is not a gadget but a whole silhouette: the aerodynamic hatchback sedan that still shapes everyday cars.