If there's anything even more cool about the current crop of concept cars, it's that we can actually see a bridge to the technology in a lot of them. Not that we expect them to be on the roads soon, but the thought of something like the solar skin on Mark Kruse's Saab Blackbird concept making it to an actual production car doesn't sound as crazy as it did in 1990.

The Blackbird takes its cues from, surprise surprise, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance plane, yet looks even more to us like the head of a bird (as in woodpecker). The car's solar skin powers four electric motors in the wheels, with a battery array likely free to power the driver's LCD display and the passenger's wraparound communications panel.

The car can also go on a diet: the suspension can retreat into the body and trim the car down to just 52 inches (132 cm) wide. The seats are also width adjustable to fit the occupants. And while none of that sounds too outrageous, the rear seat placement could never work. With its backrest practically forming the rear bulkhead, you do not want to be the Blackbird's co-pilot in a rear-end collision. But if we're driving, we'll take it.