Name: Peugeot 2008 Concept

Debut: Paris Motor Show 2012

Appearance: It’s sort of like a 208 crossed with a Skoda Yeti. The proportions are quite Yeti-ish but there’s no doubting that the odd little curves and squared-off wheel arches make for a very pretty little thing. There’s a slight hump half way down the roof line, which lends an adventurous air to the shape and makes the dumpy and flat-sided 3008 look like the back end of a cow. It’s just the style of car that’s popular right now.

Prediction: This is potentially very close to being a finished product. There are no massive spoilers, no ridiculously low ride heights and no tiny slits for windows. You can imagine hopping straight into this and popping down to Sainsbury’s for a couple of gammon steaks, and that only means only one thing: it’s coming to a showroom near you whether you like it or not.

Rating: 9/10

Name: Smart ForStars concept

Debut: Paris Motor Show 2012

Appearance: This is a shocking looking car, but arguably the most shocking thing about it is that it’s not the love-child of a concept Mini and a Citroen DS3. The ForStars shares so much of the design cues of both, with a generous added helping of concept lunacy, that it doesn’t look like a Smart at all. A cheekily-grinning ‘face’ is reminiscent of something out of The Beano and the wheels are gloriously over-large. A fabulous touch is the projector built into the bonnet to create your own American-style ‘drive-in’ movies.

Prediction: Aside from giving the funky young designers at Smart something to really cut loose on, the ForStars could well be hiding a new model underneath. It has a considerably longer and wider footprint than the ForTwo, and Smart is no stranger to building larger cars with some notable success in the past. Although this crazy design concept would never make production, perhaps its jazzy undergarments might.

Rating: 8/10