You wouldn’t spend all your time drooling over the sexy exterior of your favorite sports car without taking a peek under the hood and looking through the windows to check out the interior. Some cars, though, might give you a shock when you take a look at the interior — futuristic dashboards that look like someone pulled them out of your favorite science fiction movie are not a new idea, but they have certainly gotten cooler over the years.
Here are seven of the best, or at least craziest-looking dashboards and interiors ever, pulled from past and present.
- The 1982 Lancia Orca
This little hatchback concept from Italian carmaker Lancia may not seem like an exotic car, but it had a dashboard concept that you could have pulled straight off a Star Trek ship. Both the steering wheel and the dash were covered in controls for everything from the windshield wipers to the radio, but the real highlight of this design was the over-the-top digital heads-up display that included everything you would ever want to know about the car. Unfortunately, this little Orca never made it out of the prototype stage, but we can safely say that it was a dashboard design ahead of its time.
- The Lykan Hypersport
Have you ever dreamed of owning your very own Batmobile but just couldn’t justify the investment? The Lykan Hypersport’s interior can give you that experience without forcing you to become a bat-based vigilante. The blacked out features have the same sharp edges as our favorite caped crusader with a few luxurious add-ons.
For one thing, the interior comes lined with diamonds, gold or platinum, or all three if you really feel like breaking the bank, as well as a personalized gem of your choice that is integrated into the dash. Come to think of it, with that $3.4 million price tag, it might be cheaper to just buy the Batmobile.
- The 2012 Pagani Huayra
Take your favorite high-end luxury car, cross it with something from Mad Max and you have the 2012 Pagani Huarya. Named after the Andean god of wind, which is pronounced “WHY-ra” if you were curious, this luxurious sports car takes good-looking dashboards to a whole new level. This dash is the perfect pairing of custom leather, carbon fiber and every chrome dial, knob and switch you could ever want. It’s the perfect car for the road warrior that’s gotten bored of Lamborghinis and Bugattis.
- The Lamborghini Egoista
Speaking of Lamborghinis, have you ever wanted to get the experience of flying an Apache helicopter but are afraid of heights? Then the Lamborghini Egoista is probably the next best thing, with a sleek, streamlined experience based on the Apache cockpit. This single passenger car has a high-end heads-up display that makes you feel like you’ve just joined Top Gun, though just getting in and out of the car requires opening the top and removing the steering wheel. This fantastic little concept car was created for Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary celebrations and was never actually produced for sale.
- The 1971 Maserati Boomerang
Who needs a dashboard when you can put all of your dials and controls right in the middle of the steering wheel? That was apparently the idea behind the 1971 Maserati Boomerang concept car that made waves in the early 70s. The entire dash and console were condensed into one piece that sat in the middle of the oversized steering wheel, which either made it fantastically convenient or exceedingly dangerous.
Could you imagine trying to check your speed while you are making a turn? Unfortunately we’ll never have the chance to find out, since only one Boomerang was ever made, and it was auctioned off in 2015.
- The Aston Martin One-77
Here is another car that looks like it drove right off the racetrack, with just enough carbon fiber to pull the edgy look together without going totally over the rails. The Aston Martin One-77 has all the sleek lines on the outside that you’ve come to expect from the luxury carmaker, with some distinct differences: The interior looks like it just rolled off a Formula 1 racetrack. This limited edition hypercar only graced the roads from 2009-2012, but plenty of them remain to let us live our racing dreams.
- Alpine’s 2003 Honda Civic SI
This one might not really qualify as a luxury car, but climbing into Alpine’s custom Civic build is like slipping into the cockpit of a spaceship. Bright blue interior aside, it’s got one of the most ambitious dashboard designs we’ve ever seen. The center of the dash is showcased by five digital displays, and is surrounded by top-of-the line tech and an unparalleled sound system. It looks like someone reached into the Mass Effect games, pulled out all the best parts and made them driveable. The ocean-themed paint job doesn’t hurt either.
Of course, these examples are pretty extreme. If you’re looking to upgrade your own dashboard you’ll probably use a kit, which can be really easy and inexpensive. You can get that nice custom fiber look without the cost as well. Or, you can go all out and build one on your own like the Civic SI or Aston One-77.
How did we do? If we missed your favorite dashboard design, let us know in the comments below! Who knows — maybe something on the list will inspire your next custom build.
Scott Huntington is a writer and car fanatic from Harrisburg, PA.