BMW lists many milestones throughout its near-100-year history, though one stands tall amongst the rest: the rescue of the entire company by a short bubble car.

You see, though BMW was very good at making aircraft engines during WW1 and WW2, and produced some iconic cars including the stunning 507, by the end of the 1950s it was facing financial ruin, teetering on the brink of being sold.

Were it not for the success of the humble little BMW 700 - and its Isetta predecessor - we might inhabit a world bereft of an M5, an M3 or even a 3.0-litre CSL. And that would be a dark, dark world.

So we must doff our caps to the tiny rear-engined, rear-drive BMW, for it paved the way for the company's burgeoning success and allowed it financial independence; the freedom to grow, build, experiment.

Which, in a roundabout way, is the root of the design flourishes we are presenting here. It's a line-up of BMW's finest concept cars, inspired by the rather elegant and luxurious BMW Vision Future Luxury design concept unveiled in Beijing.

Thing is, though it's a cool looking concept, it's not the most outrageous, nor outrageously cool prototype BMW has built. Click on for the very best...