Before dieselgate sent the Volkswagen Group into cost-saving mode, the German conglomerate could seemingly do no wrong, producing some of the best vehicles on the market and dominating various forms of motorsport.

Fast forward to the end of 2016 and the company has been forced to slash costs wherever possible, including axing its World Endurance Championship and World Rally Championship teams.

In any case, if VW does at some point return to racing, it could take some tips from Brazilian designer Julio Cesar Caetano who has created this VW LMP1 car of the future.

Looking like a mix between current LMP1 cars and some of the crazy prototypes from the Vision Gran Turismo project, the finished product, dubbed the E-12, adopts an outlandish exterior designed to produce immense amounts of downforce.

There is a small cockpit for the drive, huge wheels, a low-slung body and two huge exhausts that look like they’ve been lifted straight off a jet engine. If prototype race cars look anything like this in the future, we have a lot to look forward to.

PHOTO GALLERY