Lexus, Audi, Infiniti concept cars wow L.A. Auto Show

LOS ANGELES -- At auto shows, there are the cars that people will actually end up driving and the cars meant to give a keyhole-view into the future. Sometimes, the latter are so beautiful they can take your breath away.

The public is now getting a look at three of these gleaming motoring beauties at the Los Angeles Auto Show. One is a coupe, one is a sedan and one is a convertible. All come in shiny metallic-flecked paint, as if to underscore they are the belles of the ball.

Here are the three:

Lexus LF-C2 concept. In true dream-car fashion, the designers of this beautiful convertible didn't exactly envision this car as road ready: As far as we can tell, it has no provision for a top. But that problem aside, the four-seater is meant to transmit a desire by Toyota's luxury brand to become more inventive, perhaps even daring, in its design.

Audi Prologue concept. At first, we thought the front end of this dream car looked too much like a Ford Fusion or Aston Martin. But once the crowds cleared, we could see that taken a whole, it's a drop-dead gorgeous view of where Audi intends to take its styling. The innovation goes inside the car as well, where touch-activated screens and surfaces replace many of the knobs and buttons. Perhaps best of all, this coupe can be driven. One copy was going to be plying the streets of Beverly Hills this weekend whilQe its twin sits on its perch at the auto show.

Infiniti Q80 Inspiration concept. Every detail of this car was treated like a work of art. Like the Audi, it's long and low with a sleek, swept-back roof. The cabin is made more inviting by the rear-hinged "suicide doors" that open it up completely. This one is a hybrid, with the batteries getting a boost from a 3-liter twin-turbocharged V-6 engine.