Thousands of visitors to Bayside Exposition Center yesterday kicked tires, pushed clutches and dreamed of zooming down the open road in a shiny, new sports sedan.

The 37th Annual New England International Auto Show featured futuristic concept cars, expensive dream cars and redesigned versions of old favorites.

Buick, Chrysler and Jeep showed off space-age technology in aerodynamic concept cars.

Jaguar, Lotus, and Rolls Royce displayed attractive but expensive fantasy cars. Jaguar's XJ220 comes equipped with a 542 horsepower engine, which powers it to 212 miles per hour.

Prices start at $500,000 for the car, which will not be for sale in the U.S.

Amy J. Brown, a resident of Brookline, called the concept cars were "spectacular."

"I was just cruising around, looking at sports sedans and sports cars," Brown said.

She said was most impressed with the Dodge Viper, BMW 325i and Toyota Supra.

Showgoers flocked to Ford's new Mustang, the classic pony car which has been redesigned for 1994 in the first major change in the model in more than a decade.

Among the newly redesigned imports on display were the Honda Accord, Acura Integra and Toyota Celica. For aspiring yuppies, BMW introduced a convertible version of the newly redesigned 325i.

Crowds gathered around popular sports cars such as the Mazda RX7, the new Toyota Supra, the Nissan 300ZX, and the Pontiac Trans Am.