This patent from Boeing reveals some of the new ways that passenger airliners could be made quieter, more efficient, and much much cooler looking.

Boeing's primary objective for these patent designs is to make jet aircraft quieter; the sexification is just a byproduct. Engines mounted at the back of the plane make the cabin quieter, and mounting them up high, above the wings, helps to block sound from reaching the ground. Keeping the vertical stabilizers outside of the engines helps by blocking sounds on the sides too.

As far as the forward-swept wings go, they're similar to NASA's X-29 and the Russian Su-47 fighter prototype. Such wings are inherently unstable, but offer better performance and efficiency.

This design sort of reminds me of the Piaggio P180 Avanti, which exhibits many of the same features for the same reasons:

For example, the engines on the P180 are mounted high and at the back to make the cabin quieter, and mounting the wings at the back allows for more room in the cabin. This necessitates a canard at the front of the plane to keep it balanced. Also, the fuselage is shaped like a rather chubby fish, which provides about 20% of the plane's lift.

It doesn't seem likely that we'll see a plane that looks exactly like this patent in Boeing's immediate future, but it's certainly possible that some aspects of the design will make it into the next generation (or so) of passenger aircraft.

Via Wired