These 7 Design Icons Nearly Turned Out Completely Differently
Overall shape and design details that make up a car like the original Mazda MX-5 MiataThe Porsche 911 and Dodge Viper are deeply rooted in our brains and are an integral part of those car characters, so it’s hard to imagine looking elsewhere.
But they almost did. Almost every car arrives on the road through a lengthy design process that includes a few competing proposals to fight it, and its winner is sharpened and beaten before final approval. Also, early competing designs can be radically different from the ones we are familiar with.
Take a look at these examples of the seven famous car alternatives and tell us if the car manufacturer made the right choice.
Mazda MX-5 Miata
The Original NA Code Miata The development story begins in the early 1980s when Mazda began exploring the idea of creating modern versions of the classic British sports cars of the 1960s and 70s, which were just discontinued.
Related: NA Miata wrote a book about affordable fun, but it doesn’t look that affordable at $ 32K
However, the Mazda team worked on three competing proposals. Front engine and front wheel drive coupe, midship engine coupe (pictured above), and finally selected, the 1989 production car..
Porsche 911
The Porsche 911 silhouetteThe side window graphics and Bugeye’s face are as instantly recognizable as the Nike Swoosh, providing a clear visual link to the 911 replaced 356 coupe and the earlier Volkswagen Beetle.
However, in the early stages of 911 development at dawn in the 1960s, Porsche seemed to be on a slightly different path. The Type 754 T7 proposal had a long roofline, a large wheelbase of 7.9 inches (200 mm) and was able to carry four passengers, but Ferry Porsche insisted on a fastback shape, redesigned and two plus. 2 I was forced to return to the layout. ..
Mercedes 190
Hurry to admire the E30 generously BMW 3 Series BMWs tend to forget that we give credit Its Mercedes 190 rivalThis was arguably a more sophisticated design, with integrated bumpers and a narrower nose and tail to cleverly hide the bulk of the car.
The straight line running from nose to tail at waist height was a feature of Mercedes design from the 1960s to the 1990s, but these photos show Benz throwing away the strange wavy waistline and sloping trunk theme. Shows that I was thinking.
Dodge Viper
In 1996, the world greeted the second generation Viper. The big news arrived a few months after its first release. Viper GTS Coupe It features a cool double bubble roof reminiscent of the powerful Shelby Cobra Daytonas of the 1960s.
What we didn’t know at the time was a small band of rebel Chrysler engineers. Create a midship proposal It reused existing components as much as possible to form the basis for the third generation Viper at the turn of the decade. The team allegedly submitted a 50-page report to Chrysler President Bob Lutz and Design Chief Tom Gale. Tom Gale sadly underestimated the idea, and the creative engineer behind it had a figurative middle finger.
BMW mini
Related: BMW’s MINI will be 20 this week and shows what this looks like
The Classic mini It was still in production in the mid-1990s when the BMW-owned Rover Group began seriously investigating how to replace it. Ideas ranged from futuristic monobox cars to ultra-compact city cars, and competing teams didn’t take packaging or car retro seriously. Which version of the mini would you like to have a green light?
Toyota Supra
Mk4 A80 generation Toyota Supra It has attracted considerable prices in the classic market since the mid-1990s last year or so, but if Toyota decides to choose one of these alternative designs for its production car, it will pay more or less. Is it?
Bugatti Veyron
Overcome the “surprised koala” face of Walter de Silva’s early ideas for Volkswagen’s first Bugatti. I have a lot of things I like, such as the C-shaped side intake. Veyron’s final design (Bottom) Drained, but used full force for the subsequent Chiron (pictured below).
Thanks to excellent @forgotten-concept An Instagram account that makes it easy to avoid nasty piracy by hosting these images. If you like to see pictures of weird design studies and dozens of cars you might have ever had, it’s definitely one account worth following.
