Most disappointing concept to production?

[F1GTRUeno]

colin_p said:

I know it is academic as the production version with the Metro 6R4 derived engine was really quite good and far from disappointing but what if the Jaguar XJ220 had been fitted with a V12 and AWD as per the concept.

It would've been heavier, slower and more expensive.

[Rjbell]

samj2014 said:

I think that's more a case of bad to worse. Especially with a name like "wind"...

lol terrible name i liked the concept though.

[colin_p]

F1GTRUeno said:

It would've been heavier, slower and more expensive.

Maybe as it would have been unlikely that the V12 would have had forced induction.

I'm not putting the 220 down in any way as I still think it is an amazing machine and if launched today would be relevant amongst it peers. It would have to be a tad cheaper though.

[Polrules]

For me, these 2 could/should have made it to production looking more like these concepts...

[saaby93]

[rodericb]

Oh yeah the FT86 boy did that get a fair whack of blah between that concept and the production version!

[Esceptico]

As someone already wrote: the original Boxster. Concept looked like a modern interpretation of the 550 Spyder but reality was just awful (as well as gutless).

[Krikkit]

saaby93 said:

*snip*

Why was that disappointing? Suicide doors, a Citroen symbol in the roof and no wing mirrors weren't really goers at the time for production...

[MKnight702]

Kierkegaard said:

The original Audi TT.

Yes, really.

Whilst it looked the same as the concept the real car had to have a spoiler added which in turn spoiled the look. It also turned it from a dangerous handler to a boring one. Not to mention the thousands sold which certainly diminished the appeal of the looks. It could have been a good sports car but it turned out to be a Mk 4 golf in a party suit.

Overall a hugely disappointing car.

The spoiler did nothing for the handling. It was a PR exercise so that Audi could be seen to be reacting to the alleged handling issues caused by idiots in America failing to grasp the simple fact that physics still applies, even when driving a Quattro Audi.

Audi has past form in the US with an owner of an Audi suing the company as the car had "jolted forwards and run over their daughter when they started the car". Audi reviewed the issue and found that yes, if you start the car in gear it will indeed jolt forwards. In trying to defend the case they got panned by the media and lost significant amounts of sales even though the car was not at fault. So with the TT the PR department got involved and we got the pointless lip spoiler.

[smithyithy]

Not that I dislike the S2000 at all, but the concept looked a lot more exciting IMO:

[AH33]

Brera or the GT86.

If it had looked like this rather than a hyundai, i'd have been a fan. How did it end up looking like it did?

[knitware]

Chris1255 said:

Even though this is a bit mad it surely looks far better than the standard st brown version? Confession: I had a matchbox version which may be colouring my view!

No, it's still as st as a brown version, just has more lights and a stripe.

[sealtt]

[Paddymcc]

Dapster said:

Austin Rover have got form on this.

Designer: Morning team, we'd like the green light on this please. New Rover 75, I see it as some kind of 4 door Cerbera.
Team: DO IT!!



9 months later

Designer: Ta da!



Team: GAAAAAH!!!

The concept side\rear looks like the Mercedes Cls. Who'd have thought rover came up with the idea for the coupe style saloon and never bothered doing anything about it. Merc seem to have spawned a whole new segment with it.

[Johnny 89]

Paddymcc said:

The concept side\rear looks like the Mercedes Cls. Who'd have thought rover came up with the idea for the coupe style saloon and never bothered doing anything about it. Merc seem to have spawned a whole new segment with it.

Mazda beat them to it!

[Ste1987]

AH33 said:

Brera or the GT86.

If it had looked like this rather than a hyundai, i'd have been a fan. How did it end up looking like it did?

To be honest, that concept looks a lot like the Veloster...

[blindswelledrat]

This thread is full of 'before' and 'after' pictures that look totally identical to me.
There are some anoraks in here, for sure.

[QuickQuack]

I think the Jaguar XJ220 needs a mention here. The production version still looked gorgeous but the change from a 6.2L V12 4WD supercar to a 3.5L V6 RWD one, coupled to a financial downturn and huge hike in the price of the car due to various contractual reasons, caused many who had put deposits down to pull out. Jaguar even pursued many in the courts. I think it's still one of the greatest cars ever made but then I might be a bit biased as I love Jags. Sadly, I don't think I'll ever own one

Photo nicked from the internet:

[hondafanatic]

[Otispunkmeyer]

hondafanatic said:

Yep, thats a big cop out for me. Those horns looked immense.