Friday 16th May 2014

Forget the facelift: Tell Me I'm Wrong

From Zonda to Multipla; why original is best when it comes to car design

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Before we were actually old enough to get behind the wheel how many of us spent time drawing cars, dreaming of being a designer? I'm guessing I wasn't the only one. Trouble is, despite the cool image, funky specs and sleeker wardrobe than the nerds in the engineering department I fear it could be one of the most thankless tasks in the whole business.

Countach went from the sublime...

Design is meant to be about purity of vision and creative genius. But in most cases by the time a car has made the journey from the sketch pad or concept stage and onto the road all that has been relentlessly whittled away by regulatory or practical expediency. Reference Audi's Dr Hackenberg discussing the Modular Sportscar System (MSS) platform that underpins both the Lamborghini Huracan and forthcoming second-gen Audi R8. "The designers can have their dreams," he told us, before asserting that in the end the platform is king and really dictates what the car will look like. It may have been lost in translation but I've a feeling Dr H knew exactly what he was saying. Off and play with your sketchpads and markers boys, we'll tell you when we need you...

Every now and then a car makes it off the drawing board and straight onto the road but examples are few and far between. The Smart Roadster and Roadster Coupe, Alfa Romeo SZ, S1 Elise, Citroen C6 and, dare I say it, Range Rover Evoque would be some examples of designer's doodles seemingly made real. But rare ones. Witness the Boxster Concept's metamorphosis from slinky show star to slightly dumpy production reality for just one example of how it more often goes.

...to the ridiculous courtesy of Mr Pagani

Get to the point
But to the central thrust of this argument; namely that if you're of an aesthetic disposition and really care about design the original version of a given car is always the best. We're talking purely at a styling level here; I'll not contest that facelifts and updates often bring significant improvements in technology and performance. But nine times out of 10 the attempt to 'freshen' the styling ends up perverting it.

And once that purity of the original design has been lost you're often left with a bit of a pudding. Witness the Lamborghini Countach's transformation from the stark and edgy LP400 into the gaudy and overly fussy 25th Anniversary. True, the 5000QV's unashamed muscularity brought some added drama to the shape and made the Countach an 80s icon. But clap eyes on an original - preferably a Periscopo - and you really understand the drama and impact of that amazing piece of design.

He's not learned either, or so it seems

There's a common thread in the work of Horacio Pagani here too. The 25th Anniversary Countach is credited as his project and the evolution of the Zonda from one of the most startling, stunning and original looking supercars of recent years into a parody of carbon and aero-bedecked excess suggests an inability to say enough is enough. Honestly; would you rather be seen in an early C12 or a Revolucion?

Originality
Mainstream brands aren't averse to cocking about with what little purity was able to make it into production come facelift time. Jaguar and Land Rover aren't averse to some heavy-handed bumper'n'LED slap in an attempt to giddy-up otherwise smart looking vehicles - witness the modern addenda bolted onto the graceful X350 XJ in its evolution into the X358 in 2007. OK, so the XJ needed modernising. And they didn't muck about with the introduction of the current car. But the halfway house was worst of both. See also the facelifted Range Rover Sport; you could argue the original wasn't a beauty but it was at least clear in its intent and hardly improved by the blingy makeover.

Sharp edged original the best for R129 SL

Most of the German brands are far too conservative with their original designs to go beyond a few extra LEDs and addition/removal of chrome trim strips (according to which they did last), with the notable exception of Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes design seems to bounce from one extreme to the other, one minute all hard edged and severe before veering in the other direction and becoming all organic and swoopy. Several models over the years have had the misfortune to be caught in the transition between the two and suffered the ignominy of worst of both worlds.

The modernist purity of pre-facelift R129 SLs, complete with the moulded in fairings on the underside of the front bumper, remains a textbook example of late 80s Mercedes design as it shrugged off the chrome and chintz of its past and embraced the modern age. Then it suddenly decided it wanted to go swoopy and increasingly heavy handed and blobby bumpers were grafted onto it, jarring with the still straight-edged metalwork they couldn't alter.

70s Lotus Seven not an enduring look

Merc-y past
It's happened again with the current E-Class. The pre-facelift W212 was a canny return to Sacco-era severity, combined with artful references to E-Classes of the past with the Ponton-style swoop above the rear arch. In the facelift this has been hastily converted into an ugly slash along the side where the original rear quarter meets new doors, the attempt to modernise and bring the E into line with the C- and S-Class an unconvincing mish-mash.

Other examples? Lotus has had its moments, from the beautiful minimalism of early Sevens to the heavy handed Series 4 and overly fussy additions to the S2 Elise over the purity of the S1. See also the Esprit. Renault didn't do the Clio 197 any favours with the gopping facelift into the 200, even if it still drove brilliantly, while the Fiat Multipla displayed perhaps the most comprehensive capitulation from bold to bland in one move with its lily-livered facelift. At this point we should probably raise the McLaren 12C's evolution into the 650S too...

Anyway. I've ranted long enough. I'm sure polo-neck wearing PHers can come up with many more examples. But when it comes to design I strongly believe original is best. Of course, now is your opportunity to tell me I'm wrong. Even if the fact all design is subjective means I can't be!

[menoy]

On the contrary;

Ferrari California
Current Megane (especially in RS trim)

[lawdevice]

Wasn't the Avensis just a facelifted Carina?

That was a definite improvement!

[g3org3y]

Some truth in it.

Imo, the original Murcielago and Gallardo looked best, devoid of wings and extra scoops and fussy styling elements.

[Wrathalanche]

I'd like to chuck the Jag XF into the ring for 'cars better off after the facelift'.

[Monty Python]

I think nowadays there's too much marketing, focus groups, legislation and so on that interfere with the design of a car. I'd much prefer to have a Singer 911 that the modern ones.

[Dave Hedgehog]

your right and wrong

the anniversary countach was a mess, but the R derivative zondas are just amazing and ultra desirable

all designers have bad days


look at the gallardo, you could stick a ford badge on it and place it in the showroom for 30k and it would not look out of place or even look good value, such a dull car compared to the proper V12 lambos

[Busso GTA]

How long before we get our first person to not understand the difference between face lift and a new model

[macajc88]

I'd say modern Fords tend to look better after a mid-life refresh.

Current Fiesta and S-Max, upcoming Focus etc. All look better than the originals imo.

[Lowtimer]

In general the thesis is correct, and the more time that passes in an individual case, the more the original car tends to look better than the facelift.

[Rib]

Wrathalanche said:

I'd like to chuck the Jag XF into the ring for 'cars better off after the facelift'.

and XK

[LOW4LYFE]

I think it's a bit too broad to say all face lifts are failures. For example, I prefer the face lifted 90 spec Mk2 Golfs, the face lifted Countach, etc. Also prefer the later Zonda's.

Some face lifts are successful. Some aren't. Gallardo is a good example- that last version where they went triangle crazy was not a looker compared to the previous generations.

But sometimes, a face lift can actually bring you closer to the original concept. Jaguar XF is a good example.

[kambites]

I think cars are split about 50/50 in terms of which look better after a face lift and which don't.

[E65Ross]

Rib said:

Wrathalanche said:

I'd like to chuck the Jag XF into the ring for 'cars better off after the facelift'.

and XK

Yup, and I think the facelifted E39 BMW was nicer. Current Merc E class as well for starters. Loads of facelifted cars look nicer.

[dukebox9reg]

I still look at the last run out Phase 3 306's and think they still look quite modern. Quite a comparison to the Phase 1 original with their black bumpers and old style head/tail lights.

The french tend to knock out the first ones with loads of nasty black bits of plastic and then over time colour code. Much better for it. Renault is still doing it now. Look at the last couple of Meganes. Mk1's have black plastic bumper trim and side strips. Facelift time, all gets colour coded.

Edited by dukebox9reg on Thursday 15th May 10:55

[TurboHatchback]

Lots of cars are better after their facelifts, BMW E46 couple for example.

I don't think one can draw blanket conclusions at all on this matter.

[Captain Muppet]

I prefer the current S2 Elise to the launch version with all the little eyelashes everywhere.

I also think the rev3 mk2 MR2 looks better than the 1&2 with the single piece spoiler, the four round rear lights and the deletion of the fake grill at the back.

Styling is so subjective it's impossible to make a sweeping generalisation which won't be disagreed with, which makes it such a good topic for trolling.

[Barchettaman]

What´s this....

http://www.petrolheads.com/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&a...

It´s been done before....

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

And again....

http://www.petrolheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0...

And once more!

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=6&a...

And what´s that...?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=113...

Enjoy!

[Garlick]

I don't think you can be that broad brushed. Some look better for it, some don't.

Looks are also subjective so we can't all agree.

So, you're wrong

[danp]

Nonsense, I wondered if companies purposely came out with poor designs so that the facelifted model kept sales up! (current 1 series as an example)

[Fantuzzi]

Depends entirely on the car, you cant make a sweeping statement with facelifts.