Cars that should have been?
Discussion
Flying Fish said:
As per title. What cars / variants do you think could or should have been made based on an existing model?
Can be as left field as you like.
For me:
Mazda RX8 Fastback / Shootingbrake. Would have looked awesome and added practicality to an already decent, if niche platform.
The rx8 did have a huge boot. It just had a small access boot lid to get in.Can be as left field as you like.
For me:
Mazda RX8 Fastback / Shootingbrake. Would have looked awesome and added practicality to an already decent, if niche platform.
A fast back estate shape hole would have helped. Would also have helped with rear seat access.
The MG ZT-385.
When MG Rover made the ZT-260, they always intended to also have a supercharged version sticking out 385bhp, so they built all the 260s with every element of the chassis, brakes and drive train being able to handle up to 400bhp.
Sadly, MGR went bust before any could be put into production, but having built them they way they did, it was relatively affordable and straightforward to do an aftermarket modification. Just bolt on a supercharger and remap the ECU and you had a rear wheel drive V8 with absurd amounts of torque, a beautifully balanced chassis and not a single electronic driver's aid beyond ABS, except for the rubbish traction control on the Mk2 that pretty much everyone always turned off anyway!
Having had the opportunity to drive an aftermarket conversion (and also things like a C63 and RS4 for comparison), it would've been unlike arguably any other production car out there, and insanely good fun!
When MG Rover made the ZT-260, they always intended to also have a supercharged version sticking out 385bhp, so they built all the 260s with every element of the chassis, brakes and drive train being able to handle up to 400bhp.
Sadly, MGR went bust before any could be put into production, but having built them they way they did, it was relatively affordable and straightforward to do an aftermarket modification. Just bolt on a supercharger and remap the ECU and you had a rear wheel drive V8 with absurd amounts of torque, a beautifully balanced chassis and not a single electronic driver's aid beyond ABS, except for the rubbish traction control on the Mk2 that pretty much everyone always turned off anyway!
Having had the opportunity to drive an aftermarket conversion (and also things like a C63 and RS4 for comparison), it would've been unlike arguably any other production car out there, and insanely good fun!
Flying Fish said:
As per title. What cars / variants do you think could or should have been made based on an existing model?
Can be as left field as you like.
For me:
Mazda RX8 Fastback / Shootingbrake. Would have looked awesome and added practicality to an already decent, if niche platform.
I wanted a V6 RX8. Rotary purists would be horrified, but there would still be many RX8's on the road if it wasn't for the Rotary grenade.Can be as left field as you like.
For me:
Mazda RX8 Fastback / Shootingbrake. Would have looked awesome and added practicality to an already decent, if niche platform.
E39 BMW 532CSi.
The four and six cylinder E39s are some of the best-riding, best-handling big cars ever made.
The weight of the V8 and the recirculating-ball steering ruin them.
At the end of the model cycle, the 333-horsepower E46 M3 inline six was available.
The perfect sub-M5 model could've easily been built.
The four and six cylinder E39s are some of the best-riding, best-handling big cars ever made.
The weight of the V8 and the recirculating-ball steering ruin them.
At the end of the model cycle, the 333-horsepower E46 M3 inline six was available.
The perfect sub-M5 model could've easily been built.
Infiniti Q50 GTS.
The V37 Skyline was every bit as good as the V36 except that in America there was no manual transmission, and the steering was completely ruined by a change from hydraulic assistance to steer-by-wire "direct adaptive steering".
The new VR30DETT "Red Sport 400" engine, with the old CD009 manual transmission, and the old steering rack would've been great.
The V37 Skyline was every bit as good as the V36 except that in America there was no manual transmission, and the steering was completely ruined by a change from hydraulic assistance to steer-by-wire "direct adaptive steering".
The new VR30DETT "Red Sport 400" engine, with the old CD009 manual transmission, and the old steering rack would've been great.
NB-based RX-5. The Renesis engine was ready well before the RX-8 was; the FD RX-7 was discontinued in most markets long before the RX-8 came out.
Had the 192-horsepower - or even better the 238-horsepower - rotary been available in the second-generation MX-5 they'd have bridged the gap with one of the fastest cars on the road.
Had the 192-horsepower - or even better the 238-horsepower - rotary been available in the second-generation MX-5 they'd have bridged the gap with one of the fastest cars on the road.
Lotus Esprit V8 with a sufficiently capable Getrag or Graziano transmission. It was always limited to 350 horsepower and 350 lbs*ft by that horrible Renault transmission and I find it hard to believe that they couldn't have sold an Esprit Sport 450 for ten grand more to cover something capable.
This one is more an industrial/management failure and a loss of capability due to overall corporate problems than a simple "why didn't they do that."
GM Australia's engineering office was on a very hot streak after 2000. Had they been given the design brief to deliver a big, fast, capable hatchback with electric and hybrid options to be delivered as soon as lithium-ion batteries were ready, they could've matched the Tesla Model S. Unfortunately the rest of GM was in such poor state that they went bankrupt instead.
GM Australia's engineering office was on a very hot streak after 2000. Had they been given the design brief to deliver a big, fast, capable hatchback with electric and hybrid options to be delivered as soon as lithium-ion batteries were ready, they could've matched the Tesla Model S. Unfortunately the rest of GM was in such poor state that they went bankrupt instead.
This is probably going to annoy a few people…..
(Wheels out very old, very large and very smelly dead horse, gets out carpet beater and begins to thrash it… )
Saab Speedster.
Basically a VX220 badged as a Saab.
It was really, it existed, it was even focused grouped. More importantly, it could have saved the company. But for what ever reason, GM decided at the last minute to launch it as a Vauxhall and get Griff Rhys Jones in his underpants to advertise it.
It could have been Saabs’s TT, got young people buying the brand, got them buying the rest of the range when they got married and pregnant but no…
( pushes large, smelly dead horse back behind curtain, sprays some super strength fly spray around the place and gets back to his day.)
(Wheels out very old, very large and very smelly dead horse, gets out carpet beater and begins to thrash it… )
Saab Speedster.
Basically a VX220 badged as a Saab.
It was really, it existed, it was even focused grouped. More importantly, it could have saved the company. But for what ever reason, GM decided at the last minute to launch it as a Vauxhall and get Griff Rhys Jones in his underpants to advertise it.
It could have been Saabs’s TT, got young people buying the brand, got them buying the rest of the range when they got married and pregnant but no…
( pushes large, smelly dead horse back behind curtain, sprays some super strength fly spray around the place and gets back to his day.)
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