Purity of the line.

[Ginge R]

.. cars very rarely look better after a mid life refresh. What do you think?

As the designer originally intended them to be; without the (these days) tacky stick on strips of led running lamps, strips of chrome, bulges and various other 'improvements'.. is there such a thing as purity of the line?

[Jaldi]

To me "purity of the line" would apply to the various generations of the 911 but not to mid-gen facelifts of everyday commuter cars.

[-crookedtail-]

Mostly agree with what you are saying. However the E90 3 series has to be an exception to this rule, as the facelift LCI models look a country mile better than the original.

I swear BMW made the first gen cars look deliberately st to generate interest in the midlife facelift ones.

[DCLXIV]

The facelift Jaguar XF is how Ian Callum intended it to be, Ford had an influence in the original design.

[Ginge R]

BMW does facelifts well, just enough to make the post facelift look 'fresh' but not so much that the previous iteration looks outdated, decimating the used (''pre loved'' <<rolls eyes>>) values. Interestingly, the E60 received only a very limited makeover, after raising so many eyebrows and debate at launch, and it has aged beautifully.

[Ginge R]

DCLXIV said:

The facelift Jaguar XF is how Ian Callum intended it to be, Ford had an influence in the original design.

My premise fades! The facelift version is crisp and far more elegant. The exception?!

[Krikkit]

I think it's a bit hit and miss depending on the model.

w124's, the new Fiesta and the DB9 are all cases of ruination to my eyes.

On the other hand the Gallardo and XF looked pretty good with a brush up.

[DickyC]

DB4 Saloon.

No contest.



Line, form and proportion.

[Triumph Man]

-crookedtail- said:

Mostly agree with what you are saying. However the E90 3 series has to be an exception to this rule, as the facelift LCI models look a country mile better than the original.

I swear BMW made the first gen cars look deliberately st to generate interest in the midlife facelift ones.

I agree with you. The E60 IMO was the same!

[swisstoni]

On balance I think cars generally do not improve over the original when facelifted. After all it's usually done as a way to eke a few more years from an ageing design competing with newer designs.

But I'm sure there are plenty of examples to prove and disprove the point.

The E Type got gradually worse looking through its life IMHO but you could argue that Countach improved over the years.

[Pints]

If we consider the lineage of the model from when it was first named, the Golf falls many, many miles from the mark. The mk1 vs the mk7 is so far removed, I'm surprised they're still allowed to call it a Golf.

[fat freddie]

[quote=swisstoni but you could argue that Countach improved over the years.
[/quote]
I certainly wouldn't.....

I tend to agree that 'original is best' which is a bit boring, but I am looking forward to the inevitable PH argument about the difference between facelift - vs- new model.

[kambites]

swisstoni said:

...but you could argue that Countach improved over the years.

I'd hold the Countach up as an example of progressive facelifts utterly ruining a car. The original LP400 was lovely, every version after that was uglier than the previous. The last of the Countach models were foul looking things.

[Ginge R]

.. the prototype (LP500) is almost pretty by later standards.

edit: not so much pretty.. rather, sensual?

Edited by Ginge R on Monday 8th April 12:14

[Captain Muppet]

I think the mk2 MR2 looked at it's best in the middile of it's life, with the chin spoiler added at Rev2, and the round rear lights and single piece rear wing added at Rev3. The huge rear spoiler on the Rev5 cars is too much for me.

I also hugely prefer the current Elise to the launch version of the S2.

[Baked_bean]

the MK2 golf gti's looked better post facelift i think.

Although i do agree that the Big bumper look isnt as pure....

[swisstoni]

Ginge R said:

.. the prototype (LP500) is almost pretty by later standards.

edit: not so much pretty.. rather, sensual?

Edited by Ginge R on Monday 8th April 12:14

You are right. I take it back.

[DickyC]

Have we had the Muira yet?





Even though it owes a lot to the GT40

[Mastodon2]

I can think of a lot of cars that look better after a facelift, but I'll just use my car as an example.

Pre-facelift, the front corners looks too blobby and undefined for my tastes.



Post facelift, revised bumper gives a sharper appearance, makes the car look more angular and Japanese. The projecter headlights are an improvement too imo.



The facelift also brought in a lightened flywheel and red door cards and seat inserts. Improvements all round I'd say.