Have there been successful facelifts (automotively speaking...)

Interesting podcast from Jason/Derek.

My take is that bumper regulations and lighting tech have driven a lot of facelifts, but I agree that the original design has typically been the best. They discuss the Testarossa, 348/355 and Porsche 996/997, though you have to sit through a lot of BMW discussion to get there.

 

I'd say the 488 to the F8 was/is the best, most dramatic and most successful 'facelift' of any car I've ever seen.

 

I think these guys would say the 458 was the pivotal design, and the 488 was a step back, but it's a very subjective topic. F8 is certainly a handsome iteration.

Among Ferraris, the European-spec 308 is a personal favorite, and I still debate whether the 328 was an aesthetic improvement over the Euro 308. I owned a U.S.-spec 308 QV and never quite warmed up to the bumpers.

Among Porsche, I think the original 911 long hood cars are in some ways the most elegant, but like the 964 facelift that finally ended the accordion bumpers of the G-body cars. 356A is far more balanced than the B or C that followed.

Series1 E-Type is the classic Jaguar, and I'd agree the Series 3 was a few notches below that. Facelift due to onerous federal regulations... ditto the MGB, which went from beautiful to a jacked-up, rubber-bumpered catastrophe.

 

964 to 993 was also a pretty successful facelift - though as with all things Porsche, purists at the time weren't happy with the change. 993 to 996 maybe less so, until the 996.2.

 

I know NOTHING about Porsche and can't tell a single difference between ANY Porsche, period.... every single one looks like sh*t inside and out.... squashed frog design that should've gone away 40 years ago but yet, they still make the same exact car. You can put a boxster, a 999.14-38 or a GTRS35 775.991423.7 or whatever the F they all are next to each other and there is no difference. Only 2 Porsches with any style or difference is the CarreraGT and the 918 Spyder and there's still barely any difference there but at least, they aren't as hard to look at.

 

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I don't know what troll (iest) means.... but thank you? is that the right response? I doubt it means I have big orange hair that gets messy when you spin the pencil and I doubt its about fishing either.... but I don't dare ask what it means.

 

993 was always viewed as a handsome car. Maybe lost a bit of the 911 profile but still a great facelift.


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Personally I like the 512TR stylistically more than the original TR, the 328 more than the 308 (but close), the 575 more than the original 550 (but also close), the 456M interior over then original 456GT; Beyond Ferrari, the 6.0 diablo is heavenly. The most obvious of course being 355>348...

 

In the modern Ferrari world, IMHO, the 328 is better than the 308, and the 355 is better than the 348.

360->430 got awkward.
458 was gorgeous, and has wandered downhill to the current model.

The Cali T was better looking in the rear than the original model.

 

I agree - 512TR “finished the job” in my opinion. 550 and 575 I still have to do a double take to tell them apart.

328 is one of my all time favorites, and the U.S.-spec 308 has the battering ram bumpers, but I go back and forth. Still, a blu sera 328 is close to perfection for me. Lost the pointy nose and looks lower.

OTOH I think the original Countach is iconic, and the later plastic bits didn’t do it any favors. I also thought the Lotus Esprit Turbo was a phenomenal facelift, but the later Esprit lost the edge (literally…)



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Imo these facelifts were better
348>355
1st>2nd gen viper
3rd>4th gen viper

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993 isn't facelift imo from 964.. it's a new model.

Facelift imo is 997.1 to 997.2.

 

How about worst ones. Outgoing M3 to new M3 and outgoing M2 to new M2. Both are fine from sides and back but hideous from front.


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