Reading the latest issue of 000 Magazine, Mobius' original vision never did get realized in the first place and the early cars are a compromise in themselves. Perhaps the best example cited in the article was that Mobius had intended the rear quarter windows to be concave not convex. That would have dramatically changed the appearance of the rear of the car.

 

It says something that we all assumed the purpose of the poll to be for styling. There were some great engineering developments in the later cars, as well as many unnecessary complications.

 

The OP refers to styling in his first post. So not an assumption. I thought that was what you were referring to when you wrote "additions", as in styling additions.

 

Nate is obviously correct.

 

For the first 10 years of playing with 928s I was all about the later models, and then got seduced by the original intent of the OB's styling. I think it's less a function of the vintage- there are so many great shots of 928s of all model years, where the photographer caught (on purpose or not) something that is just 'right'. In the end it's sort of like perusing the IHI thread- lots of different cues, curves, angles, that catch the eye. And I'd hit a lot them.

 

I said execution.

I was referring to styling additions, but I re-read the OP, it can be interpreted another way:

A lot of OB and NB fans prefer their cars for reasons other than the body style, simplicity of the older cars, performance of the newer cars, etc.

Meh...I think it was my side spear comment.

 

Hey I agree with you there. Wish my car didn't have them. I thought I read that they were always an option, even on early cars. Is that true? And could you order them as a factory delete on later cars?

 

86 Euro 16v, 5spd, sunroof, rubstrip, and front/rear spoiler deletes

 

It's interesting watching attitudes change over the years. Take the Countach, at one point the early cars were ugly, less popular and collecting dust. Now the LP400's (especially the lowboy) are worth some serious coin.

I have vintage Corvette News magazines with ads stating: "Update your 63 by removing that bar in the window".
Later issues: "Update your 78-72 with one piece bumpers"

It's some kind of cycle which starts out with buyers only wanting the newest, latest, fastest etc.... but as time moves on and cars become more of a collector, the older cars are more appreciated for the original looks since collectors rarely buy for performance / features.
Nobody is paying 1/4 million for a vintage big block Vette because it's faster than a small block version. Actually, people buying a vintage Vette to actually drive them prefer the small blocks, they handle better and are more reliable.

 

I prefer the older style along with rub strip delete. To me the newer body looks heavier and add on rub strip it takes away from the fluid design. The photo's of the very first cars ( euro version ) look the best and what Mobius was trying to achieve. The only issue with the earlier cars was the rear track was just a bit narrow IMO. I guess you could imagine a 78/79 body without a sun roof. spoilers, rub strips, side marker lights but with the hips of a GTS

 

The code for the spears is M418...applied to 17,506 cars (80-95) according to Rob's signature link. ~50,000 cars during that period...sure seems like there'd be a lot more smooth side cars around now.

Actually Nate I suspect that as the cars got later many "coded" options became "standard" build items (pass. mirrors, sunroofs, rear wipers, etc) and specific order cars could be specified "without" probably at extra charge. I imagine a big gray area, on non-customer-order builds, of what was a coded option that became one of these "standard build" items, a "sometimes build" item (like LSD) , or a "never build" item (like leather lock plates and such) with an equally loose policy of when these "standard build" items got printed on the option sticker.

The mysteries that keep our interest right?

 

I've noticed a seeming need to "change for change sake." There have been a number of cars over the years where I really liked the original version and think the designers actually degraded them in their desire to "freshen" the look. A few examples that come to mind:

• Acura NSX - IMHO it peaked '94 with the beautiful wheels, survived relatively unscathed for another 8 years or so, then they screwed it up by getting rid of the pop-up headlights.
• Nissan 300ZX - Give me the original rear spoiler of the 90-93, not the wing of the later models
• Lexus SC400 - Loved the original chin spoiler, then they took it away in 95

The 928 doesn't suffer this IMHO, as I think the design of the 928 is great in all versions - the purity of the original design, the aggressiveness of the front/rear spoilered S model, the sleek modern rounded look of the S4/GT enhanced by the broadened muscularity of the the GTS. I love 'em all and would have an example of each if funds allowed.

 

Huh? I have not visited a thread on this forum by that name for all the time (2 years ) I have been a member of Rennlist

I agree. I thought I would only like the NB styling when I first pursued my cars, but I have learned to love all of them.

-hoi

 

Alright Tony, let's see who "finds" the first one here! I think Alex is going to win...
-hoi

 

I'd like to handicap those odds at: Hoi: 2:1, Alex 3:1, Droo 4:1, and Nate: 5:1 . T