Somewhat Separated Twins - Pegaso Thrill and AMC AMX

The cars featured below do not resemble each other closely, so "separated twins" might seem like an exaggeration.  Yet they do share some noteworthy characteristics.

These cars are the 1953 Pegaso Z-102 "Thrill" show car (some background here), and the 1968-1970 American Motors AMX (Wikipedia entry here).

Each retained the front half of a larger-production run automobile.  Each had a restyled aft half.  The Pegaso was built by the Italian carozzerria Touring, which based the frontal design on its low-production bodies supplied to Pegaso.  The AMX used the front half of American Motors' Javelin "pony car," but had a chopped-down, restyled rear.

Let's take a look.

Gallery

1953 Pegaso Z-102 Berlinetta by Touring
Most Pegasos with Touring-supplied bodies looked like this.

1953 Pegaso Z-102 Thrill showcar by Touring
The front half of the berlinetta design is retained on the "Thrill," though the grille bar arrangement differs.

Here we see the revised aft in near-profile.

And in three-quarter perspective.

1968 American Motors Javelin
This was the basis for the smaller AMX.  The designs are the same forward of the after cutline of the door, though grille details differ.

1968 American Motors AMX - Mecum Auction photo
The AMX grille lacks the Javelin's center divider.

Same car, right side.  The aft part has proportionally more C-pillar sheet metal and looks heavier than the Javelin.  The same could be said with regard to the Thrill -- compare to the similar pose above.

1968 American Motors AMX - Barrett-Jackson Auction photo
Not like the Thrill's rear window, but the sail panels here and the Thrill's fin-like rear fenders create a similar effect.

Separated Twins: IFA F9 and DKW F89, 91 Etc.

In other posts I've used the title "Separated Twins" ironically to refer to cars having similar features but from different makers, often from different eras.  Once I even compared a car to an airplane.

The present post is different.  It deals with cars from two different makers that literally had the same origin.

That origin was the pre- World War 2 Auto Union DKW brand's model F9 prototype.  It did not immediately lead to production due to the war.  But postwar, F9 type cars were built.  The first to appear were the IFA (Industrieverband Fahrzeugbau, active 1948-1991) F9s produced 1948-1956 in Automobilwerk Zwickau in East Germany.  Zwickau was where prewar DKWs were made.

Meanwhile Auto Union was reorganized in West Germany and the DKW brand's model F89 was produced 1950-1954.  It lacked the more advanced three-cylinder, two-cycle motor of the IFA F9 because IFA retained important prewar DKW engineering resources.  But during 1953-1959, DKW built model F91 ("3=6") that did have such an engine.  Also, DKW had a larger market and became more prosperous than IFA and therefore was able to take the lead technically and in terms of marketing attractiveness.

Below are examples of cars of the two brands with shared ancestry.

Gallery

DKW F9 Prototype - 1939
Note the grille design.

Same car, rear-quarter view.  Nicely streamlined, though aside from the front fenderline extending over the door, the overall effect is more late-1930s and 1940s.  The two-segment, aft backlight window is perhaps the most retrograde feature.

IFA F9
Sales literature for the 1950 IFA F9.  The design is the same as the prototype aside from brand identification items on the grille and trunk lid along with different tail lights, chrome grille bars and a few other minor details.

This later IFA F9 sports chrome trim around the windshield panels and a chrome strip along the hood cut and beltline.

Now for walkaround views of a for-sale 1952 IFA F9.

There are now chrome strips covering the trunk lid strakes.

Compare this '52 IFA F9 to the ...

DKW F89 Meisterklasse
1950 DKW F89 Meisterklasse ("Master Class").  The grille differs.  Also, this photo seems to be of a car lacking glass.

Another F89.  The backlight is one-piece curved glass that the East Germans apparently could not make at the time.

DKW F91 Sonderklasse
A 1953 DKW Sonderklasse ("Special Class") with the larger, three-cylinder motor.  It has a one-piece curved windshield and lower-side chrome trim.

Rear quarter view showing the three-segment wraparound backlight window.

Publicity image of the hardtop coupé version of the F91.

General Motors Conceptual Twins: Opel Kapitän vs. Vauxhall Velox and Cresta

For many years General Motors rotated some American stylists through its European subsidiaries Opel (in Germany) and Vauxhall (in England).  Therefore, it isn't surprising that some Opel and Vauxhall models had similar apprearances that include more than a dash of Detroit automobile fashion.

The subjects of today's post are the short-lived (1958-59) Opel Kapitän P1 and the 1957-1959 versions of the Vauxhall Cresta PA and Vauxhall Velox PA.  Also included are images of similar Chevrolet and Buick features.

Unless noted, images below are factory-sourced or are of for-sale cars.

Gallery

1958 Opel Kapitän P1
Significant features include panoramic (wraparound) windshields and backlight windows, along with C-pillars that blend into the beltline.

1959 Vauxhall Velox PA - Vauxhall Heritage photo
The slightly smaller Vauxhall has similar windows, but the C-pillar is narrower and fails to blend.  That said, it appears that the cars might have shared some structural elements.

1958 Opel Kapitän P1, for-rent photo
The Kapitän's backlight is a one-piece affair.

1959 Vauxhall Cresta PA
Whereas Vauxhall's had three-segment backlights.

1957 Oldsmobile
Note the similarity to this American GM design's backlight.

1962 Vauxhall Cresta PA - for sale in Australia
Later Vauxhall PAs received one-piece backlights.

1958 Opel Kapitän P1, image via Autobild
Now for some comparative side views.  The Kapitän's wide C-pillar is similar to that of ...

1957 Buick Roadmaster Hardtop Sedan
Buick Super and Roadmaster hardtop sedans of the 1957 model year had this window design, also some Cadillacs.

1959 Vauxhall Velox PA
Whereas the Vauxhalls' C-pillars are similar to those on ...

1958 Chevrolet Biscayne Sedan
1958 Chevrolet and Pontiac four-door sedans had this window treatment.

Separated Twins - Jaguar XJ and Postwar Hudsons

My e-book on automobile styling argues that there hasn't been much evolution in the appearance of sedans since about 1950.  Yes, technology has improved in terms of metal stamping, autoglass forming, headlamp structure and other fields related to how cars look.  And there has been increased attention since the early 1980s regarding improved aerodynamic efficiency as a means of reducing fuel consumption.  But the dominant factor is fashion. Automobile styling fashions come, go, and occasionally return.

A case regarding the return of a style is the design of the 2010-vintage Jaguar XJ model.  It took me a while to make the connection, but it finally dawned on me that the XJ can be considered a modern version of the "step-down" Hudson of the 1948-1954 model years.

Let's take a look:

Here are the cars in profile, the XJ above, the Hudson below.  Both designs might be called "almost-fastback," where the top gradually curves downward and meets the lower body slightly in front of the back of the car.  Both designs use a "six-window" treatment, each door having a window plus a window placed to the rear of the rear door. (A "four-window" style has only door windows.)

And here are rear quarter views that offer more information on the treatment of the passenger compartment greenhouse.  Note the pinched, roughly triangular aft side windows on both designs as well as their relationship to the backlight windows.

True, there are differences in appearance. The XJ makes plenty of use of technological refinements and wind tunnel testing, but the most visible difference is that its rear wheels are exposed, whereas the Hudson's are skirted.  Nevertheless, the cars separated by the Atlantic Ocean and 60 years are conceptually similar in terms of basic shape.

When DeSoto Wanted to be a Buick

Buick stood next to the top (Cadillac) in General Motors' hierarchy of brands once LaSalle was dropped from the lineup after the 1940 model year.  Like other GM brands, Buick offered models across a price/prestige range.  Around 1950, the most expensive Buicks overlapped entry-level Cadillacs in price, while the least-expensive Buicks competed with Oldsmobiles and some Pontiacs. Over at Chrysler Corporation, Chryslers were competitive with Buicks, while the Imperial model was in the Cadillac price range.  DeSotos considerably overlapped Chrysler's range, but from a slightly lower starting point.  That is, DeSoto competed with all Buicks save the Roadmaster line and all Oldsmobiles except the lower-level 76s.

From 1942 though 1954 a major Buick brand identification feature was a grille with vertical bars.  DeSoto grilles also had vertical bars, but from 1941 through 1955.  And there was a brief time -- model years 1951 and 1952 -- that DeSoto even borrowed Buick's hood sculpting theme.  I am not sure that was a good idea, essentially copying the looks of a competing brand.  In any case, that detail was dropped on DeSoto's restyled 1953 line.

Gallery

1939 Buick - publicity photo
Buick first tried out a vertical grille bar theme in 1939, but went to horizontal bars for 1940 and 1941.

1941 DeSoto - Auctions America photo
DeSoto's first use of vertical bars on a horizontal grille.

1942 Buick
Vertical bars were back for the war-shortened 1942 model year.

1949 Buick Super Sedanette - Hyman Ltd. photo
Buicks were restyled for 1949.  Note the sculpting on the front of the hood.  DeSoto stylists were aware of this feature when the 1951 facelift was being developed.

1950 DeSoto - for sale photo
DeSotos were also given new body designs for 1949.  The 1950 models got a revised grille design.

1950 Buick Special Sedanette - Hyman Ltd. photo
Another new set of bodies for Buick in 1950.  The hood sculpting theme was carried over from 1949.

1951 DeSoto - for sale photo
All Chrysler Corporation cars were facelifted for 1950, the most noticeable change being the rounded-off hood prow.  Now DeSoto picks up Buick's hood sculpting.  Not an exact copy, but pretty close.

1951 Buick Super - Hyman Ltd. photo
That same model year Buick got a new grill, but the hood sculpting was unchanged.

1952 DeSoto - for sale photo
DeSotos for 1952 were almost identical to '51s.  The only difference seen here is the typeface for the word "DeSoto."

1953 DeSoto - Mecum Auctions photo
As mentioned above, restyled 1953 DeSotos dropped the Buick-like hood sculpting.

Similar Aft: Ford Fusion and Chrysler 200

A year ago I posted regarding how the need for wind-tunnel testing for reasons of fuel economy has resulted in cars with highly similar profiles.  One result of this similarity is increasingly baroque sheet metal ornamentation along with a fad regarding angular shapes for headlight and tail light assemblies.

Even such detailing can wind up surprisingly similar for cars from different makers.  Here we consider the rear aspects of Ford's Fusion and Chrysler's 200.

2014 Ford Fusion

2015 Chrysler 200
To me, the Fusion and 200 look pretty much the same at first glance.  Aside from the similar basic body shape, we see that the side and rear window shapes are nearly identical, as are those lips at the lower edge of the bumper / strike panels.

Remaining design features differ in detail, but not by much: they are styled in the same spirit.  These details include the shape of the tail light assemblies, the lower side character shapes extending aft of the rear wheel openings and the depression where the license plate is housed.  The Chrysler has less sculpting at the top of the trunk lid and alongside the backlight, but these are minor in the context of overall appearance.

Separated Twins: 1938 Graham and 1938 Douglas B-18A Bomber

Yes, one of these "twins" isn't actually an automobile.  It's a U.S. Army Air Corps bomber built in the late 1930s.  They served in World War 2 mostly in an anti-submarine role due to being obsolete for other combat roles. Some background is here.

The B-18 was designed shortly after the Douglas DC-2 airliner, but had little in common other than wing structure and tail elements of the DC-3.  First-series B-18s featured a rounded nose, but the B-18As had the nose redesigned in a manner resembling the "Shark-Nose" 1938 Graham automobile.  B-18As reached production in April 1938, though design was probably essentially completed in 1937.

The Graham (company history here.) was styled by Amos Northup but, due to his accidental death, some details were designed by other hands.  The concept of the hood-grille ensemble was Northup's, however, and this work was probably done in 1936.

So even though the two designs were revealed late 1937 or early 1938, there is no reason to believe that one inspired the other.  What we have here is a curious design coincidence.

1938 Graham - Shannons Auction photo

Douglas B-18A Bolo

Separated Twins: VW Scirocco and Alfasud Sprint

The two car models I'm featuring here weren't quite born at the same time, but the timing was very close.  They actually did come from the same styling womb, so to speak.  But they were products of competing manufacturers, so there was indeed separation.

The cars in question are, on the one hand, two versions of Alfa Romeo's Alfasud ("Alfa South") and on the other, Volkswagen's fist-series Scirocco.  Links dealing with the Alfasuds are here and here.  A Scirocco link is here.

All the designs were by the ItalDesign firm headed by famed designer Giorgetto Giugiaro (1938 - ).   For that reason, it shouldn't be surprising that similar-vintage designs were created in the same spirit.   What is somewhat surprising is that the designs are quite similar.  Shall we take a look?

Gallery

1974 (ca.) Alfasud TI

1978 (ca.) Alfasud TI
The TI, a two-door version of the initial Alfasud, appeared towards the end of 1973, according to the Alfasud link above.

1974 VW Scirocco

1974 VW Scirocco
Sciroccos went on sale in 1974, but their development timeline probably overlapped that of the TI to a considerable extent.  The TI is slightly more rounded than the Scirocco and the rear side windows are shaped differently.  Both cars have ridges around their wheel openings as well as a crease running along the upper sides.  Grille ensembles are full-width in both cases, and simple in form.  Details such as these aside, the Scirocco can be characterized as basically being a crisper-looking TI or the TI as a softened Scirocco.

1976-83 Alfasud Sprint

1976-83 Alfasud Sprint
A couple of years later, Alfa Romeo introduced a sportier two-door Alfasud, the Sprint model.  Again, Giugiaro was responsible.

1981 VW Scirocco (second series)

1992 VW Scirocco (second series)
The Scirocco got a restyling for the 1981 model year.  The Wikipedia link above states that this time, the designer wasn't Giugiaro, but instead Herbert Schäfer, chief designer of Volkswagen's styling section.  Even though Giugiaro was out of the picture (so far as I know), the designs are still surprisingly similar, though this time, it's the Scirocco that has the slightly softer appearance.