I always liked the way the BG 323 hatchback looked like the Pug 205, but I can't find any hard evidence that Mazda "borrowed" the design. I can't even find who styled the 205 or the 323. Some say the 205 was styled by Pininfarina but others dispute this and argue it was done in-house.
I've seen other instances of Asian car makers being influenced by Euro car makers. The VW Golf and Hyundai Excel were both designed by Giugiaro and look alike. Another interesting point is that Wiki credits Giugiaro for styling the 1964 first gen Mazda Familia but not the BF 323 which seems to have more of his styling cues. You would really need to have your eyes checked if you can't see the similarity between the RX7 first & second gen and the Porsche 924 & 944.
There's too many similarities between the BG 323 and the 205 for it to just be a coincidence. The hatches seem to have the same curvature and the rear of the door has the same design of the metal part sticking out but not the glass. The rear lights bar design on the cars look almost exactly the same. There are some notable differences though. I hate to say it, but the 205 has a prettier design on the rear quarter glass. Obvious mechanical design differences include the intake and exhaust sides of the engine being reversed, the exhaust pipe ending on the opposite side, and the rear suspension of the 205 uses a torsion bar; but the front suspension on the cars are almost identical.
I'm hoping someone has a story about Mazda engineers picking apart a 205. Almost like the stories about them carefully analyzing the clicking sounds of the gears shifting in an MG when they were designing the Miata. Does anyone have any info that could explain why the cars look so similar?
I've seen other instances of Asian car makers being influenced by Euro car makers. The VW Golf and Hyundai Excel were both designed by Giugiaro and look alike. Another interesting point is that Wiki credits Giugiaro for styling the 1964 first gen Mazda Familia but not the BF 323 which seems to have more of his styling cues. You would really need to have your eyes checked if you can't see the similarity between the RX7 first & second gen and the Porsche 924 & 944.
There's too many similarities between the BG 323 and the 205 for it to just be a coincidence. The hatches seem to have the same curvature and the rear of the door has the same design of the metal part sticking out but not the glass. The rear lights bar design on the cars look almost exactly the same. There are some notable differences though. I hate to say it, but the 205 has a prettier design on the rear quarter glass. Obvious mechanical design differences include the intake and exhaust sides of the engine being reversed, the exhaust pipe ending on the opposite side, and the rear suspension of the 205 uses a torsion bar; but the front suspension on the cars are almost identical.
I'm hoping someone has a story about Mazda engineers picking apart a 205. Almost like the stories about them carefully analyzing the clicking sounds of the gears shifting in an MG when they were designing the Miata. Does anyone have any info that could explain why the cars look so similar?
pm if interested
Comment