[QuentinTino]

There have been numerous instances of the car companies (mainly Asian) copying their designs from the more established and renowned manufacturers (usually European), and we have come across those cars quite often on the Internet. This is a thread to compile and reminisce those designs, I’ll go first with some Indian ones-

Honda City (3rd gen)and BMW 3 series (E90) -


Honda City (4th gen) and BMW 3 series (F30) -


Again, Honda City (5th gen) and BMW 3 series (G20) -


It seems like an irony to me, moving from a Honda City to a 3 series myself. What do you guys think?

[Arnav612]

I actually just concluded what the New A Class' rear reminded me of. I'm pretty sure it's not an intentional rip off/copy but it's rather disappointing and uncanny.

[tbppjpr]

Tata Nano was so ahead of its time that manufacturers like Mitsubishi are copying that design today for their new electric cars:

https://youtu.be/lprhox5pwhM

[salilpawar1]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

Tata Nano was so ahead of its time that manufacturers like Mitsubishi are copying that design today for their new electric cars:

https://Youtu.be/lprhox5pwhM

Mitsubihi MiEV's first production version with a similar body style was showcased for the first time in Frankfurt Motor Show in 2007, a year before Nano's reveal in 2008.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by jigar1791@gmail

How can we forget the 1st gen SOnata VS the C-CLass, back in the 2000s.

Hyundai Sonata actually very closely resembled the Jaguar S Type.

(Pictures attached from the internet)

And this thread ideally ought to also make mention of the Suzuki Swift and the Mini Cooper and the Mahindra Thar and the Jeep Wrangler.

[VWAllstar]

Designing a car is a difficult job. Lets call it 'taking inspiration' than 'copying' Its like Anu Malik, he only gets inspired but never copies

[wheelguy]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

With anything creative, you only a finite number of ways of creating things, stories, music, food, etc. before it all starts looking inspired by something else. Take tail lamps, for example: it's hard to be very original when they need to conform to regulations, market preferences, current trends, strict cost targets, etc.

Exactly, with the number of car companies around the world and the number of cars they make and the constraints like 4-meter rule etc, coming up with an out and out original design is very difficult. Cannot understand how people don't get this point. There are few shameless copies and the rest I would like to call them as design choices.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by dr.aviansh

2.) CHEVROLET SS - HINDUSTAN CONTESSA CLASSIC :

The Vauxhall Victor (HM Contessa) was inspired from the coke bottle styled American car of that time. Add to that most US cars at that time had round sealed beam headlights due to regulations with upmarket cars having quad headlights. So it is not just the Chevrolet SS, the Contessa will look like most US cars of the 60s/70s. It is just that the Indian muscle car fanbois have made the Contessa into a Chevy SS copy like. (That is when they are not busy trying to convert it to Mustangs or Camaros)

Originally Posted by dr.aviansh

8.) RENAULT / DACIA LOGAN - TOYOTA ETIOS :

Same silhoutte for the lights, just like how the 1st gen Innova headlights look like that of a Indica V2. Side by side, the Etios and Logan are so different. Where the Logan has flat boxy panels, the Etios is streamlined and aerodynamically designed. Just that the overall effect with the large taillights make it look boxier. Logan is as angular and flat as it gets, while I bet except for the side character line one wouldn't be able to find a straight angular line in the Etios, style-wise.

Originally Posted by car love

The Japanese have now understood this and are making amends. The below pictures show how the first lexus was a blatant S-class copy but the current one has moved so far ahead and stands as a unique product.

Agree with on the Western vs Japanese cultural differences, but to call out the 1st gen LS400 as a blatant copy of the W140?

It looked bland, but the original LS400 was not out there trying to copy the W140 styling. The LS400 has all soft rounded lines, while the W140 is a straight up tank with slabby design. The Lexus LS was launched a couple of years before the W140, and also the styling was already previewed in the Toyota Cressida with final design being freezed and patented a couple of years before the W140 was. The 2nd gen Lexus GS has also been criticised as a copycat of the W210 E class, when in fact the quad headlight design was already done in the '91 Lexus SC, an year before Merc previewed the iconic round quadlight design in a concept.

IMO, the facelift version of the 2nd gen LS400 resembled the W140 a fair bit and the LS430 adopted the slabside design of the W140. other than, most of the accusations are by the same kind of people who call Lexus as the poor man's Mercedes or just a Toyota. Remember elderly acquaintances calling the LS as poor man's Mercedes while driving around in their company provided 300 Benz (E class).