My dad had a C4 ZR-1 (hyphen? no hyphen? I know there’s a right way and a wrong way and I can never remember) and that thing was one bad motorscooter. He let me take to a track day event at Road America one blessed day and I remember hanging with some pretty heavy-duty cats there. A beat and ratty but well-maintained…

LOL. my son bought a C4 a few years ago for $7K, put about $10K into it and sold it a few months ago for $5k.

Not only is it great looking, but it’s so simple, it works as a middle-finger to pretty much everything overly chiseled and aggressive that’s made now. Live look at current designers watching 90's GM turning a Nike swoosh into a car:

As much as I know it’s crude, I’ve always been partial to the OG C4. I remember the first one I saw in Montreal, and I immediately loved its sharp edges. Of course, a car is more than its looks, and I understand they aren’t so good at ride and construction.

The C5 Z06 is a track car and should be thought of as such. It doesn’t have any sound deadening at all.

Honestly, can’t think of anything the 70's Celica did better than the 69 Mustang. Maybe the price was better. I guess you could also say it rusted better, or more would probably be more accurate. 

Early Miata prototypes looked even more like an Elan IMO

That’s what they said: “The OG NIN Hurt is the best”.

The NA Miata also used a copy of the Minilite wheel. Mazda should be commended for building something very close to the Elan is spirit while being reliable and durable

Further proof that Miata Is Always The Answer

Don’t forget about the Manfred-Mann hit “Blinded by the Light” that was light years better than Bruce Springsteen’s original.

I have no idea who grace mitchell is, but if anyone thinks that version is better than Hall and Oates, fucking YIKES. I couldn’t listen to it for more than 10 seconds.

I simply will not stand for such disrespect toward Don Henley

The R1200C was trying to compete against the larger/more expensive Harleys.  It was way too premium (and thus expensive) to compete against Sportsters, even the largest Sportsters.

Wait, hold on. Are we all just blowing past the blaspheming of the classics Maneater and Boys of Summer?!

BMW, not so much really. NSU though (and they put the engine in the right place, and air-cooled as well)...

Came here to say the same. The Miata was inspired by the Elan, not so much the MG.

Hurts me to say this, but NA Miata. I don’t want to call it a Lotus Elan ripoff, but for all intents and purposes, it was. It was the late 80's best interpretation of Elan. They even tested like 96 exhaust systems to come up with the sound best reminds of Lotus twin cam.

Controversial point here but BMW in the late 1990's early 2000's made a surprisingly good copy of the harley sportster. It handled and stopped alot better and to my book looked better. Now ofcourse this didnt matter as the harley boys wanted a harley and the people who wanted the look but didnt care about the brand…

The late Seventies Toyota Celica fastback ripoff of the Mustang: