SClean4

1) Are all the car's lines going upward slightly or are the lines straight across and level? The lines look to be going slightly upward to me but can't tell for sure. It looks very clean however it is.

2) If the line is going upward slightly, could this be a subtle reference to Toyota's/Lexus's ever-evolving strive for perfection? Or maybe there's another or no reason.

3) Are the two main body lines on the early years perpendicular at all times or are the two lines closer together at the front and gradually and slightly widen?

4) Is the main body line in the exact center of the car from the lowest and highest points of the car's body or not?

5) Why does the main body line gradually end before getting to the end of the car? Any info or reason for this? Is it possibly to give a fast look (for the front), etc.?

6) What car's design or parts influenced the design of the 92-00 SC? The Acura NSX is one possible design that's often mentioned. Any others?

7) What car's design or parts were influenced by the 92-00 SC? I believe the Acura Integra and Honda Civic were cars based on the SC design. Also, cars such as the Ford ZX2 try to look like an SC but never even comes close. What other cars, designs or parts, are possibly influenced by the 92-00 SC?

Any other interesting facts about the SC 300/400 body design are appreciated. This video here is a nice history of the SC 300/400 and Soarer if you haven't already seen it.

CDY

The S14/S15 were obviously designed after the SC. The Accord V6 coupe and the rear of the 5th gen Prelude looks pretty similar as well.

pics -

habitat

I don't see the resemblance. I'm pretty sure the S14 zenki is designed after its big brother, the Skyline R33 GTR. I think the pictures you've posted are very misleading, given that all three of those cars Soarer, S14, and S15 are wearing the same front end body kit!
IMO, the cars you've pictured share many things in common. They are coupes, powered by an internal combustion engine, has 4 wheels, and 2+2 seating arrangement. But nowhere do I see any resemblance in design.

BLK13X

The last Prelude looks like it kinda resembles the character lines of the 30 Soarer.

movin_up

I don't see enough resemblance in any of the mentioned cars to say that their designs were copied from the SC. I just don't think that would have been their logical design process.

I went to school with a guy that drove a Geo Storm... it had 2 square headlights on each side, recessed much like a mid-90's Camaro. He claimed that Chevy looked to the Geo for their front end design and copied it.

Obviously we're not talking about Geo's here, but maybe that will put things into perspective. There are similarities between cars, that doesn't necessarily mean that the design team intentionally copied another vehicle's characteristics. How much sense would it make for the GM designers to think to themselves "Well, we're building the next generation of this legendary performance car, where can we get some design inspiration? ... I know, the Geo Storm!"

Just my opinion, but I think there's a lot less intentional design copying than what some people seem to suspect.

Pezlo

i would say dodge totaly copied the sc with their avenger

uras300

iTrader: (2)

Front end of CR-X del sol.

SteveTPA

Often imitated but never duplicated.

Carbon J

iTrader: (3)

I agree, SC design is timeless.

ncred

Remember, there's only so much you can do with a pair of headlights and a grille. A lot of similarities out there, but taking the car in total, nobody will ever replicate.

Kohinoor

iTrader: (22)

the only company i see intentionally copying ideas is hyundai

pnyboy27

yes..very true! they copy other designs with many if not all their models. like the mercedes-esque sedan, or camry-esque

movin_up

Now I could agree with you on that, they've done some pretty weak knock-offs.

But then I've heard people saying the new Accord is a copy of the Sonata.

BLK13X

When I went back to the Philippines on a holiday I noticed that one of my relatives had a van... Hyundai StarX (or Starex... can't remember)... the body was a knock off from the Mitsu Delica but damn inside had everything you could ever want.

I think Hyundai back in the day were quite bad but then again it hasn't had much heritage in car manufacture. These days they're on the up... maybe still not right into upper-Japanese quality but they're certainly up there considering some of the junk I've ridden in.

The logical idea would be to think that cars from the same market would have influenced the design of the Z30 chassis however I kinda think the design was influenced by Toyota's other in-house project. When you think about it, the shift from Toyota's boxy to swoopy designs were (for the most part) unveiled during the early 90's... the Previa/Tarago minivan, 80 Supra and 80 LandCruiser as examples. The predecessors of these cars were boxy as hell and the Soarer followed the boxy - swoopy design trend from the Z20 to Z30 chassis.

neurocity

iTrader: (17)

Look at the Buick Lacrosse....Can you say GS rip-off.
Or that new Buick SUV/Crossover thing. Everything on it is a copy of a RX.
Peak inside the trunk of a GTO...got that same wonderful gas tank design. Hell the GTO is damn close to the SC lines with the body.