Random Best Car Model Redesigns in History (38 items)

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  (#1) Fourth-generation Chevrolet Camaro

  • Automobile generation

  The last Camaro model before it became extinct... for a time. 
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  (#2) Chevrolet Camaro

  • Automobile

  Of all the model redesigns of the last few years, Chevy's Camaro is definitely one of the most dramatic and successful. Perhaps taking a cue from both Ford and Chrysler, Chevy went back to its roots for design inspiration. But unlike the other two, Chevy didn't go so far back as to seem deliberately retro. If anything, the design looks decidedly futuristic. And the modern redesign is more than skin deep. This Camaro's body proportions may come from the history books, but its slick handling, smooth manners and refinement make this redesign one for the history books.
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  (#3) 2000 Aston Martin V8 Coupe

  Yes, this was actually an Aston Martin.
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  (#4) Aston Martin Vantage

  • Automobile

  Technically speaking, this is more of a "reboot" than a "redesign," since the original Vantage went out of production in 1973. And you could make the argument that the V-12 Vanquish that preceded it was a better redesign. But this one was styled by Henrik Fisker and was a much bigger redesign from its predecessor than the Vanquish. If you like the way modern Astons look, this car is basically the genesis.
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  (#5) 2002 Ford Mustang Coupé

  • Automobile Model Year

  This was (thankfully) the last of the SN95 Mustangs. 
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  (#6) 2005 Ford Mustang

  • Automobile Model Year

  There's no other way to put it: the S197 Mustang has to be one of the most successful car redesigns in history. Like several others on this list, the 2005 Mustang represents a major course correction for the brand that had long since lost its way. Sure, the Fox-body Mustang was a legend in its own right, and certainly an improvement over its predecessor, but it was never really the Mustang that Mustang people thought of when they heard the name. With this redesign, Mustang definitely won back its image.
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  (#7) 2001 Maserati Quattroporte

  The Quattroporte, before the redesign, retailed at $85,000 new. Let that sink in.
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  (#8) Maserati Quattroporte

  • Automobile

  Yeah, those 2002 owners should have waited a year. With a name like "Maserati," you would think that nothing but finely crafted pieces of art were being pushed out of their factory. But from 1994 to 2001, the Quattroporte (literally "four door" in Italian) was an almost unmitigated heap of crap. Not even a pair of turbos on either a V-6 or V-8 engine could ward off the seething embarrassment of owning one. Things got better when Ferrari purchased half of Maserati from Fiat in 1997, but it wasn't until 2003 that Maserati finally made a car worthy of its name.
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  (#9) Volkswagen Beetle

  • Automobile

  The classic VW Beetle.
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  (#10) Volkswagen New Beetle

  • Automobile

  It's tempting to think of the New Beetle as a "reborn" or "rebooted" car, but it isn't. It really was a direct successor to the original Beetle, which was stunningly still in production all the way up to 2003. Love it or hate it, this car set off a sales supernova for Volkswagen, particularly in the United States. It was arguably the car that triggered the whole retro-styling boom that preceded the 300C, new Mustang, Camaro, and Challenger. This car hit so big and so quickly that it almost single-handedly funded the purchase of both Lamborghini and Bugatti. And we all know how that turned out. 
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  (#11) 2002 Chevrolet Corvette

  • Automobile Model Year

  The C5 Corvette. Love it or hate it, at least it had some nice curves.
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  (#12) 2005 Chevrolet Corvette

  • Automobile Model Year

  Disco headlights NO MORE!! Welcome to the 21st century, Corvette. 
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  (#13) Chrysler 300

  • Automobile

  The last stand of the 300, pre-redesign.
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  (#14) Chrysler 300C

  • Automobile

  The 300C wasn't just the redesign that saved the model, it may have also saved the entire brand. Calling this a dramatic departure from its predecessor is an understatement. When it left the scene, the outgoing 300 was a tragedy of hopelessly forgettable '90s bubble-car styling, front-drive understeer, and underpowered boredom. The 300C completely remade the model's image from golf course retiree to Hemi-powered burnout machine. Overnight, the 300C made Chrysler cool again and helped redefine the entire American sedan industry. 
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  (#15) Cadillac Catera

  • Automobile

  The last of the duckies. 
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  (#16) Cadillac CTS

  • Automobile

  When it first debuted, Cadillac's front-wheel-drive Catera was a joke. Remember the whole "ducky" advertising campaign? That didn't do much to help Cadillac's case that it could be a serious competitor of BMW or Mercedes. But when the CTS came along in 2003, the car-buying public almost immediately forgot about Caddy's former embarrassment. In fact, most people don't even know that CTS stands for "Catera Touring Sedan."
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  (#17) 2005 Hyundai Sonata

  The Sonata, pre-redesign. If you drove one, you probably didn't get very far. 
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  (#18) Hyundai Sonata

  • Automobile

  Nobody can argue that the 2006 Sonata wasn't leagues ahead of any Hyundai made before. It helped Hyundai get a bigger piece of the family sedan pie with its improved styling and look.
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  (#19) 1969 Pontiac Firebird

  • Automobile Model Year

  The first-gen Firebird.
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  (#20) Saab 99

  • Automobile

  The unequivocally unique Saab 99.
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  (#21) Saab 900

  • Automobile

  All right, technically, the 900 was a replacement for the 99, which makes it a different model. But let's not quibble over one number. In every way, this effective redesign of the 99 was a massive success for Saab. Especially since it spawned the 900 Turbo, a car that made everyone in the '80s go "turbo crazy" and is still pretty quick even by modern standards.
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  (#22) Chevrolet Malibu

  Before the redesign. It's still cool if you like boxcars. 
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  (#23) Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454

  • Automobile

  The 1968 Chevrolet Malibu. Or 1968 Chevelle, Pontiac GTO, Oldsmobile Cutlass, or Buick Skylark. Take your pick. This was the year when all of GM's intermediate muscle cars got their iconic new bodies, which would go on to be etched into history books. Plenty of people liked the old bodies, but by 1968, they were just that: old. The older cars' sex appeal was in their horsepower and reputation, but this new generation's Malibu was born and bred to turn heads.
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  (#24) Bentley Arnage

  • Automobile

  Soak in this Bentley before you set your eyes on the next one.
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  (#25) Bentley Continental GT

  • Automobile

  What a difference a year makes. As the first car produced under Bentley's new BMW ownership, this Continental GT seemed to leapfrog 30 years of design. Some people happen to like the old Continental, but this was the modern BMW Bentley's birth cry to the world. 
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  (#26) 1992 Toyota Supra

  The Supra MK III was less than super but still had quite the loyal following.
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  (#27) Toyota Supra

  • Automobile

  The Supra MK IV was the car that cemented Toyota's reputation as a serious purveyor of speed machines. Probably the best comparison here would be GM's 1968 redesign of the Chevelle/Cutlass/GTO/Skylark. The previous-generation cars were certainly cool and fast in their own right, but they were also boxy and just average-looking. In that sense, the MK IV Supra is the 1968 Chevelle SS of Japanese muscle. 
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  (#28) 2001 Mercedes-Benz SL

  The Benz that lugged its '90s look into the new century.
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  (#29) 2010 Mercedes-Benz SL

  • Automobile Model Year

  The 1990s were a pretty dark time for Mercedes, which had lost almost every scrap of credibility of being a maker of quality automobiles. The SL's 2003 redesign took the noose off of Mercedes's neck, and McLaren's SLR version crashed through the gallows at 200 mph. This redesign sold in pretty respectable numbers, but, more importantly, it returned the halo of respectability to a company that was on the verge of that long good night. 
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  (#30) Jaguar X-Type

  • Automobile

  The last of the S Type Jaguars.
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  (#31) Jaguar XF

  • Automobile

  Jaguar languished during the majority of its Ford-owned years, stuck hopelessly in the tobacco-scented past of walnut trim and "stately" traditionalism. Jag wanted a piece of the modernist pie, and they got it with the XF. This was the sports sedan that redfined everything we thought we knew about Jaguar. A welcome return to form for a company that made its name with lightweight, Ferrari-killing speed machines. 
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  (#32) 1996 Honda Odyssey

  • Automobile Model Year

  You could call this the birth of soccer moms.
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  (#33) Honda Odyssey

  • Automobile Model

  The second generation Odyssey is where soccer moms across the country thrived. You have to appreciate the fact that Honda at least attempted to build what was at the time considered the "sports car of minivans." The fact that it shared its underpinnings with the equally impressive Acura TL didn't hurt handling and a reasonably powerful V-6 meant that the Odyssey wasn't embarrassingly slow. No more late arrivals to soccer practice.
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  (#34) Ford Mustang

  • Automobile

  Look! A Pinto! Nope, that's just a Mustang, pre-Fox redesign.
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  (#35) 1988 Dodge Magnum (Mexico)

  The last of the "Magnums," sold as an Aries K in the United States. Also, the only picture of a 1988 Dodge Magnum known to man.
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  (#36) Dodge Magnum

  • Automobile

  The "Magnum" name might have disappeared for a long time in the United States, but it was actually in production in other countries (notably Mexico) all the way through 1988. When it returned 16 years later as a cousin to the Chrysler 300C, the Magnum hit the US market like a shotgun to the chest. If any car ever hypothetically stood a chance of bringing back wagons, it would have been the Magnum.
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  (#37) Lincoln Continental Mark IV

  • Automobile Model

  This hugely expensive, overly chromed land yacht was massive and gaudy even by 1950s luxury car standards. That didn't help it compete against Rolls Royce as Ford had intended. This venture wound up as one of the most expensive blunders in Ford's history. 
  
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  (#38) Lincoln Continental

  In 1961, Ford downsized everything about the car, including its size, chrome content, gaudiness and, most importantly, price. The 1961 Continental redesign was conceptualized by a little-known artist who'd spent the last few years styling toasters and women's shoes. The result was a slick and comparatively understated cruiser. 

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