Cars that never die

By Thomas Geiger Oct 5, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Frankfurt - When Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller unveiled the new Porsche 911 at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, some veteran motor hacks remembered the autumn of 1963 when the sports carmaker launched the very first edition of the legendary coupe.

Walking through the halls of the show, other famous names come up such as the Mercedes G-Class, the Chevrolet Camaro or the Land Rover - all names that have been on the market for decades.

'To become a classic like that, a car must stand out in comparison to others. And, you have to be the first to remain original,' says automobile expert Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, a professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen in western Germany.

For the Porsche 911 it is the recognizable sound of the rear engine, the unique drive and unmistakeable silhouette. 'These three factors almost make the car last forever,' says Dudenhoeffer. The same applies to the Mini or the Land Rover Defender.

But these cars have to go with the times so as not to risk becoming extinct like dinosaurs. New emission and safety regulations or a change in customer perception can spell doom. The Hummer, the large Sports Utility Vehicle produced by General Motors, was hit by a rapid decline in sales and GM eventually sold the division, including all market rights, to China.

When engineers redesign an old marque like the 911 they have to keep a close eye on the latest emission and safety crash regulations. Chrysler is putting the finishing touches to a relaunch of the Dodge Viper, Ford is planning a next generation Mustang in 2014 while the new lightweight Lotus Elise is just taking shape.

A new Land Rover is also in the pipeline. 'We are working full steam on the new Defender,' says Anthony Harper, who heads the development division of the four-wheel drive vehicle.

The Frankfurt show saw two very different concept models of the Defender. One emphasizes the adventure aspect of the Defender, while the other expresses the lifestyle character of the model. Now the manufacturer is testing market reaction and which of the versions might be more popular. There is not much time left because Land Rover is planning production of the new generation in 2015.

Every now and then a manufacturer gets the idea of reviving an old name. For several months now rumours have been circulating that Ford is planning to bring out a new version of the famous sports coupe Capri. Lotus CEO Dany Bahar promises a comeback of the legendary James Bond car, the Esprit. And when Jaguar CEO Adrian Hallmark took the wraps off the C-X16 concept study, memories of the Jaguar E-Type were rekindled.

'We know that our customers have for years wished nothing more than a small sports car,' according to Hallmark, alluding to a possible revival of the famous car for 2012 or the year after.

But the strategy does not always work, Dudenhoeffer warns. 'The New Beetle has very little in common with its predecessor apart from the little vase in the dashboard. It is basically a Golf with a rather unpractical body,' he says.

The Renault Twingo is another example where the new generation can be compared 'to any other Japanese small car.'

For a car to become an everlasting legend 'it needs a unique singularity,' says Dudenhoeffer.

'The carmaker needs to keep this singularity and at the same time bring it up to the most modern technical standard. Famous cars like the 'ugly duckling' 2CV, the Renault 4 or the Citroen DS all had the stuff to become legends, but all three failed to keep up with technical progress, which is a real pity,' he says.