Cars That Surprised You In the Flesh

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I was surprised when I saw a Nissan GTR in person, I never thought it was THAT wide after only seeing it in pictures.
 
Slash
Fully agree. I was shocked the first time I stood next to one, in fact it was so small it looked damn near uncomfortable!
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This was the first car I can remember standing next to and actually being taller than it. I bet they're fun to drive, even with only 70 horses.
 
Slash
I really think those things look pretty big in person honestly.
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CallmeDan
When Jeremy Clarkson says the 2005/2006 Ford GT is extremely wide, HE WASN'T KIDDING. I was shocked the first time I saw one.
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That's the perception of supercars & the way they are designed.

A fifth generation Mustang is taller & longer than both the GT & R8 (longer by a foot to the Audi), and only 1-3 inches narrower than both. Another example is a S7 against an E60 gen. 5 Series. A solid 5 inches wider, but 2 inches shorter.
 
McLaren
That's the perception of supercars & the way they are designed.

A fifth generation Mustang is taller & longer than both the GT & R8 (longer by a foot to the Audi), and only 1-3 inches narrower than both. Another example is a S7 against an E60 gen. 5 Series. A solid 5 inches wider, but 2 inches shorter.
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Maybe they're perceived as being wider because of their height?
 
I saw a new bright red Boxster parked up the other day. I never got the Boxster looks-wise, always thought it looked very meh indeed but this one looked very nifty. Saw it from a distance and it really caught my eye, wasn't actually sure what it was at first and was pleasantly surprised.
 
Tyger
I saw a new bright red Boxster parked up the other day. I never got the Boxster looks-wise, always thought it looked very meh indeed but this one looked very nifty. Saw it from a distance and it really caught my eye, wasn't actually sure what it was at first and was pleasantly surprised.
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Saw one in this trim in person. I always thought the Boxster was pretty meh looking, but I'd consider buying one of these if I had the money.
2011-Porsche-Boxster-Spyder3.jpg
 
Saw one of these today on the road, and was really surprised how small they are. Pure awesome seeing one though, it looked exactly the same as in the pic but had clean wheels and tyres.

Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer 710K (hardtop):

steyr_ec167.jpg
 
Slash
Elise's are pretty small as well but they weren't as small as I thought they'd be...I was expected it to be more Miata sized but it appears to be much bigger.
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An Elise is quite a bit smaller than any Miata.

The 458 impressed me in person; I've never been much of a fan of it in photos, other than in profile, but it has presence in person that makes up for the ugly front. The 991-gen 911's slightly wider hips in 4WD trims weren't very noticeable in pictures, but holy hell you notice it when tailing one. The new M6 Gran Coupe seemed a niche too far in pictures, but in person I think it's without a doubt the classiest looking of the modern Bimmers, and manages to be better looking than the car that started the four-door coupe trend (the CLS), and an apparent better steer than the RS7. When I finally saw an FD RX-7 in person, I was blown away by how compact they are. Even more so with the mkIV Supra - okay, it's not a tiny car, but it looks positively enormous in photos. Oh, the One-77 deserves mention - it's far more compact than you'd expect, just like the Veyron, but both are stupendously wide.

On the other hand: the newer Camaro looked alright, if a bit cartoony, prior to release, but just looks heavy handed (and plain heavy) in person. Dodge really manages to hide the upright nature of the Challenger, but that's impossible to ignore in person too. Not wanting to miss the other Pony car, the 05-09 Mustangs all looked great in photos but utterly boring in person, with lackluster rims and a high-riding suspension. The facelifted model was much better, and makes it look a lot less slabby.
 
Really? Maybe seeing them side by side would help then. It looked way bigger haha.
 
The first time I saw an MKIV supra I was amazed by how small it was compared to what I though. The first time I saw an NSX in person it surprised me how low it really is, both were good surprises as I don't like big cars (even though I don't fit in some small cars)

As for the new beetle I got in and it seemed insanely large (due in part to the late dash and high roof) compared to the outside
 
Mercedes CLA - Thought they looked alright in photos, but in the flesh they're really badly proportioned and the styling is far too fussy for a car of it's size.
 
Third-gen MINI Cooper. Looks like a distinctly new MINI in all the photos I've seen, but in reality I can hardly tell the difference between them and the outgoing generation. Yawn.

The S is still more of a head-turner depending on the colour, though I can soon see it becoming another nondescript lump once half the country buys one.
 
The Noble M600. Always thought it was very generic looking in terms of styling, almost as if it was like a non-car person's idea of a supercar. I was never particularly impressed, until I saw one at last years Chomondeley Pageant of Power. This car is so much better looking in the metal, especially in the bright orange with black wheels in which I saw it. I have no idea why that photo is upside down, and I seem unable to delete it. :/
 

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Saw a current gen boxster the other day. Wow. They've definitely made the boxster look more supercar like in proportion when you see one in the flesh. Compared to previous gens, they look lower, wider and just remind me of a baby R8.
2013-porsche-boxster-01-1.jpg
 

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