A coincidence? I think not.

They haven’t shut the petrol stations yet, so for the time being, the only fun thing left to do is driving round. Roads are empty, petrol’s cheap.

So let’s talk about cars again, in particular, what my Holy Trinity of Jap Crap was copied from.

There was an approx. one decade gap between two of the originals (Spitfire and X1/9) ceasing production and the Japanese copies (MX-5 and Del Sol) being launched. Car models have tended to become larger and less angular over the years, with rounder/integrated bumpers etc. If the Spitfire and X1/9 had remained in production, with a design refresh every ten years, they would have ended up looking like the MX-5 and the Del Sol when they were launched.

The MR2 Roadster was contemporaneous with the Boxster; Toyota just chopped a foot off the front and off the back of the Boxster (the silly droopy bits), sacrificing the boot and frunk, and left the middle bit the same.

Triumph Spitfire

Mazda MX-5 MkII (aka ‘Miata NB’)

Fiat/Bertone X1/9

Honda Del Sol

Porsche Boxster

Toyota MR2 Roadster