A little more time today for the backstory...
For the skeptics, lol.
It was 1991 and I just had the car painted, and took it down to the beach (San Diego) for some photos. In the parking lot at South Mission Beach I found an empty few spaces and began to snap a couple shots. Then a guy with a REALLY expensive-looking SLR rig walked up, and in a European accent (I thought Swedish at the time, but who knows) asked me if I would mind if he took a couple shots of the car too. Being 20 years old and just plan giddy that my parents loaned me the money to get the car painted, of course I agreed. It is my suspicion that photographer sold the photo to someone over in Europe, where it became the Russian envelope and this card I only just discovered.
I know, I know, wishful thinking from a guy who lost a best friend to car thieves desperate to "connect with the dead" (anyone have John Edwards' number? :cheesy
who'll believe anything...but open both pics in side by side windows:
Meadowlark Yellow isn't exactly a "Main Dish" color like red or white or blue, so if production was greater than 15% I'd be very surprised. Add to that the higher survival rates of "cool" colors (think Re-Sale Red) relative to less popular ones.
Both cars have EXACTLY the same exterior options: bumper guards, rocker trim, SS wheels (w/ plain caps), driver side mirror but not passenger side and both cars have Marchals w/ attached rear reflector. Both cars are clearly lowered. Both cars have all four windows rolled down. Neither car has the common "mistakes" (crooked tape stripe, horse & bars emblem on front fender).
Although the wheels are from a slightly different angle, and look retouched (taller tires), that would have been easy enough to do even back when as I was running 60 series which looked like crap (did I mention I was 20?).
Ok, so yeah, I suppose there COULD have been 2 identical GT/CS' rolling around in show-ready condition in 1991/92 with EXACTLY the same options, color etc. But here's where it gets really freaky: check out the angle of the sunlight and the reflections in the paint. The shadows have been reduced a little bit when the car was cropped out of the fore/background, but the angle is the same: about 2 hours before sunset on a bright sunny day, with the nose of the car pointed SW. Notice the wedge of sunlight near the rear wheel. The angle of the wedge of sunlight under the license plate (headers visible in my photo). Check the profile of the reflection in the rear quarter panel.
But the clincher IMO is the reflection in the rear window. Due to my angle, the palm tree is to the right of the A-pillar, the rear-view mirror centered in the passenger side C-pillar, and the brambles in the background are visible to the right of the driver's side C-pillar. Put a photographer six-ten feet to my left (where he was standing) and the rear-view mirror would move to the right relative the passenger C-pillar. The palm tree would move to the left of the driver side A-pillar. And if you look in the rear window, compare the profile of the greenery in the card (which has clearly been altered) with the shape of the large branch in my photo...freaky-deaky!
