A thought has crossed my mind after thinking more about all this
What if the reason there were two versions of these molds released in Machine Wars wasn't simply to bulk out the line's Basic class assortment, but also because there were always going to be two versions of each released in G2?
Looking at these four deco sheets, Greasepit is mostly yellow like Hubcap ended up being, Lightspeed looks to use white as its main plastic color like Prowl ultimately did, Thundercracker is likewise primarily white like MW Skywarp was, and Skystriker looks to use gray plastic like Megaplex did. Yet, the head designs for Lightspeed and Skystriker are unambiguously meant to resemble those of Mirage and Megatron, respectively. One could even make an argument for Greasepit's head resembling Hoist, too. It's only Thundercracker's head that looks to be a completely original design, but with the decision to make him Thundercracker it doesn't seem unreasonable that there could have been a second version as Skywarp planned to go with him.
Perhaps the original intent for these four molds was indeed for them to be made into new toys of Megatron, Mirage, and Hoist, with Skystriker, Lightspeed, and Greasepit as accompanying moldmate uses, along with the other jet mold doubling as the duo of Thundercracker and Skywarp. Then, when these molds got canceled and revived for Machine Wars, the mostly-yellow Greasepit was changed to Hubcap, the white-plastic'd Lightspeed was changed to Prowl, and the gray-plastic'd Skystriker was changed to Megaplex, while Thundercracker's mostly white basis got used for Skywarp (while Thundercracker himself became mostly green instead).
G2 was also no stranger to seeing several of its new molds getting second uses in the same line, with the Cyberjets, GoBots, and Dreadwing/Smokescreen* each getting at least one new redeco, while redecos of the Heroes, Auto Rollers, and Laser Cycles were all planned before each of those redecos were canceled.
* -- The ATB Megatron/Starscream set saw limited release in Ohio test markets.
What if the reason there were two versions of these molds released in Machine Wars wasn't simply to bulk out the line's Basic class assortment, but also because there were always going to be two versions of each released in G2?
Looking at these four deco sheets, Greasepit is mostly yellow like Hubcap ended up being, Lightspeed looks to use white as its main plastic color like Prowl ultimately did, Thundercracker is likewise primarily white like MW Skywarp was, and Skystriker looks to use gray plastic like Megaplex did. Yet, the head designs for Lightspeed and Skystriker are unambiguously meant to resemble those of Mirage and Megatron, respectively. One could even make an argument for Greasepit's head resembling Hoist, too. It's only Thundercracker's head that looks to be a completely original design, but with the decision to make him Thundercracker it doesn't seem unreasonable that there could have been a second version as Skywarp planned to go with him.
Perhaps the original intent for these four molds was indeed for them to be made into new toys of Megatron, Mirage, and Hoist, with Skystriker, Lightspeed, and Greasepit as accompanying moldmate uses, along with the other jet mold doubling as the duo of Thundercracker and Skywarp. Then, when these molds got canceled and revived for Machine Wars, the mostly-yellow Greasepit was changed to Hubcap, the white-plastic'd Lightspeed was changed to Prowl, and the gray-plastic'd Skystriker was changed to Megaplex, while Thundercracker's mostly white basis got used for Skywarp (while Thundercracker himself became mostly green instead).
G2 was also no stranger to seeing several of its new molds getting second uses in the same line, with the Cyberjets, GoBots, and Dreadwing/Smokescreen* each getting at least one new redeco, while redecos of the Heroes, Auto Rollers, and Laser Cycles were all planned before each of those redecos were canceled.
* -- The ATB Megatron/Starscream set saw limited release in Ohio test markets.