Replicas, why bother ??

I am sure the answer is bcus you like them. but why? From the pic I can't see the details of what they are. What do they say/mean?

Also, why the number 95? Do you race this car? what class? where?

I am really interested. Is this considered a vintage race car???

 

Ken Imhoff built a Countach in his basement..took him 10 years..i think it sold on ebay for almost as much as a real one due to the quality of work and details and craftsmanship....he never represented it as anything but a replica...

The Bull

 

Chevy, Ford, and Chrysler have cash cows in their "Crate Engine" businesses, can you imagine if Ferrari priced them out high enough to remain semi-exclusive, but still within economic sanity levels? One would think they would keep them at a level to make them reasonable for racing spares, and maybe even lease/rent them out NASCAR style to the vintage crowd.

 

Exactly; Even a step further than this; imagine (which is all you will ever be able to do) if SpA made a "retro" line, a slightly modernized take on the GTO, TdF, TR, etc. They could be priced like a new Ferrari, be safer, faster, and even have cup holders if you so desired. The demand for replicas would plummet, vintage 2+2 owners could drive and restore to their heart's content without fear of a dude w/ $$s and a sawzall. . . I'm not sure how you would get an airbag to pop out of the little horse horn button.

 

I successfully registered my Ariel Atom for the street in PA. Then sold it.

 

Do you know how I can get on the waiting list?

Dale

 

To each his own, but I personally would never buy a replica.....it's gotta be the real mccoy or nothing....

 

No one cares about the mileage on vintage cars.

If you have a real 1930s Bugatti, you probably can swing a new Veyron for the grocery run. Or if you're less well off maybe a Ferrari F12 or Porsche Turbo.

 

Actually it is because the replica thread comes up so often and really it's the same material. Some hate them all, and I get that (I really do). Some (usually those who have built something) love them. Some like some replicas and not others. Virtually all have an opinion that will not be swayed.

For certain, the bad replica Lambo built on a VW that you can spot a mile away as a fake makes me roll my eyes too, but you know the owner doesn't have a lot of money (or possibly artistic ability, or visual acuity) But I still feel bad simply bashing someone for this, provided it is not passed off as something it is not. It kinda feels like you are making fun of a mentally handicapped person or something...

You made my day! No one gets the number, which is perfect Lightning McQueen. It reminds me of the theme of the movie, that friends and family and character are more important than winning.

The other logos include things like Val Burd Racing (he has taken care of my formula ford for the last 5 years or so) my company's logo, my home business logo, and ultimately a few others. I wanted it to look "vintage" but it is all my own design. I will not race it. Too much time invested!

Cheers!

 

That's how I feel, too.

Or, if I can't have a 288 GTO, I can at least have the little brother, a 308! At least it's a real McCoy Ferrari, even if it's not a six- or seven-figure car.

And no, I would never put GTO style body panels on it.

 

There is really only one replica I understand and that is a Cobra. Guys that build them usually just want a car with crazy performance in a light, cool looking body, in a way just copying what Shelby did in the 60's. The rest of the replicas out there are for guys wearing fake watches with their inflatable girlfriends riding shotgun, IMO.

 

AWESOME and I agree with everything you said, kudos!

 

There are three others that should be considered fair dinkum IMO, they are:

1. Lotus Seven. I've raced against plenty of these and no fake watches, etc. there.
2. GT40. Heck I've even thought about it, but then what to do with the resulting car?
3. XJ13. Heck only 1 was made and it is probably the best looking car ever, but again what to do with the resulting car? And the kits I've seen have ruined the windscreen area.

It would be great if somebody would sponsor a replica race series. GT40's racing Cobras, racing XJ13's, etc. Only for replicas where the components came from mass produced cars.
Pete

 

I started reading this thread saying, replicas, hell no. But i was thinking about fieros and cameros becoming ferrari's or Chrysler 300's becoming Bentley's.

But there are company's out there making great kit cars to resemble classics like the pur sang.

I too would like to build a kit car someday in my retirement but I promise you, it won't be badged or will I ever call it, something it is not.

 

Funny, I was going to say the Seven also, I think when performance is the ultimate goal, the replica part can be overlooked or forgiven.

 

I did a 1300 mile trip two weeks ago in my 355 (EPIC!)
As I drove back in to town, I passed a guy in a pristine V6 Fiero, blue, all original except tastefully updated wheels. I gave him a big thumbs up.

I have heard people say that considering where GM had to work with and the price point hit, the Fiero was actually a pretty revolutionary car. If development had continued until today as it has with the Corvette, it could have been one helluva car.

 

Sir, thumbs up to ya. You are a car guy.

Dale

 

It's falls into a different category of replica. I think these people don't care about the car or about its originality. They WANT a GTO and can't afford it so they don't care about chopping up what is otherwise a valuable car. Is not really about the car, it's about them. Is about being selfish.

I think this is an entirely different animal than building something like the Beck 550 Spyder.

 

I agree.

With all due respect to the naysayers in this thread, nobody, I repeat nobody, ever attempts to pass a replica Cobra off as the real thing. And anyone who sees a replica on the road and thinks it's an original knows no more about cars than the people who ask if my '89 328 is a new Ferrari. The posters who opine that one should only buy an original or nothing at all are missing the point. Almost all real car guys (sorry girls) would love to have an original 289, 427 or Shelby Daytona Cobra in their stable, not just to look at in the garage or display at car shows, but to have the driving experience as often as they like. But to do so would conservatively start at $750,000, and even if you had one you would not likely take it out of the garage for drives every time the whim strikes you. So enthusiasts who covet Cobras can either live their lives without the experience or do the next best thing at a mere fraction of the cost. And to build it yourself obviously adds to that experience.

Every time I drive the 427 ERA Cobra pictured below, which is virtually indistinguishable from the original, it brings a smile to my face. Driving my Ferrari does the same thing, but it's a different smile. The Ferrari brings a grin in the twisty turns, but the smile when accelerating the Cobra in a straight line, or even through a sweeping corner, is even wider. And for those of you who love, as I do, the sweet sound of their Ferrari at full tilt, you just gotta hear what a Cobra, yes even a replica, sounds like at any speed with the pipes just below your ears.....Priceless! But I guess the naysayers will say they would rather respect the marque, and get the same visceral experience by turning up the volume on their laptops and watching a real Cobra accelerate on a YouTube video.
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Both are selfish.

 

I wish all replica's were ILLEGAL.

In my mind, it is simply theft from those who own original cars. It diminishes their uniqueness.

When I see a Cobra go down the street, I automatically assume it's a replica. If there were no replica's and I saw a Cobra, how exciting would that be?

I saw a GT-40 yesterday it was of course a replica. Yawn.

Replica's to me are like fake Rolex's.

"It's watch and it looks just like a Rolex at a fraction of the cost!"

Great. I'm happy for you.

 

Nothing is more replicated than human beings.

 

We are all snowflakes. No two exactly alike. Not even so-called "identical" twins.

every human is unique. there will never be another you...ever. celebrate your uniqueness.

As the Mayor says, when I see a Cobra I assume it is a replica. We had a real Cobra in a car show in Aspen a few years ago. A doc from Boulder bought it new and has not restored it. British racing green. Loud, smokey and tempramental. Certain rituals have to be perfomed for starting and keeping it running. As far as I know it's the only REAL Cobra I have ever seen. Fantastic.

 

What a ridiculous, uneducated comment. For example, If you waited to see a real Shelby Daytona Cobra "go down the street" after all replicas were deemed "illegal" you would wait one hell of a long time. There were only 6 built, the last one sold for $7.25M in 2009, and another has been valued at $12M. If it wasn't for those dreaded Daytona Cobra replicas, most people, even those that regularly attend car shows, would never see one in their lifetime. And, after all replicas were confined to the junk pile, you could wait by the side of that street for the next ten years for that real GT-40 to drive by. It will never happen.

Further, your equating a well made, true to the original replica Cobra or GT-40 to a fake Rolex is absurd. Personally, I would rather see the "illegal" tag affixed to the poseur who buys a 458 Italia to drive it only on Saturday nights, while wearing his real gold Rolex (and other real gold accessories), for the 2 mile round-trip from his house to his favorite restaurant so he can park in front, impress his surgically enhanced date, and have the valets and patrons massage his over-inflated ego.

 

So unique and yet so alike, but more so predictable.

I have yet to see a real Cobra outside a car event. The thing is that car or a GT40 alone on the road would mean a bigger and real event.