Need more input on 348 Challenge Grill

Guys...I will be meeting with a manufacturer early next week to talk about the 348 challenge grill. Many of you indicated you were interested. But I need your input so I don't waste a bunch of time and expense on this and miss the mark. What specifics/suggestions do you have that make this challenge grill desirable?

One thing I have heard is "no cutting". I don't know if that is possible if the lamps are going to be at a 45 degree angle to the ground, which is proper. HOWEVER, the "cuts" are very minor, and they are to the INTERIOR light bracket, and they could easily be re-soldered later without any issue whatsoever. They would have no material effect on the car's originality as no one would ever even know to look for them. In fact, you'd have to take the rectangular lights off (again) to even notice any soldering. Would this be a deal-killer for you all?

What is the price point where you are no longer interested in this? The reason I ask this is, if I am going to have a "press" set up to make these out of metal, the initial cost is going to be substantial, and doing just a short run it's going to run higher per piece. A new 355 challenge grill is running around $1600 or $1700, so I am guessing we could all live with somewhat less than that.

Any other ideas you all want to throw out there before I embark on this journey?

 

It is true Ferrari's mark-up is stupid, but I'm guessing a short run of these ain't going to be cheap. I don't have the wherewithall to order these things by the thousands as Ferrari does. And I doubt there is a way you could do a whole set-up for $1500 - the taillights alone are $700-$800. I will let you guys know what I come up with. Me personally, if I could get my hands on a good quality challenge grill for $1500 I'd do it in a heart beat.

HOWEVER...if I can get these done for half or less of an actual 355 grill, I sure will.

 

UPDATE: I have found a manufacturer for this project. I am moving forward, although I am investing slightly over $35K to get the dyes, tools, etc. made. But...I think if I can get a good enough product out there that looks factory AND solves the ventilation problem that you all speak about, and at a reasonable price, hopefully I can sell enough to get the investment back. I will likely have a couple of "mule" prototypes by the first week of June.

 

These likely won't come in at $500 - as easy as it may seem it is simply not possible as I have found out. You add in everything that needs to be done - molds, stamping, sanding, painting, clear coat, packaging, etc., etc., and it starts to add up. Now, if you could produce 50,000 of these, I guess you could get the cost way down because you could produce them in more of a mass way and tool up even more. As I have discovered, the problem with a specialty product such as this is that the production quantity is going to be so small - even if every single 348 owner bought them - you can't get anyone interested in getting ramped up to make it.

BUT...I intend to have these available in a design and quality that I think 348 owners can be proud of - and likely will cost somewhat less than a 355 or 360 grill. It WILL NOT be a clone of the 355 grill - there will be some design and appearance differences - but it will look plenty good in its own right. Of course, no single design will suit everyone's taste, so I am taking quite a risk with this deal and hoping for the best.

BTW, if I wanted to make money off of a $35K investment, I could have picked something with a lot better potential than a 348 challenge grill!

 

I can't promise everyone is going to like the design, but I am going through an exhaustive process to ensure that the piece looks, and fits, correctly. If this thing doesn't look factory, I have failed.

 

As I move farther along, I am definitely going to try to post some a few photos of the developmental stage. I did forward a couple of very simple concept sketches to two F-chatters/348 owners for their input, and I can tell you that the initial feedback was overall positive. What's funny is, there's a lot of preparatory work - drawings, measurements, etc. that goes into one of these deals and you have absolutely nothing to show for it in terms of anything "3-D",, but apparently once we are ready to go, things will happen fairly quickly. I am teaming up with an aerospace manufacturer near Chicago on this project. I will be making a trip up there in approx. 4 weeks to get everything - the design that is - talked over and finalized.

 

The 348 challenge grill that I am working on will have round tail lights, similar to other Ferraris.