How offensive are special edition clone body kits?

I dont mind body kits in general, but a body kit that mimics the style of a higher level model is really the sign of some deep insecurities.

 

If one is swapping just one piece then I can see that. But if one is swapping everything then that feels like insecurity to me.

Plenty of other body pieces available for a custom look.

 

Hey, you are only on this earth for maybe 100 years (if you're lucky). Are you going to give 2 craps about how others like how you dress, or what your house looks like, or the woman you marry, or least of all, the Ferrari you drive? Good grief!

 

Like a 250 GTE becoming a California? Or just a 308/F40/fiero?

Where's the bodykit/replica line?

sjd

 

Eh most people are fake so it shouldn't be surprising that they like fake things, just a natural extension of their personality.

 

Well since you asked. Having saved a 250GTE from becoming something else and having owned a number of other 60's and 70's Ferraris, I can state in my opinion that those should be left alone...period. However, with the production numbers of today, values will likely never increase to levels of the Enzo Era cars. In any case it's your car, do whatever you want with it. As my grandmother used to say "If you knew how much time other people spent thinking about you, you wouldn't give a **** about what other people think".
On another note, I cannot understand the attraction to a fake anything, cars, watches, art or anything else. If you can afford it, buy it. Otherwise why bother ? Unless it's to feed something lacking in one's personality or ego ?
I simply don't get it.

 

Wrong. There are so many great looking driveable cars out there for any taste now that will satiate the desire without resorting to a hack job.

You're contradicting yourself, but getting at the real driver behind a fake: what other people think.

The problem is for people who actually care about a certain type of car, there is zero "status" associated with owning a fake. For people who don't care, they might as well be the same car.

 

What’s offensive is how inaccurate that looks.

 

Well maybe you don't care but there are many in that world that do indeed care. While it's true that the clone world is far more common in regard to muscle cars. However, I can tell you that people care when someone tries to pawn off a clone as real. To give you an example, I owned a 65 1/2 Shelby GT350 which is known as a 'cross over' car because of a combination of 65 and 66 attributes. Whenever I showed it, the comments it attracted regarding correctness first annoyed me then made me laugh. People who knew a little pointing out 'incorrectness' because the tach was in the 'wrong' spot or the rear window louvers were missing and so on. I'm with you, it's your car do what you want. But if you think that people don't care or judge you are incorrect. It doesn't matter if it's the Ferrari world, muscle cars or any other automotive genre.

 

One last thing. As long as you keep the original parts and store them properly, no harm, no foul. You or the next owner can the choose to return it to stock configuration if desired.

 

It doesn’t make them a pariah.
It makes them a fake.

I’d rather be a pariah.

 

If you don't like the 488 GTB styling, just get an F8, the design language has a lot of similarities to the Pista (and I think looks even better).

 

One or two pieces is fine IMO but if they try to duplicate a different model entirely I agree with Jerry.

I had a young guy in my neighborhood who had a fake F40. I mean it was painfully obvious. It even had a fake "chrome" engine under the rear glass. Guy used to drive it around like he was King ****. One day I saw him and asked if it was real (as a test) to which he replied "yes!". The next day I made sure to drive a real F40 I had at the time by his place when he was outside.

I pulled up at his house and told him I liked his so much I got one too. The look on his face was priceless!

 

Its just chit chat. I would hope no one actually cares

 

I’ll keep my F car 100% stock, that being said, I really don’t think there is any ego problem with an owner that wants to change, improve or copy his car into something else, to me the real people with the ego problems are those with the originals that are bitting their nails that someone else may get mistaken for a “real” car like theirs...

 

This thread is misleading. The OP started with a question in the thread title and original post, but it's become apparent he's defending a position not asking for opinions.

In the spirit of the thread title, I've added a multi-choice poll so that users can post their actual opinion rather than getting into a debate they may not want to get into by being disputed as soon as they post. If I've missed a major sentiment, that can be added.