Replicas, why bother ??

Was at a mass meeting of marques today and although there were a few REAL Ferraris, there were several attempts at replica Ferraris, both racing models from the 50s.

Now I appreciated the skill and workmanship that went into it but you could tell from some obvious exterior finishings that the cars were fakes.

I've seen a few genuine 250GTOs and some very good replicas of them but again I ask ... why ??'

Why put all that effort into a product that most marque fanatics will just ridicule ?

I asked a guy a few years ago why waste so much of his obvious skill on a replica that resembles several Ferraris, his answer didn't make sense to me, he just wanted something that resembled all the Ferraris he loved

His workmanship was more than good enough to build one of Chapman's death traps and get away with it, or a great Clubman but he pursued this mongrel breed which could only earn him derision from the purists .... strange, I congratulated him on his work but told him he had produced an orphan ...... oh well, he seemed happy and that is the main thing.

I took his card in case I ever need some work done as he is better than a lot of people in that game are and I prefer obvious skill to certifications and diplomas

 

I like certain replicas and wouldn't hesitate to buy one, as a matter of fact I will some day down the road. The cars on top of my list are the Porsche 908 coupe, 917 or a 962 and Ferrari P4. But I would never try to pass it as a factory original, no way.

 

The replica of a 500 Ferrari is pathetic ... why bother indeed?
Pete

 

I like certain replicas and wouldn't hesitate to buy one, as a matter of fact I will some day down the road. The cars on top of my list are the Porsche 908 coupe, 917 or a 962 and Ferrari P4. But I would never try to pass it as a factory original, no way.

 

Ask Whom

 

As long as you aren't trying to pass it off as an original, who cares what some snobby ******bags think? A lot of classic car owners do nothing more than write checks for their cars. IMO someone who has the talent, puts absurd amounts of time/effort into, and is able to recreate such a car with such precision is far more worthy of respect.

I guess all it takes is a check book to command respect these days.

That said, what's so great about sitting in front of your computer all day staring at pictures of a car you'll never get a chance to even touch? Metal is metal, fabric is fabric, plastic is plastic. You might never replicate the exact feel of an original, but you'd never know the difference anyway because there is probably no way in hell you'll ever get to sit in, let alone drive, many of these cars. But if you feel more comfortable with yourself having to stand behind a rope form 5-10 feet and just looking, by all means...

 

Whole concept makes zero sense to me ill never understand why someome would want a replica car.

 

+1

What are they building? A Frankenstein version of a car that bears no semblance to the original. Same mentality as those who buy fake watches, handbags etc, why bother?

False economy as well. I'd bet that a replica would cost more than an entry level classic Ferrari.

 

I tend to agree but I really appreciate the effort and expertise of the guys that build very close replicas.

I intend to build my own car when I retire but it will not be a copy of any marque, I suspect it will have a strong Ferrari influence in the mechanicals

I think the guy that built this :

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq95SZm44IM]Mini Ferrari - Jeremy Clarkson - YouTube[/ame]

is a freaking genius

 

Chance are most people fell in love with the looks of a classic Ferrari, not how they feel/drive. The performance and dynamics are pretty irrelevant to most people because they've never experienced them in the first place.

As such, is there any real difference between owning and original and a replica as far as looks?

 

Because it's affordable and it makes them feel happier about their life!

By the same token, I know plenty of people who, when I meet their partner I'm thinking: "I don't get the attraction? - Why would you want to be with them? They're not attractive!, they don't have a great personality!"

At the end of the day, they're happy and that's all that really matters! - because that's what gets you through life!

 

Just look at it as a life sized model that you can drive when it's complete. I don't have any replicas, but I used to build car models as a kid and loved to do it. If I had the time/space/guts/help etc. I would build a car in a heart beat. I don't know if I would imitate a car that I loved, or just build a unique car, but I know I would enjoy it and have pride when I was done!

 

Question what are replicas.

Is it a VW bug powered Bugatti look alike, or abolt for bolt tool room copy of a GTO ferrari, bugatti GT40 Cobra known as recreations, or something in between.

If you got a Favre or allegretti GTO there is no difference bween it and a"real" GTO exept when it was built. How about a superformance GT40 or a Krikham cobra. Well the latter two are far better built than orginals in terms of detail finish but otherwise the same. Or how about a proteus Ctype or what about a pursang T35 bugaati

Reacretions are pretty much the same car as the "original" just built now. So for 100-300K you can drive a car that is in every way excpet year of build the same as something that costs unobtanium, and if you shunt it a pricesess artifact is not ruined. In fact how many so called old racing ferraris are the orginal car, or how much of the original car is left besides the data plate.

An old build has history and provenance which affect value, a new build has the same experience execpt it can really be driven in anger.

Then of course we have cars built out of fiberglass where once was metal, Bodies are more or less dimesionaly correct, but using different suspension compoinants etc, we can say these are products in the image of, the kind word is a tribute car.

Then we have bug and pinto powered pieces, things that sort of look like something from an era, lets call these cars evocative.

These days in europe as long as a recreation is built as original they are even accepted in historc races. Those that are against them are usualy those that own historic pieces more for investment value. There are also a number of owners of period builds who also own recreations of their favorte piece for regular use. As long as all is declared there should be no issue, and in fact marque clubs should have no issue, because at least then we have standards. Bugatti is the leader in this, although jaguar is also very non snobby about jaguar powered recreations.

As for the rest of the kit car crowd, they are hobbyists who love their vehicles as we do, they are part of the brotherhood of cars and should be welcomed.

The only ones I have issue with are the ones who have a sort of ferrari or lambo replica v8 powered trying to pass them off as" real" .starnge as in many cases the replica is more expensive to build than the real ferrari. As to admiring the shape, I have never seen or seen pictures of a plastic ferrari that had the dimnesions and therefore beauty of the shape correct. Although i think some countach replicas get this right.

 

i have a vw powered fiberfab midgi.
when asked what it is i always say it's a volkswagen rebody.
i never try to pass it off as a mg.
to me it's an english styled roadster.
and cheap to keep.

 

There are some great looking Drag Queens, but I am told they're just not the same as a real woman. I don't have any personal experience with either Drag Queens or replica automobiles, but, for now anyway, I'll stay with the real thing. Of course, different strokes and all that. Suit yourself.

 

There are some recreation GTO's and Cal Spyders that I've seen, that are virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. A friend of mine has a Proteus 'C' Type, and it is brilliant.

I'd love to have all of them!

 

one of the aluminum replica Jaguar E-type low drag Sayer coupes! why? because I'll never own a real one, and it's about the joy of driving, all else I couldn't care less about!

 

The building of a kit car is a lot of fun, as I've been there and done that, but I built and modified my kit car for motor racing and it didn't try and copy anything.

A very rapid car only weighing 512kg's with ~200hp, and very close to 50/50 weight distribution.
Pete

 

What they said. There's always a better real car available for whatever time/money went into a fake "Ferrari".

... which makes them even worse, IMHO.

 

absolutely Pete, all the negative remarks are just for being ignored!

isn't there a section for this old argument?

 

If someone has no frame of reference, what difference does it make what's on the inside so long as it's reasonable?

 

How do you decide if something is reasonable if you don't have a frame of reference?


Onno

 

My opinion won't be received well....but I wish we could take all these fakes, pile them up, and burn the crud out of them.

I have less means than probably 90% of the people on here. Its taken me nearly 8 years just to string together enough money to buy a used f430. I understand that there are certain cars I'm not meant to own, just like there are certain places I'll never be able to live. And I'm OK with that, and I can appreciate the beauty of the cars when they roll up at cars & coffee.

It bugs me when I see the fake cobras that it actually takes away from the appreciation when I see a real one, there is less occasion.

And if you have the means and good fortune to own the real thing, I can imagine the disgust seeing these cheap crapbuckets on the road.

 

It's amazing how often this topic comes up.

And I believe it's because most people don't appreciate this:

It's very easy to turn a GTE into a Testa Rossa and have essentially the same exact experience as a real Testa Rossa for a fraction of the price. Identical frame (but shortened), suspension, engine, steering, and so on. The exact same.

Matt

 

If I want a 250 GTO or 250 Testarossa, my options are to spend between $5 million and $35 million, or to build a nut and bolt replica for $600k (or buy one that somebody else had made for $400k). If all I care about is driving the car and not who farted in it 50 years ago, why would I spend 10-100x as much?

These are machines, machines that were produced in multiple numbers. They can be exactly duplicated to give the exact experience one would have had when they were new. If I'm more concerned with experiencing that than owning some history that I had zero part of, why pay the extra, especially if one is affordable and the other isn't?

Now, would I pay extra to have an original with the history and all of that? Of course, but not 10x and certainly not 100x what the car is worth in parts. That just tells me that the values are out of control.