[Pete04222]

I started to post this in the general discussion area but changed my mind and decided to post it here.

The owner of a local furniture store has an F50 replica (based on the Pontiac Fiero chassis). I have seen the car and it is done nice but really doesn't look like an F50, it looks like a kit. Anyway, I bought a new bed there and when the guys came over to deliver it they were really impressed with and loved my car. I mentioned the kit car and they said "Why? You want to buy it?" I said "No, why would I want that when I have a real Ferrari?" The response, "Well, he only wants $30k for it." I said "Are you serious?" They said " Oh yeah, he's got over $60k invested in it. It is only the chassis that is Fiero, everything else is Ferrari and he had the engine all hopped up too. It's really quite a deal for $30k." I told them, "You know, if you had $30k, you could get one of these (pointing at my car) and still have money left over." They had nothing to say to that.

I really don't understand the kit car culture (I guess like I don't understand the "riceboy" culture). I saw a 308 kit car on ebay and the guy had "Over $35,000 invested". Invested? Why don't you just get a 308?

I think I would rather dream of an F50 then spend $60k for a built up Fiero. Oh well, to each his own.

 

[250lm]

Hi Pete,

I have the same feeling. The dimensions are not correct. Only a 308 Replica based on a Fiero can be 'nice' since they fit well concerning dimensions. A real car enthousiast will immediately see that it is NOT a Ferrari, so why bother? Some people can't even tell the difference between a Honda NSX and a Ferrari!

If you want a Ferrari that you can't afford (well, kinda, you are 'investing' a lot) why don't you start looking for a Fiat Dino Coupe?

You are right about the prices of a replica Ferrari, they are way expensive!


I don't understand there is a market for it!


Niels

 

[Pete04222]

I don't understand there is a market for it!
Niels

Niels,
You are right. The F50 replica was too narrow, too short and too tall.

I don't know if you saw my Show-and-Tell post in the garage section, but I have a buddy who shakes his head at my "fleet". He says, and this is a direct quote, "As long as there are men out there with small penises there will always be a market for Ferrari's and Monster Truck's."

Andrew, I hope you let this quote fly; I do realize it is pushing the limits of "propriety" but it does make a point. I will refrain from any such quotes in the future but I think it applies to the "kit-car" and "rice-boy" culture.

To all (and I have a feeling you here believe the same.):
I admit it. I am a Ferrari dreamer. I would love to have the new 575M Maranello but the truth is I can not afford one and I will not spend $50k or $60k to build a kit so I can pretend that I have one. I can afford and do own a 308 GTS and I am damn proud of it. I achieved a dream. I worked hard to get where I am and everything I own is the real deal. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. I don't put up a "front" up with a "pretend" car. People say to me "Is that a real Ferrari?" I like being able to say "Yes".

I think that the Kit-car and Rice-boy guys are only fooling themselves and not looking at the whole picture.

 

[250lm]

People say to me "Is that a real Ferrari?" I like being able to say "Yes".


If people would ask me that question when I have a Ferrari, the conversation would stop immediately. I love talking cars, but when somebody says he is a car enthousiast and he doesn't know what a DB5, 300 SL, or 507 is, I do not believe him. If he would be unable to at least name most to all the cars available on the market at that time I would not see him as an enthousiast.

Seen quit a lot of people at events that do not have any idea of the value of cars or the lack of availability of parts for it, which means they get close to the car and let their children touch everything and themselves get their zippers scratching the paint.

I hate those so called enthousiasts.

Would be one of the reasons I never would take my car to any commercial event!

Lucky me, I only own a 1990 Toyota and do not have to worry about that yet!

Ciao,

Niels

 

[Dj Dirk]

I know what you mean Pete.
All those kit cars are just hidious.
And then those people have the guts to say that it's accurate and the best replica and stuff like that.
WHAT ARE THEY BLIND???????????
3 weeks ago a saw a kit F40 cabrio.
I just started to cry, it was afwull.
I couldn't even take a digital pic of it, i considerd it a wast of space on my chip

 

[Andrew]

Andrew, I hope you let this quote fly; I do realize it is pushing the limits of "propriety" but it does make a point. I will refrain from any such quotes in the future but I think it applies to the "kit-car" and "rice-boy" culture.

Are you kidding me. I laughed my ass off as I'm sure most will. I will let stuff like this fly for this reason. It was not overly rude. It was not directed towards any single individual here. I didn't feel the post was meant to get people mad (except maybe people with small you know what...). Most of all the goal of the post was not designed to stir up trouble and blantly piss people off (its these post that I will not tolerate).

 

[Tifoso_Boy]

I think kit car "ferraris' are sacrilege! I think they are awful, I can't stand them. Not to long ago, I saw a "testarossa replica" For crying out LOUD ....it was nasty!!!

 

[Mick]

I think kit car "ferraris' are sacrilege! I think they are awful, I can't stand them. Not to long ago, I saw a "testarossa replica" For crying out LOUD ....it was nasty!!!

:lol: Damn. This one looks just like the real thing.

 

[Tifoso_Boy]

I think kit car "ferraris' are sacrilege! I think they are awful, I can't stand them. Not to long ago, I saw a "testarossa replica" For crying out LOUD ....it was nasty!!!

:lol: Damn. This one looks just like the real thing.

That really does look like it came from that little factory in Maranello 8)

 

['75 308 GT4 (Peter)]

Let me pose this to Ferrariforum members:

What is your opinion of REPLICA Ferraris? The kind that are built on less-desirable Ferrari chassis' (usually the 2+2's), employing hand-made aluminum bodies (250 TR's, GTO's, SWB's, etc...). Or more modern versions of 288 GTO's on 308 chassis.

I would like one (in fact, I saw a 250 V-12 engine/tranny package on Ebay last week and I know of a 250 SWB replica body in Italy, that would go nicely together... 8) ).

 

[Pete04222]

Are you kidding me. I laughed my ass off as I'm sure most will. I will let stuff like this fly for this reason. It was not overly rude. It was not directed towards any single individual here.

Andrew,
Thanks, Judging from the other posts on this forum I thought it would be OK. I will never intentionally offend anyone and if I do let me know how you feel and I will apologize. All of my posts are intended to be informative and/or amusing. I am having a great time with this site, I like all the people on it and I am learning a lot. I also hope that as I learn I can pass my knowledge along to others.

Mick,
I checked out your link. What in the heck is that??? I can't quite make it out, but does that say 308 GTS on the rear? Someone spent a lot of time and money creating that monstrosity. You know what, I think I like the Rice-boys more than I like the kit-car guys. The rice-boy's "fix up" the cars they have and try to create the image of high-performance. The kit-car guys are trying to pretend that they have a car they really can't afford. I would be more impressed if a guy had a nice Pontiac Fiero (a real, unmodified Pontiac Fiero) and had a 1/25th scale model of an F50 and said flat out "That is the car I really want." I can relate to that guy and say "yeah, me too." But to sink $30k into a Fiero is beyond me.

 

[Bart]

My brother who has little money brought a new Fiero in 1985. It is a v-6. He tells me it is the closest thing he has to a Ferrari. It is not a kit car. In his mind, it is a Ferrari. He has loved Ferrari since the mid 50s. Of course, it is red.

Today in 2002, it is still a quick car and surprises many. It does not looked like a V-6 but a 4.

Remember, not all of us can get our dream. Sometimes, something close is all we can get. Let them have their dream.

Ferrari forever.

:lol:

 

[Pete04222]

[quote='75 308 GT4 (Peter)]
What is your opinion of REPLICA Ferraris? The kind that are built on less-desirable Ferrari chassis' (usually the 2+2's), employing hand-made aluminum bodies (250 TR's, GTO's, SWB's, etc...). Or more modern versions of 288 GTO's on 308 chassis.
[/quote]

Peter,
I am against any replica automobile except for museum purposes for cars that no longer exist. I like and respect the "real deal". I don't have any more respect for a 288 GTO built on a 308 chassis than I do a 308 built on a Fiero chassis. The 308 (as you are well aware) is a great car, why chop it up and make it into something it is not? I think of any replica as a full-size "model" of the actual car, nothing more.

The Owl's Head Transportation Museum up here in Maine has a flying replica of the original Wright Brothers airplane. I see that and I think "OK, so that is what the Wright brother's plane looked like." I appreciate all the effort that went into it, but give me the time and materials and I can make one myself. I want to see the actual Wright Brother's plane. That would impress me. Would you travel a couple hours and pay an admission fee to a museum that has a Replica of a 288 GTO? I wouldn't. I probably would go see an actual 288 GTO. That would impress me.

This, of course, is only my opinion.

 

[Pete04222]

Bart,
I am not slamming on people that own Fiero's. Personally, I like Fiero's too. They are great cars and fun to drive. What I don't like, and this is a personal thing, is people who take Fiero's and try to pass them off as Ferrari's. By all means, dream and dream away! But would you buy your girlfriend a Cubit Zirconia and tell her it was a Diamond? My parents instilled in me a sense of truth and I see kit-cars as a lie.
Enjoy the Fiero because it is a great car made by Pontiac, do not take it and say "Well, it is just like a Ferrari." and then go out and buy all the badges and plaster them on the car. That is my whole point. Let the Fiero be a Fiero. I like them.

 

[Andrew]

[quote='75 308 GT4 (Peter)]Let me pose this to Ferrariforum members:

What is your opinion of REPLICA Ferraris? The kind that are built on less-desirable Ferrari chassis' (usually the 2+2's), employing hand-made aluminum bodies (250 TR's, GTO's, SWB's, etc...). Or more modern versions of 288 GTO's on 308 chassis.

I would like one (in fact, I saw a 250 V-12 engine/tranny package on Ebay last week and I know of a 250 SWB replica body in Italy, that would go nicely together... 8) ).[/quote]
To me these replicas are not as bad as the Fiero replicas. For starters the 308 chassis are nearly the same as the 288s correct? I see no problem because its using Ferrari parts to make well a Ferrari. In my opinion it is almost like restoring but cheating here and there and fibing on a few of the parts. But at least your not taking a completely different marquee and turning it into something that it is not.

 

[Bart]

I have only purchased one decent car in my life. That is a 550. I did not know better until I drove the Maranello.

Tomorrow, my oldest brother drives his first Ferrari to Las Vegas with me.

Fun.

A dream.

My Ferrari.

Sweet 550.

 

[Dj Dirk]

My point about replica cars.
I will allow them because everything is Ferrari, i'm not saying that i want one.
At least they where builded correctly, a lot of them are really life like and if you see them parked next to the real deal, you somethimes have trouble seeing the differences.

those kit cars are just hidious and i can't stand them, they should be destroyed, it's a disgrace to any other car marque.

 

[250lm]

[quote='75 308 GT4 (Peter)]Let me pose this to Ferrariforum members:

What is your opinion of REPLICA Ferraris? The kind that are built on less-desirable Ferrari chassis' (usually the 2+2's), employing hand-made aluminum bodies (250 TR's, GTO's, SWB's, etc...). Or more modern versions of 288 GTO's on 308 chassis.[/quote]

I would say, they are not bad when done properly. What I find annoying is that some of these cars will be sold as the real thing in the future. As long as you say it is not an original, it can be quit alright. But what is wrong with the 2+2 Ferraris? Why cut up these beautiful machine to create a replica?

Niels

 

[Mick]

Mick,
I checked out your link. What in the heck is that??? I can't quite make it out, but does that say 308 GTS on the rear? Someone spent a lot of time and money creating that monstrosity....But to sink $30k into a Fiero is beyond me.

You're right. It's a Fiero Testarossa with a 308 GTS sticker :green:

To me, kit cars of high-end automobiles are like Michael Jackson's attempt to make himself look like a white woman: It costs quite a bit of money for the transformation and the result is horrible.

But of course, the kit car owners and Michael Jackson think it's money well spent and they like what they see.

They oughta get their heads examined.

 

[Tifoso_Boy]

Mick,

I think you're Michael Jackson comment summarizes my feelings towards kit cars,,,,