Thank for having me on again! That Proteus D-Type is still one of my favorite cars to drive ever. So close to the real thing without the fear and the guilt!
Former fighter pilot. Warbirds and roadracing Superbikes are my real passion, but I enjoy cars as well. Have had the privilege to drive everything from Carrera GT, 962, 935K3, 550 Spyder, F40, GT2, C8 ZO6…. The most fun I’ve ever had on 4 wheels is a Pur Sang Bugatti t35B. So, I bought one. Highly recommend
Had a client in for a haircut last week. We talked about his Shelby Cobra replica. His 12 year old grandson doesn't care that it's not real. He cares that he gets to go to baseball practice with grandpa in the coolest car ever.
I think it's funny that the cobra has always seemed to have gotten a pass as a kit car. But if you show up in a nice countach replica you get torn apart.
The cars are much different. The issues are that the original cobras are EXTREMELY expensive, a Countach is expensive but not unobtainable. The Cobra replica is exactly that…a full replica. The Countach ‘replicas’ are a body on a pre-existing chassis without any of it being a true recreation of the original, and they usually look quite bad. It’s like the difference between making a clone of yourself vs a person who took a potion and physically turned into you but slightly messed up.
I know a guy who restored a Jaguar SKSX when he was at R&M a few years ago. The story on the car was it had been sold new to a buyer in Detroit. Then 10 years later that owner put it up for sale in Road & Track. Price? $6800.00 The mint condition car was reputedly put in the hands of a young and inexperienced driver and was wrecked. Then it went to a guy who owned a machine shop in Ohio who had plans to restore it, and then of course it sat in a shed for 20 years. Machine shop guy's friend tells him, "Damn Fred, that car would be worth a million if it was made right..." and so the owner took it to a shop that "fixed" it but did not restore it. another 10 years and the guy took it to R&M and they did the job right. It took a year and a lot of money but they did a perfect resto. They even buffed some paint off the rivets and here and there to make the car look "vintage" and not "over restored" I heard it went for $5 million at the R&M auction
I think replica or kit cars are cool as long as it’s quality, unlike the Lamborghini or Ferrari kit cars that are on a Fierro chassis, especially when some cars as mentioned are unobtainable
I think the main difference is between a kit that you put on another car vs a replica which comes with basically everything, and just needs a drivetrain Good fiero kits do get bashed a little harder than they should though.
There’s a big distinction between a kit car and a replica car that’s scratch built. A 356 kit on a VW chassis I would say still gives you a similar driving experience but a Countach body on a Fiero is nothing like the real thing and I’d rather just have the Fiero as is. Now if it were a ground up replica of a Countach then that would be something I’d drive as it would give you as close to the real driving experience.
I remember reading a build a long time ago of a guy who built a Fiero Lamborghini Miura kit car with a Northstar V8 and a stretched chassis. It looked cool. Didn't have that V12 howl but a V8 is good enough.
I’ve always admire the 356 coupe, but I live in the south and A/c is a must. I have a C10 and I’m seriously considering buying one. I’m just conflicted.
I fell in love with the ‘57 250 TR as a kid because a neighbor recreated one around a columbo engine he bought out of a wrecked ‘78 400. He was fastidious about every detail, using factory parts whenever he could (things were cheaper in the early 80s). He drove it everywhere. When it was almost done he drove it to the dealer in Chicago to pick up a part, the mechanics chatted in Italian while inspecting the car as he waited for the part. it took them a while to realize it was not a factory car. He never said it was a Ferrari, but people accused him of being afraid of it getting stolen.
Got to have real respect for tool room cars, we have a place in the uk called GtO Engineering that has been remanufacturing 60's Ferrari parts to the point they started making 250 TR's and SWB's. A few weeks ago i went on a trackday and there was two GTO engineering swb cars being driven like Mr Ferrari intended around a track and it was GLORIUS!! I have never been one for replica cars but some of these tool room cars are just art in there own right, you have to respect the skill that went into building them.
The work GTO engineering does is insane. I recently met them when they were visiting the US. They're truly passionate guys. There's a local guy that drives the piss out of his real 250GT SWB. I showed them a few videos and they lost their minds. Especially the one where you could see a kids car seat in the car.
@@leonardmayorquin4076 I was at a car meet recently and saw Joe Macari's GTO engineering TR that was on it's way to a photo shoot. It won't let me put a link in here but copy and paste 'Driving a legend! The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa | Supercar Driver' into the RUclips browser!! I fancy a go in that!!
We had a couple guys bring a Proteus on the 2015 Targa Baja California. Those guys had their leather aviator helmets and goggles, and drove the car in anger the better part of 1000 miles on the Baja Peninsula. They had an AWESOME time!
There is a similar issue in the air warbird world, specifically with piston powered WWII warbirds, considered the pinnacle of aircraft piston engine power. Basically, between the attrition due to accidents, racing, etc, they are getting rarer and rarer, more expensive, and therefore, more risky to continue to fly. Do you continue to fly them, to incur that risk, or do you park them, let them sit...and people forget about them. Replicas would solve that problem. As long as people know they are replicas, you can still get that same experience to appreciate them.
I’ve been heavily looking into building a Jurca 1:1 replica, they make some incredible Spitfires, FW-190s etc that look spot on! The crazy thing is, the warbirds are millions but the 50s fast jets? Less than a Cessna!
As a youth, I read voraciously my dad's old comic collection. As a kid that loved motor racing, I've read and reread Jean Graton's first Michel Vaillant book named "Le Grand Défi". That's where I discovered the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Nürburgring Nordschleife. And while they weren't a protagonist's car, I loved the sleek look of the Jaguar D type.
That is exactly why I have no issues with kit cars. I had a Porsche 356 convertible D. I sold it as it was just to valuable to ENJOY for what it was. One old man or woman in a caddy could write off a beautiful classic in 10 seconds. You just can’t enjoy something like that. On the road to Monterey once I saw a low rider that just crashed head on to a beautiful 38 cord Beverly convertible. The car was badly damaged and the owners looked like they were in shock. I just couldn’t live with that.
Great video, and the topic is spot on. I've always enjoyed kit cars and understand that this is the exact reason to have one - you don't have the money for the real thing, and even if you did you can drive the car and not be concerned about it. In a similar vein, I have a 1974.5 MGB that I bought for $5000 and I drive it whenever I can. It's a blast to drive and I get all kinds of looks, waves and honks when I'm on the road. It's a 20 footer (looks good from 20 feet away) and I don't care, I bought it to drive. In regards to kit cars, if you have the money and want to have an original and store it in a garage so you can look at it that's awesome, but in my mind cars were meant to be driven and enjoyed.
I couldn’t agree more, done right a kit car or re-creation is much more than the original these days! They are usable/enjoyable & deliver miles of smiles!
Always a pleasure to hear your opinion, as the owner of a 356 Speedster recreation I can attest to the joy of street parking a car that looks legitimate, mine is a beautiful recreation, it's got quite a few real parts on it, including the engine & gearbox, it's even fooled other owners, but it's not made of fibreglass, Rj in Oz
I met a guy at a high end track day with a 250 GTO, it wasnt exactly a recreation, it was built entirely out of authentic leftover parts from the 250 GTO program so it was more of a continuation than a recreation and probably still worth $10m+, but the experience of touching it was not lessened by the fact that it was assembled decades after the GTO was retired from racing, it was still just as beautiful and sonerous, next to him was a guy with a 330/P4 recreation and again it didnt bother me one bit that it wasnt 'real' like the Porsche 917 parked next to it or James Hunts McLaren that it was parked across from. Yes there is something special about the cars that have actually been there, whose seats have been graced by legendary cheeks, but when it comes to the physical rather than metaphysical aspects they are no less beautiful for being replicas.
Sooooo many guys with kit cars/recreations have stories of how their car is technically real because it's made from "left over" parts. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I've heard that story.
@@leonardmayorquin4076 My blowup doll girlfriend is technically real because she has a wig made from human hair. 😂 But seriously, this thread made me think about how once robots are virtually clones of people, people are going to buy robot boyfriends/girlfriends and won’t care that they’re not real because they serve their needs. Heck, just look at people being excited about virtual reality. They don’t care that it’s not real, it’s all about the experience.
ABSOLUTELY AGREE! I did the photo retouching for the Ferrari that sold last year for 80 million at auction. The photo assistants are rolling this around the photo studio by the wheels because nobody even wants to touch the paint. Someday I'll have my Cobra Kit Car that i'll be able to actually drive and touch and enjoy.
I'm reminded of a racing Shelby Daytona Coupe I saw at the Donington Historic Festival this year. Was it the real thing? No. But it was built as a continuation replica, presented in a black livery as the owner didnt want to pass it off as a real Daytona. Did it matter when it came thundering past, spitting fire on the shifts, shaking every bone in my body? Absolutely not. I'd absolutely own a well sorted replica if I had the money, there's a few GT40 and Cobra companies in the UK who make some utterly gorgeous recreation cars. One again, Ficarra is on the money.
A non-original livery seems to be a smart way to avoid being accused of trying to pass off a fake. But if you love the real livery, that shouldn’t be a problem either. Did you notice the license plate on the recreation D-Type in the video? _”XKDCOY”_
Detroit life time gear head here, and the D type is one of mans most beautiful creations. Replica, recreation, or outright Forgery be damned. The Kirkham? Aluminum Cobra built in Poland is a work of Art. Add a dual quad 427 and life is complete.
@@BastardX13 Wow, Kirkham’s Cobra with the polished aluminum-bodied (or is it Polished aluminum-bodied 😂) is gorgeous. Still, I feel like Cobras are the Mustangs of the replica world. I’d rather have a D-Type. That being said, their Cobra coupe definitely catches my eye. I’d rather have it than the Cobra roadster.
Couldn’t agree more! If it looks the same, is built the same and drives the same, that’s what it’s all about! We’re not talking about a fiero/Ferrari here!
3:38 - monocoque is just a fancy word for uni-body/unit-body/uno-body/etc. It's simply any vehicle which uses the body as integral part of the frame structure. It didn't stop with carbon fiber. As a matter of fact, most CF cars are monocoque.
Don't know HOW this video went unnoticed... but I'm psyched y'all uploaded a short of it. Was able to backtrack on the channel and find it easily enough to watch. Ficarra story time?? YES PLEASE ❤
My son and I are building a Lotus 7 replica together and I am calling it an homage and not a kit as we are building from scratch,even the bonnet Just need to find Cosworth I want to power the beast. And it’ll be a proper standard transmission
I came to realize that certain cars are ones you not only drive for yourself, you drive them for other people. Genuine replicas like that fit into this category; they are cars that, frankly, none of us could see or experience and yet, because one exists on the street or at a show we get a piece of that. It makes the real ones more real, because now they're tangible. It draws interest. That interest is what keeps automobiles like the D-Type alive, and that's an honourable endeavour.
In the early 80s i used to go to car shows with my friend in his MGB-GT. About this time a company started making fiberglass MG-T replica bodies to put on a VW Beetle floor pan. Wire wheel hub caps and all, i thought they were ugly and a sacrilege. A couple years later I was in the Virgin Islands and saw an MG-T down near the docks... went to see if it was real. Nope, one of these kit cars. But seeing it there it made perfect sense... when the floor pan rusts away get another donor beetle. And yes, I'm using the generic MG-T instead of specifying C, D or F.
I’ve always scratched my head at the “But that’s not a real one!” crowd. These same assholes would give their left foot for a Shelby Cobra kit car cobbled together by two blind men, using Chevy running gear.
Bought a Superformance Cobra, had a Roush 427, best way to enjoy a classic car that a real version would be too valuable to take out for a morning drive to work or the occasional track day. All for a fraction of cost and with modern brakes/suspension and driveline
I have one too. I LOVE driving it. Don't like stopping, every 10th time there is someone who is offended and comes to indignantly ask if it's a "kit car" as if I'm lying to them, and we haven't even met before. I always say "CUBIC ZIRCONIUM" with a thumbs-up gesture and a smile and then they mellow out a little, but whose business is it, anyway? I love Love LOVE having the driving experience without irreplacable thing/price tag, and I flog it because anything else wouldn't be loving it. I'd drive the hell outta that Jag and love that or any other serious contender without a second thought.
In my opinion these kit cars are a way for people and younger generations to remember and be able to drive these legendary cars, like the gt40, shelby cobra and le mans or other cars
I think it’s great that people build replicas and continuation models. Minis and the original Cooper S. I’m guilty. Some of the continuation cars are absolutely fantastic. I live in Australia and our most iconic car is the Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase Three. They built 300 examples, mostly for Bathurst and racing. As of today, there’s still thousands of them still on the road. They were that iconic. Great video. 👍🇦🇺
Hear, hear! Well stated. If I had an original D-type, I fear it would be a garage queen. I like to think that if I had a recreation, I would drive it joyously, knowing that I was experiencing what the original car was meant for, and sharing its beauty with the world.
I both appreciate and understand why people hate kit cars... I personally cant afford to have such amazing oldschool cars + the cost of maintaining one so would love to one day own an oldschool muscle car kit one day without having to worry about how many miles i drove or repair costs
@FicarraClassic I could not agree more. The fact that somehow these racing cars were "never modified" or "used" is INSANE. Just the fact that we made things, then somehow forgot is even more insane. I already have a hard time getting parts for a 2018 vehicle. How are we supposed to maintain anything. We need the ability to keep anything running.
Quite right. I run a '33 racing special that has no contemporary race provenance - but is exactly period, and so the experience is identical. It's great that real period race cars are out there, and wonderful to see them; but tbh many have been upgraded (like every e-type!), so even the originals aren't original!
I would much rather have a car I put together than one I just wrote a check for. Just finished a 71 Z28 with a 6 liter, TH400, and Gear Vendors OD. I love it. Car is all new except for the body. Kit cars are fine with me.
There are some of recreation GT40s and Cobras racing in vintage events like Goodwood. If it can get FIA homologated as a good enough recreation then they will accept it
I have a friend who has a Very nice Ferrari 250 Daytona replica, built on an old Z car. It's GOOD. I mean pretty darn close in appearance, to the casual observer anyway. Had it for ages, enjoys the heck out of it. AC works. License plate: 62 4RE. I love that one.
We’ve had kit car Cobras and Spyders for decades. They are - depending on execution- probably better than the real thing. But the values of the real things just keep going up. So I see it as win-win-win for enthusiasts, collectors, and the marques themselves.
"worth buying" and "worth driving" are two very different things. Kit-cars and "Repli-cars" are certainly NOT an "investment", quite the opposite. But, if done well, they're a sh*t ton of fun to drive.
John’s way to explain something is the best! Can tell he’s wicked smaht, uses some cool words strung together that makes it interesting. Couple beers and a fire pit could listen for hours. Cheers!
Half the fun of owning my GTR is letting kids, teens, adults share it. Get in start it, want a ride. Its all about sharing those experiences... If I can steer one person away from a Tesla as a dream vehicle, my job is done...
'A replica is a lie'....this is the best explanation I ever heard for replicas / tribute cars / tool room replicas / kit cars or whatever you want to call them.
I am a huge supporter of kit cars, and even clones somewhat. But with caveats. A kit car should embrace being what it is. Have fun. Dont pretend to be the real thing. Shelby Cobras are the best example. No Cobra kit car owner hides it. They love it. Shelby loved em because they are treated like successors to original. They are proud to be build better and modernized. All thd style and spirit... but better.
The only car I've wanted since I was a child is a Cobra but I'll be damned if I would drive a couple million dollar car around the way it wants to be driven. The kit car, replica, continuation, homage, whatever you wanna call it crowd can drive around in faithful recreations of historical cars without ruining their legacy. They can be enhanced with modern considerations like anti lock brakes, LED headlights, adjustable ride height so I can get in and out of my stupid steep driveway, or go over speedbumps, or just to tolerate bad roads. They're real, they just aren't old. It makes me think of the ship of theseus, eventually there won't be anything left that it came with but the intentions and materials are still there doing what they always have.
I think the term “replica” and “kit car” are often used incorrectly where anything that’s not the original is deemed a “kit car” but that term brings to mind the iffy fibreglass body kit cars of Ferraris and Lamborghinis from the late 80s and 90s. So a “kit car” is something that looks like something it isn’t but a “replica” usually tries to be as close to the real thing as possible. Like all those cobra kit cars are often a full chassis and body kit that’s close to a real cobra but modified to use modern parts to reduce cost where as the Ferrari kit cars are usually just body panels for Fieros and MR2s to make them look like one
Comments I remember about kitcars: Ferrari Kitcar is a better option than an actual Ferrari because you get a Ferrari without the bull****. A Ferrari is basically a Kitcar with baggage. A Ferrari is basically an expensive kitcar you don't own. Oh, yeah. I remember a guy from the Ferrari dealership paint shop, who said Superformance wasn't a good company. Supposedly their cars have various problems and he advised avoiding them. Side note, my phone's auto suggestion literally saved a random user's name as an auto suggestion 😂.
I own two Glasspar G2s. It's the granddaddy of all kit cars. One is being built by #rookiepilot right now. It's not a copy of anything, but an original design. They were called "Specials" back then. It is the first production fiberglass bodied car. The first one came out in 1950. Mine is a 54. A true vintage beauty that qualifies for any classic event.
Aside car historians, car tuners also support kit cars because you can do what ever you want to them: engine swaps, chassis changes, custom interiors, etc
My father built a kit car for his brother who was a car dealer. Actually it worked, it drove fine. But he was just frightened in it, going too fast. You have to really trust your work, if you go above like 80mph or so.
One could even argue that well made replicas like that Proteus may actually increase the value of real D-Types, because there could be someone out there that may have bought a real one after driving such a replica owned by a friend.
As long as it provides 90 percent the experience for 10 percent the cost The d type , the gt40, cobra, cheetahhell the toyota powered f40 clone that races hillclimbs in new zealand is the goal
This is exactly what ive said all these years. Ive allways wanted to hand make a SL300 body and put it on something reliable and similar. And Drive It. Everyone i know makes fun of kit cars. The only thing wrong with a kit car is if it looks goofy. Or if the person is lying and saying its real.
Superformance their cars, GT40, Cobra, and Daytona are signed off by Shelby and Brock as “continuation” cars, get a Shelby vin for them. Even made with the same tooling as the originals. That’s about as close to real as you can get, with out having one from the 60’s, as far as I can tell.
The best part is you can get 1/2 finished projects for 1/2 price and finish them. So many people get burnt out and never finish them so they are everywhere
That is an interesting thing. There are a lot of cars that are worth in excess of their initial production value. Most vehicles are desired based on the driving experience they provide. It seems like replicas are a very undertapped market in those respects. Think of the F1. This legendary limited car that makes the driver the focus of the experience. It initially cost around a million dollars to buy one new, and in the time since they were new it has become easier to make products out of carbon fiber. Seems like for well under market value you could let people experience a dream. You don't need a vin number to have an experience.
@9:11 "Most people get these cars so they can drive them every day." And the fact it is a replica means people can make modern technological upgrades that in turn make the car more enjoyable for everyday driving than the rare original would ever be. So for that use case, the replica is actually a superior choice to the original.
Irony is drive a real one on the street and people will think it's a kit car. I've driven many a real D Type around Sussex England as well as GT40's, Lightweight E Types, Cobras (427's, 289's) and squeezed through the traffic in the small village of Battle. By the way a real D Type has fantastic brakes with 6 pot front calipers and 4 pot rears with 20 brake pads in total.
I've always thought this. If Jaguar themselves did a "re run" of the D type... And it was exactly like this replica .... For me... It's a D type.... ❤️😜 Wait... 10:30 he said exactly this! Haha
The Kelmark with a Subaru EJ207 is pretty fast they also got the Kelmark made on a Mid Engineering chassis that you can put a LS in and that thing screams! Its all based on a little Dino Ferrari
I met a guy that had 250 swb but with the car worth 8 figures it never went outside. He bought a gto engineering recreation so that he could enjoy a car the was almost identical to his but worth 1% of the value of the real car
Had a coworker whose father was a Boston jeweler in the 1920s. He told me his father would often make a fake copy of expensive custom jewelry so the buyer could have something to wear to lesser social events while keeping the original in the safe.
Thank for having me on again! That Proteus D-Type is still one of my favorite cars to drive ever. So close to the real thing without the fear and the guilt!
What are the stories you can't tell? 🚗 🔥
You are always a bright spot on SINwiki!😂😂
The G.O.A.T of car history
Former fighter pilot. Warbirds and roadracing Superbikes are my real passion, but I enjoy cars as well. Have had the privilege to drive everything from Carrera GT, 962, 935K3, 550 Spyder, F40, GT2, C8 ZO6…. The most fun I’ve ever had on 4 wheels is a Pur Sang Bugatti t35B. So, I bought one. Highly recommend
@FicarraClassic Always love your stories John. Keep em coming!
Had a client in for a haircut last week. We talked about his Shelby Cobra replica. His 12 year old grandson doesn't care that it's not real. He cares that he gets to go to baseball practice with grandpa in the coolest car ever.
I would rather have a Cobra replica. I wouldnt drive a real one.
I think it's funny that the cobra has always seemed to have gotten a pass as a kit car. But if you show up in a nice countach replica you get torn apart.
Is there any such thing as a "nice countach replica"?
The cars are much different. The issues are that the original cobras are EXTREMELY expensive, a Countach is expensive but not unobtainable. The Cobra replica is exactly that…a full replica. The Countach ‘replicas’ are a body on a pre-existing chassis without any of it being a true recreation of the original, and they usually look quite bad. It’s like the difference between making a clone of yourself vs a person who took a potion and physically turned into you but slightly messed up.
There’s no nice replica of that car 😂😂
Same for a 32 Ford Highboy with an aftermarket frame and body. I drive a kit car but would never call a 32 Ford one.
The thing is a cobra was basically a kit car itself when it was in production...thats why
I know a guy who restored a Jaguar SKSX when he was at R&M a few years ago. The story on the car was it had been sold new to a buyer in Detroit. Then 10 years later that owner put it up for sale in Road & Track. Price? $6800.00
The mint condition car was reputedly put in the hands of a young and inexperienced driver and was wrecked. Then it went to a guy who owned a machine shop in Ohio who had plans to restore it, and then of course it sat in a shed for 20 years.
Machine shop guy's friend tells him, "Damn Fred, that car would be worth a million if it was made right..." and so the owner took it to a shop that "fixed" it but did not restore it. another 10 years and the guy took it to R&M and they did the job right. It took a year and a lot of money but they did a perfect resto.
They even buffed some paint off the rivets and here and there to make the car look "vintage" and not "over restored"
I heard it went for $5 million at the R&M auction
Thank you for advocating the less expensive option John! Glad you see the forest for the trees!😂❤
I think replica or kit cars are cool as long as it’s quality, unlike the Lamborghini or Ferrari kit cars that are on a Fierro chassis, especially when some cars as mentioned are unobtainable
I think the main difference is between a kit that you put on another car vs a replica which comes with basically everything, and just needs a drivetrain
Good fiero kits do get bashed a little harder than they should though.
@omega1575 I think Fiero kit cars get a bad rep because they start with Fiero 😂
@@bigrob7623 well the fiero is a horrible car making it look like a exotic is like putting lipstick on a pig
@spoolyboi9434 Yeah, but you could have got a factory turbo and make 181hp. LOL
@@bigrob7623 still lipstick on a pig still a fiero could care less if it had 1000hp
There’s a big distinction between a kit car and a replica car that’s scratch built. A 356 kit on a VW chassis I would say still gives you a similar driving experience but a Countach body on a Fiero is nothing like the real thing and I’d rather just have the Fiero as is. Now if it were a ground up replica of a Countach then that would be something I’d drive as it would give you as close to the real driving experience.
I want to get a 355 and put Fiero badges on it.
Having driven multiple 550s that were on VW chassis - as well as actual 550 - it’s unfortunately not the same. But they look pretty cool parked!
@@Ma660t5andw1ch chassis wise a 550 is very different then a 356.
If anything, that guy who built a Countach from scratch in his basement probably had a better chassis/suspension setup than the original.
I remember reading a build a long time ago of a guy who built a Fiero Lamborghini Miura kit car with a Northstar V8 and a stretched chassis. It looked cool. Didn't have that V12 howl but a V8 is good enough.
I absolutely agree with John's opinion on this. He's spot on. Not really a classic, but it's an incredibly good way to enjoy your weekend.
I have a replica 1957 Porsche Speedster and I love it. Fun to drive on the country road!
I’ve always admire the 356 coupe, but I live in the south and A/c is a must. I have a C10 and I’m seriously considering buying one. I’m just conflicted.
such a pretty car man. looks great man!!
I fell in love with the ‘57 250 TR as a kid because a neighbor recreated one around a columbo engine he bought out of a wrecked ‘78 400. He was fastidious about every detail, using factory parts whenever he could (things were cheaper in the early 80s). He drove it everywhere. When it was almost done he drove it to the dealer in Chicago to pick up a part, the mechanics chatted in Italian while inspecting the car as he waited for the part. it took them a while to realize it was not a factory car.
He never said it was a Ferrari, but people accused him of being afraid of it getting stolen.
Got to have real respect for tool room cars, we have a place in the uk called GtO Engineering that has been remanufacturing 60's Ferrari parts to the point they started making 250 TR's and SWB's. A few weeks ago i went on a trackday and there was two GTO engineering swb cars being driven like Mr Ferrari intended around a track and it was GLORIUS!! I have never been one for replica cars but some of these tool room cars are just art in there own right, you have to respect the skill that went into building them.
The work GTO engineering does is insane. I recently met them when they were visiting the US. They're truly passionate guys.
There's a local guy that drives the piss out of his real 250GT SWB. I showed them a few videos and they lost their minds. Especially the one where you could see a kids car seat in the car.
@@leonardmayorquin4076 I was at a car meet recently and saw Joe Macari's GTO engineering TR that was on it's way to a photo shoot. It won't let me put a link in here but copy and paste 'Driving a legend! The Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa | Supercar Driver' into the RUclips browser!! I fancy a go in that!!
What do you think? Would you own a replica car?
Yes. Why not? The absurdity of classic car collections is beyond the pale
Absolutely, having all the benefits of a great classic while not worrying about value is perfect
I would love a Factory 5 Shelby Cobra.
Absolutely. When I was a kid, I wanted a Diablo kit car with a BMW V12... and I still do!😂
Yes.
We had a couple guys bring a Proteus on the 2015 Targa Baja California. Those guys had their leather aviator helmets and goggles, and drove the car in anger the better part of 1000 miles on the Baja Peninsula.
They had an AWESOME time!
There is a similar issue in the air warbird world, specifically with piston powered WWII warbirds, considered the pinnacle of aircraft piston engine power. Basically, between the attrition due to accidents, racing, etc, they are getting rarer and rarer, more expensive, and therefore, more risky to continue to fly. Do you continue to fly them, to incur that risk, or do you park them, let them sit...and people forget about them.
Replicas would solve that problem. As long as people know they are replicas, you can still get that same experience to appreciate them.
I’ve been heavily looking into building a Jurca 1:1 replica, they make some incredible Spitfires, FW-190s etc that look spot on! The crazy thing is, the warbirds are millions but the 50s fast jets? Less than a Cessna!
P-51 numbers are growing as are a few others. The increasing values have made it viable to restore more.
@@scotts2027 P-51s and Spitfires are around plenty, its the rest of them that are hard to come by!
Most GT40's in historic racing are actually tool room copies with FIA papers, built by companies like Gelscoe Motorsport.
it's the same for all the Ferraris, Jag's, Alfa's, Masserattis etc, they're all "fake", not the genuine 50's 60's cars.
A great case for finding the shortcut to the experience you are looking for.
As a youth, I read voraciously my dad's old comic collection. As a kid that loved motor racing, I've read and reread Jean Graton's first Michel Vaillant book named "Le Grand Défi". That's where I discovered the Indianapolis 500, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Nürburgring Nordschleife. And while they weren't a protagonist's car, I loved the sleek look of the Jaguar D type.
This guy does not miss. Love his attitude about cars and his depth of knowledge.
That is exactly why I have no issues with kit cars. I had a Porsche 356 convertible D. I sold it as it was just to valuable to ENJOY for what it was. One old man or woman in a caddy could write off a beautiful classic in 10 seconds. You just can’t enjoy something like that. On the road to Monterey once I saw a low rider that just crashed head on to a beautiful 38 cord Beverly convertible. The car was badly damaged and the owners looked like they were in shock. I just couldn’t live with that.
Great video, and the topic is spot on. I've always enjoyed kit cars and understand that this is the exact reason to have one - you don't have the money for the real thing, and even if you did you can drive the car and not be concerned about it. In a similar vein, I have a 1974.5 MGB that I bought for $5000 and I drive it whenever I can. It's a blast to drive and I get all kinds of looks, waves and honks when I'm on the road. It's a 20 footer (looks good from 20 feet away) and I don't care, I bought it to drive. In regards to kit cars, if you have the money and want to have an original and store it in a garage so you can look at it that's awesome, but in my mind cars were meant to be driven and enjoyed.
I couldn’t agree more, done right a kit car or re-creation is much more than the original these days! They are usable/enjoyable & deliver miles of smiles!
Always a pleasure to hear your opinion, as the owner of a 356 Speedster recreation I can attest to the joy of street parking a car that looks legitimate, mine is a beautiful recreation, it's got quite a few real parts on it, including the engine & gearbox, it's even fooled other owners, but it's not made of fibreglass, Rj in Oz
I met a guy at a high end track day with a 250 GTO, it wasnt exactly a recreation, it was built entirely out of authentic leftover parts from the 250 GTO program so it was more of a continuation than a recreation and probably still worth $10m+, but the experience of touching it was not lessened by the fact that it was assembled decades after the GTO was retired from racing, it was still just as beautiful and sonerous, next to him was a guy with a 330/P4 recreation and again it didnt bother me one bit that it wasnt 'real' like the Porsche 917 parked next to it or James Hunts McLaren that it was parked across from. Yes there is something special about the cars that have actually been there, whose seats have been graced by legendary cheeks, but when it comes to the physical rather than metaphysical aspects they are no less beautiful for being replicas.
Sooooo many guys with kit cars/recreations have stories of how their car is technically real because it's made from "left over" parts. I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I've heard that story.
@@leonardmayorquin4076
My blowup doll girlfriend is technically real because she has a wig made from human hair. 😂
But seriously, this thread made me think about how once robots are virtually clones of people, people are going to buy robot boyfriends/girlfriends and won’t care that they’re not real because they serve their needs.
Heck, just look at people being excited about virtual reality. They don’t care that it’s not real, it’s all about the experience.
ABSOLUTELY AGREE! I did the photo retouching for the Ferrari that sold last year for 80 million at auction. The photo assistants are rolling this around the photo studio by the wheels because nobody even wants to touch the paint. Someday I'll have my Cobra Kit Car that i'll be able to actually drive and touch and enjoy.
That last point is beautiful
I'm reminded of a racing Shelby Daytona Coupe I saw at the Donington Historic Festival this year.
Was it the real thing? No. But it was built as a continuation replica, presented in a black livery as the owner didnt want to pass it off as a real Daytona.
Did it matter when it came thundering past, spitting fire on the shifts, shaking every bone in my body?
Absolutely not.
I'd absolutely own a well sorted replica if I had the money, there's a few GT40 and Cobra companies in the UK who make some utterly gorgeous recreation cars.
One again, Ficarra is on the money.
A non-original livery seems to be a smart way to avoid being accused of trying to pass off a fake. But if you love the real livery, that shouldn’t be a problem either.
Did you notice the license plate on the recreation D-Type in the video? _”XKDCOY”_
Detroit life time gear head here, and the D type is one of mans most beautiful creations. Replica, recreation, or outright Forgery be damned.
The Kirkham? Aluminum Cobra built in Poland is a work of Art. Add a dual quad 427 and life is complete.
@@BastardX13
Wow, Kirkham’s Cobra with the polished aluminum-bodied (or is it Polished aluminum-bodied 😂) is gorgeous. Still, I feel like Cobras are the Mustangs of the replica world. I’d rather have a D-Type. That being said, their Cobra coupe definitely catches my eye. I’d rather have it than the Cobra roadster.
There are few cars as old as the d-type that I like. Having seen XKD515, I absolutely love the d-type.
Couldn’t agree more! If it looks the same, is built the same and drives the same, that’s what it’s all about!
We’re not talking about a fiero/Ferrari here!
3:38 - monocoque is just a fancy word for uni-body/unit-body/uno-body/etc. It's simply any vehicle which uses the body as integral part of the frame structure. It didn't stop with carbon fiber. As a matter of fact, most CF cars are monocoque.
Don't know HOW this video went unnoticed... but I'm psyched y'all uploaded a short of it. Was able to backtrack on the channel and find it easily enough to watch.
Ficarra story time?? YES PLEASE
❤
Ive seen some awesome kit cars, some stinkers, & misrepresented kit cars. It all depends on build quality & disclosure.
My son and I are building a Lotus 7 replica together and I am calling it an homage and not a kit as we are building from scratch,even the bonnet
Just need to find Cosworth I want to power the beast.
And it’ll be a proper standard transmission
John is such a great storyteller. Thanks for cheering us up!
I came to realize that certain cars are ones you not only drive for yourself, you drive them for other people. Genuine replicas like that fit into this category; they are cars that, frankly, none of us could see or experience and yet, because one exists on the street or at a show we get a piece of that. It makes the real ones more real, because now they're tangible. It draws interest. That interest is what keeps automobiles like the D-Type alive, and that's an honourable endeavour.
In the early 80s i used to go to car shows with my friend in his MGB-GT. About this time a company started making fiberglass MG-T replica bodies to put on a VW Beetle floor pan. Wire wheel hub caps and all, i thought they were ugly and a sacrilege. A couple years later I was in the Virgin Islands and saw an MG-T down near the docks... went to see if it was real. Nope, one of these kit cars. But seeing it there it made perfect sense... when the floor pan rusts away get another donor beetle. And yes, I'm using the generic MG-T instead of specifying C, D or F.
He's right ya know ;). Cars are made for people to see and enjoy, kit cars just make more of them out there for people to see and enjoy.
I’ve always scratched my head at the “But that’s not a real one!” crowd. These same assholes would give their left foot for a Shelby Cobra kit car cobbled together by two blind men, using Chevy running gear.
😂 I'm visualizing the Facebook Market Place ad. SHELBY Cobra, with a 305 out of a Monte Carlo SS.
$22000 firm. I know what I got.
Beautifully stated my friend. Cars are for enjoying, spread the love
Bought a Superformance Cobra, had a Roush 427, best way to enjoy a classic car that a real version would be too valuable to take out for a morning drive to work or the occasional track day. All for a fraction of cost and with modern brakes/suspension and driveline
I have one too. I LOVE driving it. Don't like stopping, every 10th time there is someone who is offended and comes to indignantly ask if it's a "kit car" as if I'm lying to them, and we haven't even met before. I always say "CUBIC ZIRCONIUM" with a thumbs-up gesture and a smile and then they mellow out a little, but whose business is it, anyway? I love Love LOVE having the driving experience without irreplacable thing/price tag, and I flog it because anything else wouldn't be loving it. I'd drive the hell outta that Jag and love that or any other serious contender without a second thought.
In my opinion these kit cars are a way for people and younger generations to remember and be able to drive these legendary cars, like the gt40, shelby cobra and le mans or other cars
I think it’s great that people build replicas and continuation models. Minis and the original Cooper S. I’m guilty. Some of the continuation cars are absolutely fantastic. I live in Australia and our most iconic car is the Ford Falcon XY GTHO Phase Three. They built 300 examples, mostly for Bathurst and racing. As of today, there’s still thousands of them still on the road. They were that iconic. Great video. 👍🇦🇺
John is always an engaging storyteller. Thanks for having him back again.
Hear, hear! Well stated. If I had an original D-type, I fear it would be a garage queen. I like to think that if I had a recreation, I would drive it joyously, knowing that I was experiencing what the original car was meant for, and sharing its beauty with the world.
I both appreciate and understand why people hate kit cars... I personally cant afford to have such amazing oldschool cars + the cost of maintaining one so would love to one day own an oldschool muscle car kit one day without having to worry about how many miles i drove or repair costs
@FicarraClassic I could not agree more. The fact that somehow these racing cars were "never modified" or "used" is INSANE. Just the fact that we made things, then somehow forgot is even more insane. I already have a hard time getting parts for a 2018 vehicle. How are we supposed to maintain anything. We need the ability to keep anything running.
Quite right. I run a '33 racing special that has no contemporary race provenance - but is exactly period, and so the experience is identical. It's great that real period race cars are out there, and wonderful to see them; but tbh many have been upgraded (like every e-type!), so even the originals aren't original!
I would much rather have a car I put together than one I just wrote a check for. Just finished a 71 Z28 with a 6 liter, TH400, and Gear Vendors OD. I love it. Car is all new except for the body. Kit cars are fine with me.
I really like his attitude about kit cars. My father would always crap on them and it sucked to constantly hear that about people enjoying their car.
There are some of recreation GT40s and Cobras racing in vintage events like Goodwood. If it can get FIA homologated as a good enough recreation then they will accept it
I have a friend who has a Very nice Ferrari 250 Daytona replica, built on an old Z car. It's GOOD. I mean pretty darn close in appearance, to the casual observer anyway. Had it for ages, enjoys the heck out of it. AC works. License plate: 62 4RE. I love that one.
Shelby Daytona is a great example, very nice recreations of it, good luck acquiring one of the original 6.
Love a good John ficarra tale! ❤
We’ve had kit car Cobras and Spyders for decades. They are - depending on execution- probably better than the real thing. But the values of the real things just keep going up. So I see it as win-win-win for enthusiasts, collectors, and the marques themselves.
"worth buying" and "worth driving" are two very different things.
Kit-cars and "Repli-cars" are certainly NOT an "investment", quite the opposite. But, if done well, they're a sh*t ton of fun to drive.
I would love a well built Mercedes Gullwing replica with a M113K. Best of both worlds!
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
John tells the best stories. My stepdad had an e type convertible and jags are cool. They start pulling at 100 mph.
John’s way to explain something is the best! Can tell he’s wicked smaht, uses some cool words strung together that makes it interesting. Couple beers and a fire pit could listen for hours. Cheers!
I love picking up Chinese food in my 356 recreation.
Great video Ed, knocked it out of the park!
Half the fun of owning my GTR is letting kids, teens, adults share it. Get in start it, want a ride. Its all about sharing those experiences... If I can steer one person away from a Tesla as a dream vehicle, my job is done...
'A replica is a lie'....this is the best explanation I ever heard for replicas / tribute cars / tool room replicas / kit cars or whatever you want to call them.
I am a huge supporter of kit cars, and even clones somewhat. But with caveats. A kit car should embrace being what it is. Have fun. Dont pretend to be the real thing.
Shelby Cobras are the best example. No Cobra kit car owner hides it. They love it. Shelby loved em because they are treated like successors to original. They are proud to be build better and modernized. All thd style and spirit... but better.
Such a good story and viewpoint.
The only car I've wanted since I was a child is a Cobra but I'll be damned if I would drive a couple million dollar car around the way it wants to be driven. The kit car, replica, continuation, homage, whatever you wanna call it crowd can drive around in faithful recreations of historical cars without ruining their legacy.
They can be enhanced with modern considerations like anti lock brakes, LED headlights, adjustable ride height so I can get in and out of my stupid steep driveway, or go over speedbumps, or just to tolerate bad roads.
They're real, they just aren't old. It makes me think of the ship of theseus, eventually there won't be anything left that it came with but the intentions and materials are still there doing what they always have.
The AC cobra if you have a real one people will presume it's a kit car
I think the term “replica” and “kit car” are often used incorrectly where anything that’s not the original is deemed a “kit car” but that term brings to mind the iffy fibreglass body kit cars of Ferraris and Lamborghinis from the late 80s and 90s. So a “kit car” is something that looks like something it isn’t but a “replica” usually tries to be as close to the real thing as possible. Like all those cobra kit cars are often a full chassis and body kit that’s close to a real cobra but modified to use modern parts to reduce cost where as the Ferrari kit cars are usually just body panels for Fieros and MR2s to make them look like one
I would definitely drive a replica or kit car. Always loved the Cobras, GT40, Ferrari Daytona
You nailed it! The car culture is all about how a model makes you feel
Comments I remember about kitcars:
Ferrari Kitcar is a better option than an actual Ferrari because you get a Ferrari without the bull****.
A Ferrari is basically a Kitcar with baggage.
A Ferrari is basically an expensive kitcar you don't own.
Oh, yeah. I remember a guy from the Ferrari dealership paint shop, who said Superformance wasn't a good company. Supposedly their cars have various problems and he advised avoiding them.
Side note, my phone's auto suggestion literally saved a random user's name as an auto suggestion 😂.
What a story teller! And I 100% agree
I own two Glasspar G2s. It's the granddaddy of all kit cars. One is being built by #rookiepilot right now. It's not a copy of anything, but an original design. They were called "Specials" back then. It is the first production fiberglass bodied car. The first one came out in 1950. Mine is a 54. A true vintage beauty that qualifies for any classic event.
I love the original 1954 jaguar d type with the 3 head lamps
Aside car historians, car tuners also support kit cars because you can do what ever you want to them: engine swaps, chassis changes, custom interiors, etc
I remember seeing a Chamonix 356 when I was a kid. Always had this reasoning that a honest replica has it's value and use.
My father built a kit car for his brother who was a car dealer. Actually it worked, it drove fine. But he was just frightened in it, going too fast. You have to really trust your work, if you go above like 80mph or so.
One could even argue that well made replicas like that Proteus may actually increase the value of real D-Types, because there could be someone out there that may have bought a real one after driving such a replica owned by a friend.
This is probably the best VW I have watched. It’s so fresh to hear what REAL people think and those 99 percent that can’t afford what we see on VW….
As long as it provides 90 percent the experience for 10 percent the cost
The d type , the gt40, cobra, cheetahhell the toyota powered f40 clone that races hillclimbs in new zealand is the goal
Absolutely as long as its built awesome
Nicely done again John.😊
My dream car would be a Race Car Replicas Ferrari P4 replica. Fiberglass body. Tube frame. LS engine. Still looks like the P4. I'd love to build one.
This is exactly what ive said all these years. Ive allways wanted to hand make a SL300 body and put it on something reliable and similar. And Drive It.
Everyone i know makes fun of kit cars. The only thing wrong with a kit car is if it looks goofy. Or if the person is lying and saying its real.
Bravissimo! Great thoughts on these recreations.
In the aero world it's like hearing a Merlin 12V strapped into a recreated Mustang or Spitfire.
Great example of monocoque is the specialized Hemi fatboy BMX bike
I have two 24s
And a rare 22 incher
This is such an uplifting video & well said. Nothing wrong with having something more attainable.
Ficarra is the man!
Superformance their cars, GT40, Cobra, and Daytona are signed off by Shelby and Brock as “continuation” cars, get a Shelby vin for them. Even made with the same tooling as the originals. That’s about as close to real as you can get, with out having one from the 60’s, as far as I can tell.
The best part is you can get 1/2 finished projects for 1/2 price and finish them. So many people get burnt out and never finish them so they are everywhere
The D-type used a 3.4 litre engine and was the first race car to use 4 wheel disc brakes which helped them win Le Mans.
That is an interesting thing. There are a lot of cars that are worth in excess of their initial production value. Most vehicles are desired based on the driving experience they provide. It seems like replicas are a very undertapped market in those respects. Think of the F1. This legendary limited car that makes the driver the focus of the experience. It initially cost around a million dollars to buy one new, and in the time since they were new it has become easier to make products out of carbon fiber. Seems like for well under market value you could let people experience a dream. You don't need a vin number to have an experience.
@9:11 "Most people get these cars so they can drive them every day."
And the fact it is a replica means people can make modern technological upgrades that in turn make the car more enjoyable for everyday driving than the rare original would ever be. So for that use case, the replica is actually a superior choice to the original.
Irony is drive a real one on the street and people will think it's a kit car. I've driven many a real D Type around Sussex England as well as GT40's, Lightweight E Types, Cobras (427's, 289's) and squeezed through the traffic in the small village of Battle. By the way a real D Type has fantastic brakes with 6 pot front calipers and 4 pot rears with 20 brake pads in total.
Yes another Ficarra story 🎉😊
John is hands down the best story teller on this site.
It's a car you can drive and enjoy. You can also put modern components on it to bring it to a more modern standard.
Love the perspective in this video
I've always thought this. If Jaguar themselves did a "re run" of the D type... And it was exactly like this replica .... For me... It's a D type.... ❤️😜
Wait... 10:30 he said exactly this! Haha
The Kelmark with a Subaru EJ207 is pretty fast they also got the Kelmark made on a Mid Engineering chassis that you can put a LS in and that thing screams! Its all based on a little Dino Ferrari
I met a guy that had 250 swb but with the car worth 8 figures it never went outside. He bought a gto engineering recreation so that he could enjoy a car the was almost identical to his but worth 1% of the value of the real car
Had a coworker whose father was a Boston jeweler in the 1920s. He told me his father would often make a fake copy of expensive custom jewelry so the buyer could have something to wear to lesser social events while keeping the original in the safe.