OzBargain has just discussed fake/replica watches. Based on comment vote ratios, the community seems to be generally in favour of fakes or replicas. I'm curious as to how the community feels about replica cars.
I remember seeing two replica Ferraris for sale:
How would you feel about a $15,000 car with a $5,000 body kit complete with Ferrari badges? Ignoring hurdles like registering such a car, is such a car ever worth while?
Nice, that's almost a /thread.
How would you feel about a $15,000 car with a $5,000 body kit complete with Ferrari badges
Very embarrassed.
No. Nothing fake is ever worth while. I rather buy cheap stuff than fake stuff. If you buy fake stuff, you should hand your ozbargain badge over since you like ripping yourself off.
replica AC Cobra would like a word.
Bought at fake PS3 controller from China for $3.50 shipped. Works perfectly, once per week, as a netflix remote for mum.
Most people won't know your watch is fake. Everyone's going to know when your car that sounds like it has asthma is getting gapped by a camry.
I guess that's an aspect I haven't covered - high end replica cars. If it's almost indistinguishable on the outside, closer engine to the original.
Does this make it more acceptable?
like this?
http://www.jaguarreplicas.com/d-type/
then yes
not to mention the swathe of 30's style rods that are fibreglass
.
Nice cars. I remember seeing a segment on top gear a few years back.
I didn't think about this case. Even in the watch community, I think replicas of old out of production models is seen as acceptable.
@ihfree: Specifically, the copyright on the body shape disappears after 40 (I think) years, which is why replicas of more recent cars are rare.
Electronic Sound Effects (FX) to the rescue !!!!
I (and Jay Leno) have no issues for high end replicas for cars that are 1:1. There's an Argentinian company which sells bugatti replicas and they're amazing.
Does that include Holden cars / utes with a 'Chevrolet' badge on the boot?
M badges, AMG badges,
The fact that manufactures themselves are whoring out those performance division badges to their run of the mill range is ridiculous. BMW are definitely the worst offenders out of the big four German brands.
But I do get a kick out of seeing an obviously crooked and misplaced M badge on a 318.
The only people who care to know what M is, knows it’s not an M car. That’s the irony.
I've seen a Cruze with a bow tie front & rear
.
They're both rebadged Daewoos.
I don’t see the point of trying to make it lol like another car. I can see modifying a car is good though.
I think it depends on the car and the distinction between fakes and replicas.
It's uncool to try to pass off a replica as the real thing (that would be a fake), but there are some classic models that now have an established history of high-quality replicas being built for people to enjoy because there were so few originals made.
I think the world is more fun for having so many more Cobras than the 998 originally made. You won't get one for $20k though.
Some info: https://dyler.com/posts/545/cobra-replica
A Cobra would be okay. Maybe one of the new Lotus 7 kits.
cobra and lotus 7 are the only acceptable fakes
And Jaguar E-Type.
Hope their cars are better than their website
This site can’t be reached
www.roaringforties.com.au took too long to respond.
Due to the current environment RF GT40 will be suspending its trade until further notice.
There's a few reputable 'replica' or 'kit car' companies. Superformance of Seth Africa. RCR. UItima.
https://www.superformance.com/factory
https://www.ultimasports.co.uk/Models/EvoCoupe
These are super legit and awesome.
Of course I abhor Ferrari kits on an MR2 etc. But really, I dont care what people spend their money on. Idiiots deserve to get taken.
HOWEVER in NSW at least, its difficult to register these kinds of things. YOu need to go the ICV path so that high cost of entry limits things.
Also, as if you even see these sorts of things any more. My question would be that the older performance cars of the past, maybe the HSV VT SS or older Japanese imports, they are getting very rare, so any consideration of replicas is moot.
I don't mind a GTHO or any of the Toranas done up as replicas.
I think it only sort of works on the old muscle cars. Most of the things are the same as a base anyway.
Not a fan of MR2s passed off as a Ferrari etc
Hate fake M and AMG badges.
LOL!
Not my style, but also, I actually don't mind that too much. I think that very much falls into the modding category.
The MR2 isn't actually a bad car. Might actually become a classic one day. Throw a $5k body kit on it and you ruin your whole $20k.
I did see this story about an NSX to Ferrari conversion. It is sad to see future classics destroyed.
A car Senna gave input to no less
They're probably just Mad Max fans
Chevy badges where its at
This is like when people DIY paint there old bathroom tiles/kitchen bench top.
There is a difference between a fake and a replica.
Replicas are usually built off the same engineering plans or reverse engineered to be that same, or better, than the originals. You can have modifications made during assembly or modern upgrades and still have the look ok the old with the performance of the new.
Fakes are poor quality copies made to dupe you out of money by stating they are part of the original '250 made' or so.
A porerra is never going to be confused with a 911, but looks a lot better than a hitlerwagen.
Yes, I buy hot rods for my mantle all the time.
A replica car will always be what it is - a fake, with nothing unique about it to give it value.
What's the point? You know it's fake and everyone else knows it's fake. It'll just be an embarrassment to take out anywhere.
I would guess it's because you enjoy the look of another car/supercar but don't see value when you can recreate it cheaply or maybe you just enjoy the look and want something with a cool design.
I've previously seen pictures of an MR2 with a ferrari bodykit and it looks nothing like the the real thing. It looks really flimsy and the wheels don't even fill ou the wheel wells properly. It just looked weird! haha
Agree. The Ferrari kits seem to be a really poor replica. It’s different when the replica is a dimensionally correct body kit in every way (ie identical) or that the kit is an homage like the beetle kits that make them look kinda like a Porsche but it’s obviously a beetle.
It’s like animations of people. When it’s an exaggerated stylistic person it’s ok, but when it’s an almost lifelike but slightly odd person it’s just creepy.
@Euphemistic: Dad had a beetle back in the late 60s and it came with Porsche suspension and brakes, not a replica, but a great handling beetleand something that was done at the time I beleiev even from the factory (maybe someone could confirm?)
Could be worse, could be riced up JDM non-turbo cars (Skylines etc)
Or even worse… a Haval H2.
You get what you pay for. A "replica" with a different wheel base will have that uncanny valley not quite right look. Those tend to be bad.
Some cars are so rare, that finding an original would be impossible, and so if you want something as close as possible, or even better than the original, that's a possibility.
There are also kit cars that aren't exact copies of anything, just original designs. There's a guy on YouTube making one like that with a Tesla motor. It looks pretty good. In his case, he is spending a lot, and taking a long time to complete it.
As for MR2s with cheap kits, well those will look like MR2s with cheap kits.
Purvis Eureka, which was a replica of a Nova, which was loosely based on random Supercars of the era: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purvis_Eureka
If it looks real, who gives a crap. You’re talking utterly impractical “look at me” items, if you can pull it off, go for it- I’ll still think you’re a loser wanting to be looked at though.
I think they well and truly qualify. Done right, they definitely have their place. A couple of recent ones below that I thought were done very well. The VAYDAR in particular can put you in a hyper-looking car for a fraction of the price and the g35 base used is a great car IMO.
VAYDAR - https://www.carolinavaydor.com/
Plymouth XNR (only 1 of 1 original ever built) - https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.hotcars.com/gotham-garage-c…
Last I saw, Gotham Garage should still have the original and only blueprints for the XNR.
Roaring 40s give the original GT40 so many modern options, same goes with good quality cobra kits, glass hotrods, list goes on.
The vaydar models are moving away from replica and into custom car territory. Mich more acceptable as it’s not trying to be something it really isn’t.
Na na na na na na na, na na na na na na Batman!! I’d drive a fake Batmobile with pride 😎
But what is the ANCAP safety rating?
Does anyone even care about that?
I never heard someone saying they bought this car over the other because it had a higher ANCAP safety rating.
It was a joke.
But to answer your question, my wife and I always check the rating. Wife's last car was a Mazda 3 and next car will most likely be one as well.
"replica definition: 1. an exact copy of an object"
A replica is not the same as a completely different car with a body kit.
Good quality replicas of some cars, such as the AC Cobra, can be really cool and perform very close to the original. Great for motoring enthusiasts who want to own something special
A Hyundai with a body kit is just a trashy look-a-like for attention seekers.
Several years ago we went to Top Gear Live at the indoor arena at Homebush.
One of the segments was 3 or 4 "Ferraris" drifting / circle work indoors.
As soon as the cars started the arena started to play really load music drowning out the car's engine noise. At the time I was really disappointed that we did not get to hear the engines.
Found out later that the "Ferraris" were really MR2's with bodykits………
Damn, never realised there was something like this, that does sound like a bit of fun.
here is the thing, a fake rolex super replica it still looks and feels like a rolex, it replicates the look and feel %98-99 percent to an original watch, sometimes the movement is replaced with a Japanese or a china replica movement, it still ticks away, the way you experience the authenticity is through visual and hand feel, if the replica can replicate those two than it has done an amazing job (which most super replicas can in 2021)
a replica car on the other hand, if it can replicate the look %100 (which i highly doubt any replica car company can) than you have only ticked off one thing about what makes a car "a car". you see with cars its not only about look. its about speed, sound, acceleration, the FEEL.. the mechanical harmony of transmission and engine, throttle response, gear change, it all works like clock work. if a replica maker company would spend that long trying to replicate that they would have done a great job, again it has not been done to date. i bet you are looking at them shitty mr2 body kits comapnies all over youtube or that batman joker vaydar infinity car kit that makes cars look like a bootleg lambo/ferrari or something lol. dude forget it, but on the other hand there are some legit kit cars like the factory five 33 hot rod or the mustang that you can build in your garage it comes with everything needed, all you need is engine and gearbox, those cars are great, look em up on YouTube factory five hotrod or mustang, those are the only kit cars i would ever consider if i was in the market for such a project.
dont fall for the advertised tag price of 20k supercar lol. what you see in the video probably cost them 60-70k usd all up on the road. with that kind of money you are still driving a 15k infinity under the skin, or g35 is what its called here in aus. why not take that money and get a proper car like a clean second hand a45 AMG or c63 AMG or M2/M3 or RS3?
what if i was a millionare, but not a billionare. would putting boeing 747 badges on my learjet be considered ok?
Probably would break most air authority rules about misidentifying your aircraft.
i dont think air traffic control look at the physical badges on a plane when trying to identify them
I have a replica VK Brock Blue Meanie worth 80K
A guy in Wisconsin made a perfect Countach replica, albeit with V8 power and DeTomaso Pantera gearbox.
Only took him 17 years!
https://www.techeblog.com/another-look-at-ken-imhoffs-amazin…
The type you're talking about are an embarrassment. Super ugly and lacking any feeling of quality.
I think the people who are building new classic cars like Jaguar E-Type, AC Cobra, etc. are great though.
….you do realise a car is 100x more than a fake watch?
I like replicas of old classic cars that are rare and can’t be bought by mortals genuine. But real replicas of the whole car and engine, not body kits of modern cars. If you’re even in a major crash and your wreck gets photographed on news or social media, your cheap body kit will be a national joke for the day.
it's a bit of a cringe at the price point, i wouldn't call it a replica - it will be a very apparent asthmatic fake which is embarassing. you'll get more street cred driving a tuned old S2000/MX-5/86/WRX/skyline.
not to mention a nightmare to insure and resale
Base model cars with badges from performance models, or poorly done bodykits aren't classed as "replicas".
Definitely worthwhile for some cars.
As for the mr2 Ferrari, no way.
But a Shelby Cobra kit? Hell yeah.
Considering a real one would potentially cost millions, kit cars are a great option.
Depends on who you ask.
I have a neighbour who has a nissan(infiniti) skyline/g35 or g37 (whatever the hell nissan calls it) with a gtr 35 bodykit on it.
I look at it and quite frankly I would be embarrassed to be seen driving in it. Probably won't matter to people who don't know what it is.
Though admittingly, there was a period of my life when I was in highschool and saw that body kit on a youtube video thinking it was cool. Seeing it in person and maybe because I've gotten older, hell no.
Slap an AMG on your Toyota and call it a day
Ferrari 250gto replica pretty much built from scratch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqyDZMWv4zM
So who wouldn't mind this?
I reckon you'd have to be the ultimate (profanity) to try something like that. I won't mention the type of people who think this is cool - they already know who they are.
I reckon it depends on the intent and the circumstance. I've seen plenty of build logs of people who genuinely love a classic car that they wish to pay homage to in their replica and the amount of skill/work that this takes is no small joke. I have nothing but respect for the people doing this.
I've never even seen a fake/replica car, so I doubt this is any widespread issue, but the actual issue IMHO is the fakery going on at the manufacturers, e.g. Mercedes putting an "AMG" label on some silly A-class that can't even outrun a Camry. This diminishes the brand, lineage and identity of cars far more than any "fake/replica" would.
I'm okay with a kit car that you build. Those are pretty cool.
Fiero with Ferrari bodykit, not so much.
In my opinion, the only replica cars that are worth anything significant at the moment are Mazda 808's that are converted to rx3's (if you know, you know if you don't, you have Google) and Holden vk Brock blue meanies and VL walkinshaw replicas, the rest like the suggested MR2 Ferrari replicas are only worth what someone is willing to pay for a poorly fitted body kit which looks nothing like the original car. A good replica VL walkinshaw these days are worth north of 100k which is decent considering the VL executive it started off as is worth around 15k or less.
What a car to own. Probably will be the most expensive Holden sold I think, I think it has past the w1 ute already so the skies the limit on this one, being Brock's personal car does help it along… But yes, why buy a rep😎
No
What about Toyota 86 with BRZ logos?