This custom tribute car is designed to mimic the classic (and enormously valuable) Ferrari 250 GTO. As one of the more desirable Ferrari models, it’s no surprise they evolved into kit car status, often based on a Datsun 240Z/260z chassis. According to the seller, this example has far more work into than meets the eye, including a drivetrain from a V12-equipped Jaguar and a custom tube chassis that remains unfinished. The owner fell ill and the shop doing the work has elected to sell the car – but it’s not disclosed if they own it, or if it’s being sold on the owner’s behalf. Bidding is quite strong, rising to $20,100 with the reserve unmet. Find it here on eBay and located in Youngsville, North Carolina.
What I’d love to know (and is not disclosed) is how much of this bodywork is hand-formed. The history of this kit is a bit murky, and truthfully, I don’t know how much comes pre-formed in a box and how much the builder has to create from scratch. In terms of the seller, their account name is “aluminum shaper”, which makes me curious is this replica skews more towards the hand-built side of things. Regardless, the lines of the Datsun-based creations always seemed fairly sympathetic to the original car, even if the proportions are impossible to replicate. The seller mention that the 50-spoke wire wheels are staggered and custom built for the car makes me think some real money was being spent on this tribute car.
The Datsun-based 250s utilize a few different engine options, with many of them sticking with the tried and true inline six from the Z car. The builder of this example set his sights higher, choosing a V12 from a modern-day Jaguar paired to a Tremec manual transmission. Impressively, it’s been set up with six carburetors with custom manifolds and throttle linkages with air cleaners. The noise this thing will make when it’s fired up for the first time will be wonderful, and I suspect at least some of the bidding is being driven by the impressive levels of attention to detail. Someone wanted this replica to move out like the real thing and to sound fairly exotic, so it’s one of the better executed replicas I can remember seeing.
As noted, the chassis features a custom tube design with a Ford nine-inch housing and four-link axles. The front features a setup from a Mustang with two tubular control arms, manual steering rack, coilover suspension, and disc brakes. There’s absolutely nothing that wasn’t done here with an eye towards having this replica be a true performance car at the end, in addition to being a fitting tribute car. The market for these replicas is an interesting one, where buyers clearly pay real money for good cars that have been assembled to exacting specifications, and it’s no surprise that this Ferrari 250 tribute is going for very real money at the moment.
Leaving the frame bare metal is going to require pulling the body and doing a whole lot of work that should have been done initially. The time and money to finish the car is going to be in the huge category but it should be a good one.
It may cost as much to finish this off as one of the already existing GTO fakes based on an old Ferrari GTE or 330 will cost – and that gives you the Ferrari V12 in place of the Jaguar money sucker.
5.3 liter v12 Jag and tremec 5 speed should give it a lot more HP and top speed than the original 250 GTO, a local guy has one on a E type 6 cylinder chassis. It is so close to original, he claims it is a real GTO.
Funny how they can shoehorn a Jag V12 into a Datsun 240Z chassis but can’t do it with a Series 1 XKE.
That’s an awful lot of money for some questionable fabrication work on the body and frame.. hopefully the bidders have inspected what they’re potentially buying there…
This is a replica with potential, but the buyer will–to some extent–be poking in the dark as far as the amount of money that will need to be spent. One thing that I would change is those wire wheels. If you are going to invest a lot of money into making an upper-scale replica (sort of…it will never be totally accurate because of smaller 240Z dimensions), then DON’T put on BOLT-ON wire wheels–custom-made or not! They cheapen/spoil the effect and cry “kit car!!” to the four winds! REAL centre-lock wire wheels…especially with real Borrani knock-offs, would cry “authenticity” and give the finished car a classy aura.
This isn’t based on a 240Z. It appears to be all hand formed.
George: the article above does say that the kit is Datsun-based. I can even see Datsun Z car lines, particularly around the roof, the windscreen and the windows. It is probably based on a Rhino kit from the 1980s.
Agreed! The Last time I saw a real set of Borani knock-off wheels was about $1k/wheel!
There’s going to be a lot of finish work. The body panels are impressive, however they also all have impressive gaps. They are all only spot welded in place, leaving lots of body work.
Unsold at $28,400.00
George: the article above does say that the kit is Datsun-based. I can even see Datsun Z car lines, particularly around the roof, the windscreen and the windows. It is probably based on a Rhino kit from the 1980s.
The article is wrong to claim this is Datsun based. Obviously scratch built … and will take a whole lot more scratch to finish! Joe Alphabet was the originator of 240Z based GTO replicas nearly 40 years ago.
There is no Datsun Z to be found anywhere in this, despite any implications in the above description.
I could be wrong but last a i checked making a 250 GTO replica is a bad idea cause Ferrari has a patent or patent like thing on the car and went as far as having it declared a work of art and if they find out about it there taking it no questions asked. i could be wrong and it could have changed so dont quote me on that.