Woof – where do you begin with this one? There’s no doubt the legion of kit cars that emerged from the 1980s represents an interesting assortment of attempts at creating clones of some of the most desirable sports cars to emerge from the Miami Vice era, but questions remain as to whether any of them came close doing justice of the model they purported to mimic. The Machiavelli Max GTS supposedly came closest to being a faithful replica of the Ferraro 308/328, but that honor hasn’t helped it become a collector car worth saving when found in rough condition. Still, there aren’t many left, and there are still plenty of kit car enthusiasts out there. Should this tired example here on craigslist be saved?

Now, I call this a junkyard find (because it sure as hell looks like it’s sitting in a junkyard) but the seller also has a parts/donor car that will go along with it – and he seems to indicate he purchased the duo as a project. So, perhaps this is just the case of someone who owns a junkyard and keeps his project cars parked on the property. The donor car is a 1989 Pontiac Trans Am which is one of the reasons the Machiavelli found more favor among enthusiasts: it actually had a V8 engine under its racy body, which made it seem more worthy of being a clone of a car that undoubtedly had strong performance from the factory. Many kit cars fall down in this regard, draping a racy body over a humble Fiero powerplant.

The Machiavelli was produced in very limited numbers from a factory in Florida. It’s no accident that we see these cars pop up in various locals across the Sunshine State, especially given the impact shows like Miami Vice had on car culture. Still, it’s important to remember that Don Johnson had a Daytona Spider replica and a Testarossa – I can’t recall if he spent any time behind the wheel of a white 308, but I don’t believe so. Regardless, you can see how the Machiavelli fits into a time and a place, particularly in south Florida. The seller’s car has been baking in the sun for quite some time, as the cosmetics appear to be absolutely ravaged.

In terms of being based around a Trans Am of the same period, I’m sure there’s plenty of overlap that will make putting this one back together not as impossible as we may think. But are items like the T-top panels unique to the Machiavelli or carried over from the Pontiac? Not sure, but those are important questions to ask before taking this project car duo home. The seller indicates that if you buy the Trans Am – which has its T-tops – you’ll have all the parts you need to make the Machiavelli complete, so perhaps there’s more compatibility than I first thought. The seller is asking $3,800 for the Machiavelli by itself, and $2,000 for the Trans Am parts car – and it’s all located in Okeechobee, FL.