The seller of this BMW-powered kit car doesn’t know what make the car is, or even where it came from – all he knows is that it belonged to his father, who recently passed away. There’s been some chatter about the unusual kit on Twitter, where some users feel it is connected to the famous Cheetah line of sports cars, which others fairly assess it’s part of the Ginetta family of you-build-its. Find it here on eBay listed at no reserve with bidding just over $400.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Russell C. for the find. Determining the origins of a kit car is a daunting task, as information and records are usually spotty, and multiple copy cars existed in the 60s and 70s who ripped off popular designs and sold them at a modest discount. This one is a huge question mark in terms of history, but perhaps one of our readers knows what kind of kit car it is.
The BMW mill is an interesting choice, as most kit cars from this era made do with air-cooled VW powerplants. This looks like a pretty meaty six-cylinder, maybe even the venerable M30, but it’s hard to tell (plus, that looks like a carb on there, which the M30 engine obviously does not utilize). The seller does not know much of anything about the car, from its brand name to its mechanical health.
Obviously, we feel for the seller, as a quick Google did not reveal any immediate answers. Fortunately, the selling price is so low that even the most skittish buyer could likely lodge a bid without getting into too much trouble, and they may even find they’ve purchased a rare and desirable one-off. Can any of our readers shed some light on this sports car mystery in Wisconsin?
Corvette tail lights…..
Great eye DayDreamBeliever, and they look good on this.
Kinda looks like a Kellison Astra with the roof cut off and an early Sunbeam Alpine removable hardtop. BMW M30s had carbs in the early 70s. The Bavaria has a 3-liter M30 with two Solexes.
The general look of the thing is Kellison-ish.
Why do you think it’s a 6?…looks like 4 intake runners to me…2002 or 1600?
Yep, looks like an M10 motor out of a 2002.
It belonged to your father and no clue about anything ? Seems sad
It might belong to a flipper. Claiming the car belonged to a family member puts potential buyers at ease and let’s them get away without knowing answers to questions buyers typically ask. I watch a couple of flippers on eBay, every car they sell belongs to a family member.
Steve R
I am not a flipper. Just a daughter that ‘inherited’ this mystery and had to pay to relocate this vehicle. I would like someone to breathe life back into it and that’s not going to happen in my driveway, unfortunately.
Hi there- I wanted to let you know that this is my vehicle and the only thing that is sad is that my father got too sick to ever restore this car, and passed away last October. I know as much about this vehicle as my dad did. Unfortunately he’s been sick for the past ten years and didn’t have the energy to restore this car, like originally planned. He always wished he knew more about it as well. I appreciate barnfinds.com listing it and trying to identify this mystery, so someone else can enjoy it and breathe the life back into it that it deserves.
Good luck with the sale.
I agree with Rik. Looks like the M10 Engine, out of a BMW 2002.
I think a bit of interest might be recognizing the origin of the windscreen, quite a pleasing shape but I’m unable to place what car it came from. Where did anyone see the engine or number of cylinders of the engine ?
Looks like it’s from an E-type coupe.
Too straight up and down.
Might be from an E-Type 2+2
I know the ad calls this a fiberglass car, and the nose looks to be, from the cracked off area over the driver’s side wheel, but the rest kind of looks like metal. It looks like the bottom of the door is dented, as does the passenger wheel arch, and the lip around the trunk looks kind of silvery and a little too thin for glass? Figuring out what the right curved back glass for this is might be a terrible chore.
Hortonville, Virginia…..
Horton hears a who, or more like a WHAT
Once restored I think it could look like a very nice sports car, and if it has a sensible running gear, could be a bit of a performer. Good looking special IMO.
Can anyone identify the right upper A arm in the engine picture? Might help in finding what frame it’s on. Nice looking body. Don’t think Kellison ever built anything that looked this good. I’d vote for the early 1.6 engine.
I see a 121 cylinder head with a 68 date stamp. So an early 2.0 M10 engine.
Or a 121T. Also a manual choke cable and 2002-style throttle linkage. Dying for more pictures.
Bultaco… Could that windshield be off an Alpine? Or maybe a Triumph? Would explain why the top sits so good on it….
I did some checking and it looks like a TR-4 Windshield that could be unbolted from the rest of the body. The hardtop looks familiar as well but it is most certainly modified. I have helped build a couple of kit cars notable a Fiberfab Jamaican and a couple of Cobra kits. This is a real mess. All the details that take so long to figure out and are so difficult to fabricate are NOT done. What is done has been damaged in many ways so it would almost be like starting from scratch.
If it has a 2002 chassis and engine/transmission that is a great start as both were excellent designs. but this is not so much a kit as a collections of parts that could be made into a car if you are willing to put in the work and funds to make it happen. Having a willing wife and at least a double car garage / shop would be critical as well. Been there and done that with cars that were better designed from the start and I would pass on this one.
I think the windshield is from an Alpine series 1 (about 1959-1963). It’s possible that the chassis is also from the Alpine.
I don’t care what the car is, i’d absolutely LOVE to have it. I sadly don’t have the money to take on a project right now.
No air cooled VW Engine. That got my attention!
Doubt it’s a ginetta.
Gsuffa. Got it. Good eye. Like it even better.
ugh, ship it to the UK and call it a gem
Windshield looks like an E-type one.
I wonder if it’s a patchwork one off, like they got a mold of an E-type bonnet and pieced together the rest of the car off various other parts in the same way. That bonnet really looks like it’s off an E-type. The Devin was a mold off an Italian car, I know that specials of that period did that kind of thing a lot.