Ferrari replicas, especially of the 308, are a dime a dozen. It’s just reality, and there must have been a period of time when there was money to be made in the exotic replica industry. As with any industry when there was a serious run-up in popularity of product or service, you see lots of players enter the space and only a few of them may actually have a product worth buying. In the case of kit cars, there was a Canadian company called Stinger that made an extremely compelling replica of the 308, and very few of them are floating around today. This is one of those cars, and it’s listed here on eBay with a Buy-It-Now of $35,000. Thanks to Barn Finds reader T.J. for the find.
It’s ironic that the company’s name was Stinger, since that’s now the foremost brand in the creation of million dollar “restomodded” Porsche 911s. I doubt there’s even a remote connection between the two, but the fact that a company in the 1980s with the same name built one of the best Pontiac Fiero-based Ferrari kits is quite a coincidence. Regardless, Stinger was already a bit of a household name in the replica exotic world, especially since the company had already been sued by Ferrari once for its realistic Daytona replica used on the original Miami Vice set. The 308 kit went to painstaking lengths to get the details right, with only a few variations from the real 308 like the back window.
There’s a great post on a Fiero forum that details the history of the Stinger kit, which apparently used fiberglass molds copied directly off the original 308 body panels. From what I can deduct, the creation of the Stinger used a variety of details from the 308 that went far beyond what most replica builders were integrating into their kits: the deep door scoops, hidden gas cap, Ferrari door handles, and even the proper spacing of the headlight pods. Obviously, the width of the Fiero was different and the rake of the windshield was also impossible to change, but really, all of the other efforts made to match the cars proportionally made up for the relatively few shortcomings of the Stinger kit.
The seller reports that Stinger was apparently sued for the 308 kit as well, which may explain why only 12 or so were ever made. I also don’t know how many ever made it out of Canada, but this one is located in Houston, Texas. The engine is a six-cylinder mill sourced from the Fiero (big surprise), which is really the only aspect of the Stinger that’s a bit of a let-down. A V8 swap, if the body will allow it, would be my first project with a car like this, along with the most exotic exhaust I could find. Other than that, the wheels could use some spacers to fill out those gorgeous arches. Have you ever seen a Stinger kit car in person?
Umm..the Porsche dood is Singer :P
Exactly! Named because the head of the company’s last name is Singer, and he was a singer in a well known 1990s alternative rock band named Catherine Wheel.
His name is Rob Dickinson, but yes, his 911 restoration/modding company is named Singer because he was frontman (singer and guitarist) of that band, and also in tribute to Porsche racing engineer Norbert Singer.
BTW, this article title says “Singer” rather than the correct “Stinger”.
If it was repainted it sure has many scratches and flaws, and if it is only a 4 speed why does the gated shifter have a extra slot? GLWS.
An extra gate to try and fake you out that it’s a Ferrari. They went as far as putting the Ferrari logo on the GM intake. I could view these cars with respect if they had the performance of an original, like a Factory Five Cobra. But not this car.
I can’t fathom someone paying anywhere close to $35,000 for this, especially when you consider what else is available for the same amount, or less. People in this site hate clones, these are clones on steroids.
Steve R
I think some clones hate people who like cars. This faux Ferrari is one.
This car needs some pre-sale detailing! I’ve never seen so much interior dust on a car that is sitting in a showroom! :-)! :-) BTW: Why is the site repeating portions of comments?
Kit replica cars have been around ever since VW started making Bugs. This kit is basically along the same shoddy lines except using more modern for the time Fiero underpinnings, that’s strike one. Strike two is the poorly fitted interior looks like it hasn’t been cleaned since about 1990. They are asking an arm and a leg for this car, and that’s a lot for a car that mimics the real thing but not very well. Strike three! (if i was Enzo, I’d have sued the outfit who came out with this contraption too!)
It won’t make $35K. Starting bid is $15K, more like it. LS’s weren’t around when this was put together, That’s what is needed to be done now. They used to install Caddy Northstar V8’s in the Fiero, so a big LS with a super duty Trans is required.
Be the first one on your block to have to explain this one, down at the Tasty Freeze, next summer. But the floor mats should help out….
Gee, didn’t I mention these Tom Selleck wannabe’s last week? The only rarity is how few Pontiac Fiascos are still on the road in ANY shape.
There are several companies that provide V8 conversion kits for the Fiero. A couple of the companies recommend the Cadillac Northstar V8 as the best choice to fit in the Fiero.
It’s kind of hard to tell because the pictures are close up, but I wonder what the car would look like from the side from a distance, like 15-20 feet. I didn’t read all the details, but I don’t know if the wheelbase was altered from the Fiero wheelbase? That’s typically where a lot of these replicas fall short is when they don’t have the correct wheelbase for the car they’re trying to imitate. But from the pictures shown, it looks pretty decent. Yeah, maybe it only has the Fiero V6 in there, but I would have to look how much horsepower the original Ferrari 308 car had versus the Fiero engine. Might go ok? The stock V6 Fiero was peppy.
By the way, the Ferrari Daytona in the Miami Vice series I believe was made by Tom McBurnie of McBurnie Coachcraft, not this Stinger/Singer company.
He should have listed it on BaT. There’s clone/ kit car lovers up the ying yang on that site.
Philbo427 is 100% correct about the THREE replica black Ferrari Daytona Spyders (actually C3 Corvettes) used in the first seasons of Miami Vice being by Tom McBurnie (and NOT Stinger/Singer). I don’t know how the author of the above could have messed this important fact up, which makes me question everything else contained in the article. Those Daytonas are/were some truly amazing cars (approximately 120 made) and THAT is a great story! Below is a link to an interview with the legendary Tom McBurnie himself about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRKxnCj5Gpk