This is something like the third McBurnie replica Ferrari 250 GTO we’ve featured in the last few weeks after not seeing any for years. It always makes me wonder if an owner sees one sell for a good price, they’re suddenly inclined to sell their own, hoping for a payday. It is a far cheaper way into Ferrari 250 GTO ownership, but just how much fun can you have fooled some of the people? Find it here on eBay in the UK, with one bid to $12,500 and the reserve unmet.
Now, I will be the first to admit, for a kit car replica, this is better than most. But I still cannot for the life of me understand why you’d cough up north of $10K for the privilege of ownership. If, say, these traded hands for Kelmark money, sure – blow $2K, have some fun, give it to the next guy. But to want to invest in one, you either have to really love the GTO (and not be able to afford a real one) or really want to make your Datsun Z-Car into something other than the 240 or 260 this is based on.
I mean, two minutes in that interior will convince you that even the most naive car “enthusiast” won’t be fooled. Could you make a leather dashboard, fix up the stitching and obtain some high-grade vintage Scheel bucket seats for the full effect? Absolutely. But once you tally all that up, what else could you have bought? Now, I know about glass houses, having owned some oddballs myself – but at least it wasn’t a replica of something I couldn’t afford to own.
All that said, if you must own a copy of the real deal, buying something based on a vintage Datsun 240Z is a good place to start. I’m beginning to wonder if the uptick in prices for those cars is causing speculators to cast a distant eye towards replicas like these with a sound Datsun chassis and drivetrain underneath as a possible investment vehicle. It’s either that or far too many people wish to own a Ferrari replica that is fooling no one.
i would not be tossing 10 large at this but ……. if i were to own it or someone in the family gave it to me cheaply or as an inheritance i could see keeping it.
i would remove all badges and script that indicated ‘ferarri’ as let’s face it i am not into being a poser. if anyone asked i’d tell them it’s a kit car based on a datsun and i like the flow of the lines. which i do.
They are definitely being unique with a LHD 250 GTO/Z car kit in England.
I was nearby the El Cajon Ca. location of the McBurnie empire in the mid-80s when the black Daytona wannabe was used on MIAMI VICE, liked the quality of the ‘glass work a lot. One Friday turned out ‘not good’ for him. He received a Cease & Desist order from Ferrari, and (iirc) divorce papers. That evening on Vice, the black Daytona was blown up.
One of the 250s was used in an ep of CRIME STORY.
I like the lines on the outside of the car, it looks to be well done. The interior not so much. I would have left the inside just like Datsun made it. Maybe used the steering wheel for fun. To me it is like buying ground effects for your car, mostly bolt on stuff that makes it look cooler and maybe hug the road a lil better if your lucky. But not for that kind of money.
So when did that six become fuel-injected? I had a ’78 and I know by that time they did, but…
considering a real one just sold for a reported 70 million dollars, a replica is about as close to ownership as any but a very few of us can ever hope to achieve.
Most of these comments must be from young folks, i’m 74 years old and bought a beautifully 62 Red Ferrari 250 GTO Replica put on 1976Datsun frame, running gear,….etc. I can’t begin to tell you how many “thumbs up” I get, how many wonderful people I have met, how many pictures I take of them standing by the car. I certainly am not trying to fool anyone at my age but it is simply the prettiest car I have ever seen. There were only 36 ever made, I could never afford the real thing so I enjoy making myself and others happy. I get a lot of enjoyment tinkering around with this car,reminds me when my dad and I scavenged wrecking yards for parts because we couldn’t afford the new part. I can only speak for myself when I say I have never had more enjoyment with driving and meeting nice people than these past three weeks,….simply wonderful. I mean even writing this is sweet. I have a very successful restaurant my deceased wife and I started with no restaurant experience, all the photos of her with celebrities, presidents and sports figures hanging on the wall autographed does not fool our customers that we know them or that have even been in the restaurant but some have and others may and the pleasure of making others happy is probably why we are so popular after 34 years. Like Richard Pryor said, “You don’t get to be old being a fool, there’s a lotta of wise, young dead ———————- out there!”
@JT Thomas. Please do us all a favour and post some pics of your car, especially the dash. Sounds like a nice one.
Absolutely. I would gladly drive the hell out of it and have a blast doing it. Cheers my friend!
Hallo JT.Thomas. Dein Kommentar bereichert mich. Ich bin etwa im selben Alter und besitze einen Ferrari 250GTO auf Chassis 240Z Baujahr 1972. Mich quält die Frage soll ich den historischen originalgetreuen Replica in meinem Alter noch behalten oder lieber an einen neuen Enthusiasten abgeben ?
LG Paul
I’m with redwagons second paragraph.I view this as a kit car,and I’d add,a step above many others.There was one on ebay a month or two ago that was built on a shortened Jaguar V12 chassis,using the V12 and its running gear.Now that would be fun.(Needed wiring,some other stuff,but didn’t meet reserve @ 10K).That’s way different than a VW based car,and I would see that one as being worth the money.This Datsun based car will be interesting to watch.Also,I heard that the first kit car was at Pebble Beach recently,and read that they’re starting to get some attention? Maybe a fad for well-heeled folks,who knows? Oh yeah,the Cobra is a kit car,isn’t it?
Rather have a real 240 our 260z than a fake Ferrari. 😎
$12K is a lot cheaper than the last sale of a real Ferrari 250 GTO @ $45MM. Ride around the Hoity Toity neighborhood where you live and impress the neighbors.
Hell they’re too stupid to know the difference between your poser and the real thing!!!
@Bull. So are most of the not so stupid people !! I had a friend who owned an Aston Martin DB 6, I think it was, however, the engine caught fire and melted so he replaced it with a 4,2 L Jaguar DOHC engine with the Jaguar name, which was embossed on the cam covers, ground and polished off. Unless you were an Aston Martin aficionado you couldn’t tell that it wasn’t an Aston engine.
Rick,I was at Rj simrocks shop that same week.mcburnie was 2 steps ahead of Marshalls , emptying inventory….Ken
I had the chance to flail one of these off a Used Car lot back in ’94. Fun lil beast. Had the salesman curled up in the passenger foot well, hitting a 90 degree corner at @85. Brakes worked well and drifted thru nicely. It was only $1800, back then
Since there was already a lot of 250 GTO / 365 GTB/4 Ferrari in the Datsun 240Z I suppose it’s a decent place to start if you want to do a cheap GTO.
But the rear hatch is an instant giveaway, and good early 240Zs are already selling for quite a bit more than this car is bid to, so you’re giving away value if you do this to a good early Z car.
To Harry H. – HA! I did the same thing in my ’78! It was my first date with a gal named Lisa, and I took that thing around a corner at about 70+ at 55th and Ward Pkwy. in KCMO, and she was white-knuckled gripping the sides of her seat! Good times!
Never really understood the replica car idea. Half the fun of owning an interesting car is being able to talk with people about it and knowing that it has a history. I don’t know what kind of fun it for these people when they show up on the street and people say, “I like your Ferrari”, and they have to say “well it’s not really a Ferrari…”
Would anybody like to eat fake pizza? Fake news Fake cars, What next !
After doing restorations and cookie cutter hot rods for a living, I appreciate the opportunity a kit car provides. While many fail to impress, its a reflection of who built it. However there is NO RULES!,, You pick what you like or will work well, And you CAN build something amazing. Clearly many dont get it and never will, But for someone who has built a lot of vehicles the feeling you DONT have to conform to silly rules or the rivet counters is an incredible feeling, Much like Rat rods, It can run a Ford rear end, a Aftermarket trans, a Chevy Engine, Datsun headlights, And a Porsche rear window and corvette windshield. Plus going to swap meets or shopping online is so much MORE fun!
The Fun at a show is that you dont care about listening to some blow hard who spent $$$$$ paying someone else and how it took 15 years to source certain parts. (Checkbook restorers) Also who cares you used the wrong year battery terminals or the valve cover decals are for the wrong series?
I have a friend who had a REAL AC Cobra and a concours show after a few drinks ran his mouth that they would never go over XXXXX Amount of money. There was a roll off truck and a cashiers check in his driveway the next day. Ooops! Well, he went ahead and sold the car. Replaced it with a kit car replica and now has a blast driving the wheels off it, The other one had just collected dust in his garage as too scary to drive, insure and protect it. Kit cars CAN fill a niche.
So you won’t be invited to Concorso Italiano! Who cares? You can drive the **** out of this one and not worry-although these will probably appreciate in parallel with real ones (obviously at a lesser rate). The construction /modification choices have already been made for you for the most part, so there’s no guilt about having chopped up a restorable Z. If you buy cars to enjoy driving them more than bragging about them or making a profit on them, this could be a load of fun. I live by the following dictum, as related to me by a wealthy Westporter surveying his yet-again defunct Audi-“Never buy a car to impress someone”.
No thanks, I don’t do replicas! Looks like maybe a fun driver, but it’s just not a Ferrari! I am sure that it would be a letdown!
How many Camaros got faked as Z-28’s or Mustangs as Shelby’s? I have no problem with that unless the owner /seller is trying to misrepresent the vehicle in a sale (which is fraud.) Hummer kits for Suburbans, 48 Ford front ends for T-birds. I wouldn’t do most but the 250 GTO is one of the best looking vehicles ever made, and as many have pointed out, is way past the financial capabilities of most everyone on this site.
to each their own, I can’t own so who am I to say (4 others).
If it floats yer boat – U add happiness to (our) my world, that’s
a good thing for us (me). opinion? (every1s got em) don’t hack
a Z car, restore it to orig specs
With the prices original 240’s are bringing don’t waste one. There is a cherry 72 on Bring a Trailer that is at 37.5 K with two days to go in the auction and a very nicely modified of the same vintage, probably the things most of us would do if inclined to modify, went for mid 20’s so if you have a nice 240 then put some money in it to keep it right and you will probably do great.
Beside me as I write is a 1/12 model of the GTO. The only 1/12 model I own When a replica comes up I check it against the model. This one isn’t bad. The wheelbase is long enough for a start, that’s what kills the MX5-based versions. OK the hatch, the fuel filler, even, oddly, the tail lights.
But the GTO was such a beautiful car.
However when you’re driving, you can’t see that it’s a beautiful car, so now you’re just driving a Datsun. Perhaps not so good, never had one.
Maybe one day I’ll see one that tempts me. Meantime I have the model and in two weeks I’ll be at The Revival watching these multi-million$ cars being thrashed as was intended.
In May, I was at Prescott, there was a SWB racing up the hill, there was a crowd in the paddock debating whether this or that was ‘right’. The owner had had the car built years ago. He took a genuine GTE and had it turned into a replica SWB.
Here’s a pic.
Another lovely car.
@8V8. Enjoy the Goodwood Revival.
I have been 4 times now and enjoy it more every time I go. Unfortunately I can’t make it this year but, look out 2019 ! It’s one of those events like Hershey, it’s one of THE events that, as an old car person, you just have to see at least once in your lifetime.
That looks REALLY good for a 1/12th model replica! :)
(just pulling on your tie rod!)
Many of us can only go and drool at such cars, a kit car is an opportunity to build something cool and amazing, with the pride you did it yourself, Some standards exceed others, some not so much.
But I agree,,,BEAUTIFUL car!