The going price for an authentic Ferrari Daytona Spyder can be $700,000 to $1,000,000. What if you could drive a car that looks very similar for $40k? Well, this example is a 1989 Chevrolet Corvette underneath and a Ferrari Daytona Spyder on the outside. It is listed here on Craigslist and is being sold from Miami, Florida (where else!) but is located in Pennsylvania. The seller is asking $39,999 and this Miami Vice special was just listed today.The title of the car shows it is a 1972 Chevrolet even though it is powered by a more modern Corvette engine. We appreciate TJ for finding this unique car and sending it our way.
The car is powered by the Corvette 5.7 liter Tuned Port Injection engine backed by a 5 speed manual transmission. This reliable drivetrain was good for 245 horsepower and looks great under the hood. The car has air conditioning and is said to be in good running order. The car features Ansa style dual exhaust, power windows and vintage cross laced Daytona knock off wire wheels. The seller believes the car was built in California by Exotic Coach Craft.
The interior looks pretty stunning and was upgraded to look like the Daytona Spyder interior from the early 1970s. The one thing that might give it away as a Corvette is the seats and particularly the headrests. The tan seats have black inserts and the console and dash are customized so as not to look like they came from a GM design studio. The car is missing a radio but you can see the speakers mounted in the doors.
The black exterior paint is said to be in good condition but it does have some blemishes. The interior also had a few flaws as this car is not new and has been driven. The convertible top is not shown in the ad but is said to look OK for its age. That kind of description sounds like the convertible top needs to be replaced. This looks like a fun car that would draw lots of attention and its underpinnings are a reliable GM car.
Cool, but not for me.
The dashboard and the sweep of the windshield give it away.
Also the chrome teardrop door handles, standard Pininfarina issue as used on late Fiat and Alfa Spiders and Ferrari 400/412 among others, but never used on any legit Daytonas, which had a nearly-hidden chrome release trigger atop the rear corner of the doors.
Door handle different, save $700k, check.
might be a L98 engine from an ’89 but I recognize that firewall, that is a C3 chassis.
That would explain the ’72 title.
The insoluble problem with all these replica cars is that you might be impressing someone you don’t know and will never see again as you drive down the freeway. Those you do know and see on a regular basis will know it’s a fake. You cannot go to a Ferrari club meet because you will be shunned like the plague, so you are relegated to the local cars and coffee strip mall next to the ubiquitous Mustangs, Chevys and small block T-buckets.
So what, it’s a cool looking design and you won’t worry about it out in the public, it won’t cost nearly what a real one would for insurance, repairs and maintenance, fuel…and who wants to hang out with the Ferrari crowd, anyway? Certainly not the owner of this car. This is a win/win for the owner, all of the fun and attention and none of the worries and expenses.
Thanks Gippy ha ha ha ha ha I love it.
I guess I am just a Blue Collar type of guy, but being shunned by by the Ferrari crowd and spending time with the Novas, Camaros and Mustangs sounds good.
Yep, I’d feel like a doofus driving this around pretending to be Sonny Crockett.
OTOH, you could just “commit to the bit” and get an unlined white linen jacket, pastel sleeveless muscle tee, and huarache loafers (sans socks), then if anyone tries to give you guff about not driving a real Daytona, just say, “Neither did Crockett” in parting as you don your Ray Bans and go about your day enjoying a drive in your fun, fast, stylish and TV-iconic car.
Well to be fair Sonny Crockett’s Daytona wasn’t real either
I took mine to a Ferrari meet and had no problem with the crowd.
Well, none of these “problems” bother me. Of course, you could just enjoy a regular Corvette just as much in my opinion, but this really isn’t that much more than a nice Corvette, is it? I think I’d rather like being scorned by Ferrari owners, frankly, as they are the most annoying people I’ve ever met.
The ones used in Miami Vice were McBurnies, which were pretty accurate from a distance. This car is a steal for $40k, from a fun per dollar standpoint. Just replace the steering wheel with a more Daytona- like copy, and the car would fool most casual onlookers. It probably drives like a ‘72 Corvette roadster. A little truck-y by modern standards, but not bad at all.
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A 72 corvette is not “truck-y” like the C1 corvettes. Independent front and rear suspension, disc brakes, and easy to upgrade to a Borgeson steering box, or even R&P. I’ve never driven a Daytona, but hard to imagine that it drives like a modern car, either. Corvette probably has a better AC, too!
A Daytona is no less trucky than a 72 Corvette. It just sounds a whole lot better.
Kinda cool but I would rather have a 72 Corvette convertible
I couldn’t own/drive a fake.
I could, but the honest car guy in me would mandate that I replace all the Ferrrari emblems with Corvette ones, along with maybe springing several extra dollars for a custom 3D printed “Fakerrari” emblem to go on the trunk lid.
With my fake Rolex watch and Member only jacket
Undoubtedly located in York Pennsylvania. There is a guy there into the McBurnie replicas and always has a few of them in project status as well as completed ones.
Fauxrrarl?
It’s pretty much only good as a TV/movie car.
Photos of the top up would be nice…I’ll post them if the owner replies to my request.
Fake, schmake, who cares? This is a beautifully designed car, great body lines, plenty of power, handles like a go-kart, reliable, inexpensive to maintain, soft top roadster with A/C and has a 5 speed gearbox. What more could you want? I would very much enjoy driving this car as much as staring at it in my driveway.
Weren’t they known as Miami Device?
Either Norelco or Remington–I forget which–was going to try to market an electric razor or an attachment called the “Miami Device” that would leave 1/4″ of beard stubble a la Don Johnson. The TV studio got wind of it, IIRC, and sued, and blocked it.
Looks like a good time. Absolutely not at $40K. Or even $30K. Maybe around $20K. But that’s just me.
“$20K. But that’s just me.”
Based on what, being a cheap ass?
just kidding
Of course we’d all like a real one, but few can afford the car, much less the insurance and upkeep real ones require. So yup, I’d drive it proudly and happily explain what it is to anyone asking. Might be a tad overpriced, but so is everything else these days. I’d say it was way more fun than a CD.
The time invested must be HUGE. The skill, execution and costs are beyond rationalization. The appreciation for the piece has to be one of both a high five to McGiver, and salesmanship award for whomever convinced the commisioning of it. Was this a speculation job? More likely made for the whim of a sheik. It is all in the story. What is that story?
I would rock This till the tires fell off. Buy another set and start all over. Worst part is only that I’m too dang bald to grow a mullet any more.
Fellas. Life is too damn short to let your pride ruin a great time.
While putting my pants on the next morning. ” Know what else ain’t real? That Ferrari I picked you up in last night. What you say your name was?”
Has no one mentioned the droopy side mirror?