Top in Automotive: Replica

Showing posts with label Replica. Show all posts

The Bugatti Veyron…Beetle Edition

Monday, February 4, 2013

If you had any doubts that Bugatti belongs to the same group as the makers of the legendary Beetle, just take a look at this, admittedly humorous, but at the same time, high-quality digital rendering, from the creative minds at RC82 Workchop.

The Polish artist(s) incorporated all the design cues of the original (or classic) Volkswagen Beetle, from the deep-dish steel wheels and bug eyes, to the window frames and exterior door hinges, on the shape of the Bugatti Veyron hypercar.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Here's hoping Volkswagen Group's China arm doesn't get any strange ideas after taking a look at these photos.

In case the bright Bentley-style grille and badges blinded you, this car began life as a Volkswagen Phaeton, which was Wolfsburg's attempt to enter the luxury sedan segment.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Even if you wanted to, you can't ignore all the customized and conceptual Toyota 86 sport coupes that are on display at this week's Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan.

We don't know whether Toyota should worry, but a great number of tuners focused their efforts on altering the appearance of the rear-wheel drive coupe that's marketed as the Toyota GT 86 outside of Japan and the Scion FR-S in North America.

While the students at NATS gave the 86 an Audi R8-esque look and Toyota's own Original Accessory sub-brand a classic feel, the always-imaginative crew from Japan's DAMD decided to turn their 86 into a mini-me Lexus LFA calling it the LFT-86.

The cosmetic transformation begins with a new front end that keeps the 86's headlamps but adds a newly styled bumper that mimics the LFA with triangular-shaped side vents, and continues with the side skirts.

Monday, December 31, 2012

More often than not, replica sightings on eBay capture our attention for all the wrong reasons, but once in a while, we find ourselves taking a second look to see if what we're dealing with is real or not.

Such was the case with this Ferrari Enzo replica listed for sale in Germany, which was unearthed by CarScoop reader Bilal A.

Granted, the shape of the rear window covering the engine bay and the way it connects to the roof, or most parts of the interior including the gated shifter and the regular steering wheel, are a dead giveaway to the trained eye, but you have to admit that, overall, the builder of the car did a pretty good job.

Thursday, December 20, 2012

The baby Aston Martin carriage that is the Cygnet mini may have found its long lost ancestor in the face of this classic Mini with a Mercedes-Benz W114/W115 snout - in case you don't remember, that's the codename of the E-Class saloon of the late-1960s, which was built through the mid-1970s). Read more »

Mad Max's Ford Falcon Coupe Pursuit Special Replica Could be Yours for AU$105k

Monday, December 10, 2012

Many things have changed over the 33 years that passed since George Miller's classic dystopian action flick Mad Max hit the big screen, but the blacked out Pursuit Special that served as Max Rockatansky's (played by Mel Gibson) police car remains as cool as ever.

The original Pursuit Special was a 1973 Ford Falcon XB GT, one of the most popular sports coupes in Australia at the time. A team led by Murray Smith modified the Aussie coupe into the beast that starred in the movie.

Friday, December 7, 2012

There's no doubt that the Boxster series has been a wild sales success for Porsche, and being in the market for three generations and more than 16 years, means that you can find many used examples at affordable prices.

Up until recent years, replica car builders looked at the Pontiac Fiero when it came to cloning mid-engined models, but it's getting harder and harder to find worthwhile vehicles on the market, be that because the last ones were manufactured back in 1988, or because most of them have already been transformed into other models.

It's been a little over a year since China's Yema Auto dazzled us with its replication capabilities when it introduced a new breed of clone concepts at the Chengdu Auto Show 2011 with the T-SUV (call me VW Tiguan), E-SUV (Infiniti EX) and the F16 and E-Taxi twins (Audi A4 Avant).

In the time that passed since then, Yema Auto's engineers worked hard to finish the development of one of those models, the F16, that is now ready for a small-scale production in battery-powered form under its sub brand Mustang.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Well, well, well, imagine that; a second Mitsubishi 3000GT coupe that has been converted to look like a Ferrari F430, though, we must say, we're having trouble seeing the resemblance.

Perhaps we're missing something here, but putting aside the air scoops positioned on top of the rear fenders and to some extent, the door mirrors, the rest of the cosmetic enhancements don't remind us of the F430.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The original 1966 Batmobile, built on the 1955 Lincoln Futura Concept by George Barris for the campy television series from the same decade, will go on sale next January at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, but we all know that unless you're a 1 percenter, you probably can't afford it.

Of course, there are plenty of alternatives in the form of accurate replicas like this one from Fiberglass Freaks that we had the opportunity to ride back in 2010, but it will still cost you somewhere around $150,000.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

It's one of the most coveted and beautiful Ferrari models of recent times, and as such, it's also one of the rarest and most expensive, which explains why many kit car makers have tried again and again to replicate and offer the F40 to the masses. Read more »

Yugo 55e Wants to be a BMW 3-Series When it Grows Up

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Ah, Yugo, once Yugoslavia's and then Serbia's pride and joy in the automotive industry. The Yugo was produced by Zastava Automobile, which succumbed to Fiat's lure in 2008, with the Italian carmaker now using its Serbian factory in Kragujevac to build the new 500L mini MPV.

However, we're not here to give you a lesson on the history of Yugo and its parent company Zastava. Instead, we want to show you this Yugo 55e from 1987 that is listed for sale by Polovni Automobili in its home country.

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

With all the chaos caused by Sandy, you would be forgiven to forget that it's Halloween today, a fest that under regular circumstances, is one of the most popular holidays in North America as well as other regions in the western world.

What Halloween means for most people, regardless of age and gender, is getting creative and having some fun by dressing up to either scare people or make them laugh their heads off.

In some ways, the same can be said for certain automobiles and the way that their respective owners have altered their appearance.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Back in 2009, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering (LPE) become one of the many independent shops at the time to capitalize on the approaching death of the Pontiac brand by releasing a concept model inspired by the 1970s Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am and based on the then brand new Chevrolet Camaro.

Fast forward to today and the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Lingenfelter unwrapped the production version of its T/A Concept that will be known from now own as the LTA.

Monday, October 29, 2012

In the colorful and imaginative world of clone cars, the Toyota MR2 is commonly used as a donor model for Ferrari replicas of all sorts, from 360 Modena Coupes and Spiders to Enzo hypercars, but once in a rare while, Maranello's archrival Lamborghini also comes into the picture.

Such is the case of this eBay find from Albertville, Alabama, with a 1991 Toyota MR2 being sacrificed to give birth to a Lamborghini Murcielago replica.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

There are replicas and there are replicas, with some builders going to extremes to reproduce the look and feel of a high-end model on a budget donor car, and others, well, let's just say that they get a 'C' for effort. Read more »

Nissan GT-R Station Wagon Replica Could be Yours for €35,000 - if You Live in Portugal

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Some of you may remember a Nissan Stagea station wagon customized to look like the R35 GT-R that was spotted in Portugal and brought to our attention by CarScoop reader Daniel Esteves, earlier this year.

Now, another one of our readers, coincidentally with the same surname but with the initial Rafael, found the aforementioned car listed for sale in Porto, which is the second-largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Not all Batmobiles are made equal and this principle surely applies to the Bat car listed for sale on the German version of eBay.

The pictures of the DIY Batmobile more or less speak for themselves with the seller adding that a "very extravagant and futuristic artist and designer" built the strange looking contraption, and that it has won "several trophies at events".

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Compared to other sports car offerings from Japan in the 1990s, like the Mazda RX-7, Nissan 300ZX, Nissan Skyline GT-R, Toyota Supra Mk4 and, of course, the famed Honda or Acura NSX, the Mitsubishi GTO or 3000GT hasn’t aged as well nor have collectors warmed up to it.

Whether it justifies this bizarre transformation that comes to us from Kazakhstan is questionable, to say the least.

Monday, September 24, 2012

From the magical land of eBay comes our next tale of replicas. This newly found example is pretending to be a Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4, though even an untrained eye can see that there something is wrong with car's proportions.

The seller and builder of the replica is "Z and M Customs", which is located in the city of Eagle in Ada County, Idaho.

The company informs us that the Aventador lookalike is built on the chassis and mechanical components of a "GM Holden" with power coming from a "LS1 V8 Corvette with approximately 400HP".