In a tangential post to the Goodwood Revival, I see the following bit of news:
Each California Spyder Revival will be built by hand from a donor car, using parts produced by GTO Engineering; the company is a renowned Ferrari restoration specialist, and aims to equal or better the quality standards of the original car. The iconic Scaglietti-designed body, for example, will be hand-formed from sheet aluminium using GTO’s own, bespoke tooling.
Despite the focus on authenticity, the California Spyder Revival will also be highly customisable. The customer can choose between three versions of Ferrari’s Columbo V12, from a standard 3.0-litre engine to upgraded 3.5 or 4.0-litre units. The original four-speed gearbox can also be swapped out for a five-speed item, and bespoke exterior paint colours can be specified. The interior is trimmed in leather of the buyer’s choosing, with the option of a smaller wooden steering wheel than the original car.
The purists may wail and shout a bit, but I think it’s fantastic.
At least they’re not making an electric version.
That’ll come out next year.
And it’s between a million (US $) and 1.1 million.
Which is just slightly less than I guessed.
What a bargain!
One would expect an LS engine with a “Ferrari-tuned” exhaust. Nice to see they didn’t go that way, although it would probably cut the price in half.
The replica Daytona I mention below as well as the unseen “Ferrari” in the famous dawn run through Paris video used faked 12 cylinder sound effects. The Paris vehicle was actually a Mercedes 450S.
I sort of wonder how they’re getting away with this. Remember, back in the day, when the TV show Miami Vice used a Daytona replica made of a fiberglas body on a Corvette frame, Ferrari got all bent out of shape because of copyright violation. Ferrari copyrights all of its designs. They issued a cease and desist order and put the guy out of business as well as taking the car off the show. They loaned a 512 Berlinetta Boxer to the show.
Make that a Testarossa. 😉
Which at the time had a passing resemblance to the then current Corvette. LOL
Chevy should have sued. Sauce for the goose and all that.
Or the one in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
I suspect that this was the result of negotiations between GTO Engineering and Ferrari.
GTO was already a restorer of Ferraris so the Ferrari company itself may have thought that such a manufacturer of cheaper models would be a good adjunct to the real thing.
Didn’t the producers of Miami Vice blow up their replica Ferrari on the show? I remember Magnum PI did.
Used a Mk153 SMAW (or similar).
I still want to buy a used Porsche Cayman, whip the shell off and replace it with a carbon-fiber Dino replica. All the mechanicals German, all the styling Italian, for the win.
The only problem with that plan is that Caymans ( and all Porsches for that matter ) are not body on frame cars. Remove the sheet metal body parts and all you have is a pile of suspension bits, the Engine / Transaxle assembly, a complex wiring harness, and lots of interior components.
“aims to equal or better the quality standards of the original car” — That shouldn’t be hard
“The iconic Scaglietti-designed body, for example, will be hand-formed from sheet aluminium using GTO’s own, bespoke tooling.” — Somehow “hand formed” and “tooling” seem to contradict themselves, I think.
More power to them and good luck with the whole enterprise. I think I would have them restore an original if I owned one, and it is fun to contemplate getting a new version of an old car, but it is not for me, thanks, even if I had the dough.
Hand formed on an English Wheel.
BTW, have you price checked a 250SWB CA Spyder with covered headlights – they ain’t in the 7 figure neighborhood any longer.
Tooling implies something other than hand forming which in this case is certainly an English wheel. The skill level and artistry of which is amazing, but certainly different than making the dies to produce copies of sheet metal components. Our friends at GTO Enterprises might have the resources for an English wheel, and they look like like they have one Hurco, a vertical CNC milling machine, but even Ferrari only made 56 or so plus of the original, and they were a manufacturer. Plus Ferrari had Scaglietti making the bodies, probably on their version of an English wheel, or whacking the aluminum over wooden bucks, the old fashioned way.
…and lots of Bondo to smooth out the imperfections.
(…in his best Haley Joel Osment voice:) “I see rich people!”
After driving a 330GTC for 40-years, I want a SWB like above, with a 209 motore fitted with 6 Webers, pushing through a five-speed, and the Girling brakes of the 330GTC or a suitable upgrade.