Yesterday, we ran an article discussing future potential car purchases. If you like, you can click the link and read it, we’ll wait. But basically, I’m considering purchasing a new (vintage) car and a couple of replicas are at the top of the list. No, none of them are based on the Pontiac Fiero. They’re both very well built and engineered replicas, which can be used on the street or track.
Opinions were mixed, both in the responses to the article and at the Petrolicious office, between people who think a replica is acceptable and those who question how it’s built and whether it’s a real replica or not. It’s easy to understand the conflict: purity versus cost and availability. But, like all other cars, replicas are not created equal. As I mentioned, I’m not talking about buying a home-chopped, neglected budget build. All of the replicas under consideration are tube-chassis, custom fabricated race cars.
Which brings us to today’s question(s): are replicas ever acceptable? Does build quality affect your position on this? Or is it a simple matter of purity and provenance? What if the car is too scarce and you can’t possibly hope to own it?
Click here to see the Cobra RM Auctions listing (Photography by Drew Shipley © 2014)
Click here to see the Countach RM Auctions listing (Photography by Darin Schnabel © 2014)