Back in November, we brought you the story of a real-life dream-to-reality car story. It was the tale of Neal Bailey, who was taking the best details of the cars he loved and creating his dream car.
Neal emailed us last week to say he had done some work on his self-branded supercar, the Bailey Blade, and was getting closer to putting it into limited production. The latest design changes were necessary to meet European headlight-height regulations with Viper-like, fender-hugging lamps in front. Neal took advantage of the required changes to incorporate some other design mods as well, like the slotted front intakes where the old headlights once were and the hood scoops now are covered instead of open. The car is also getting a newly redesigned front and rear independent suspension.
The leg-sizzling chrome sidepipes are, thankfully, still there, as are the Vette-like rear haunches and the 500-hp Roush V8 planned for the prototype.
Neal says he hopes to have a rolling prototype by the middle of this year with sales starting sometime next year, sooner if he can find an investor. As you have probably already guessed, Neal is hoping to sell a few in Europe, and he says he has designed the Blade to be easily constructed as a right-hand drive car.
If you want a Bailey Blade, Neal says plan on spending between $50,000 and $80,000 depending on options like the prototype's Roush 400IR, an $18,000 option.
Click the image above if you really want to see more.
It's obvious that someone was champing at the bit to get a 1-series convertible before it makes its way to the U.S. This Miata-based BMW rip- off might not be a finished replica of the Z9 concept from a few years back, but the progress, is, ummm... progress?
The owner makes it clear that the car is still street legal, with its stock emissions systems left intact. So that side exit exhaust is merely for show, as is the plastic BMW engine cover.
Were you to part with your hard-earned cash for such a misshapen homage to Bavaria, you might be willing to spend some coin on a nice coat of silver metallic or midnight blue paint, and then take to the interior with a hacksaw and some vision.
So there I was, exiting Madison Square Garden after watching my Rangers have their season ended at the hand of Chris Drury and the Buffalo Sabres. As I walked east on 33rd street, I couldn't help but notice the orange bullet-nosed Studebaker Business Coupe stopped at the corner. Only it wasn't a Studebaker. it was a kit, and from the looks of things, I believe that there might have been an older (Fox body?) Thunderbird somewhere underneath it all. The nose looked fine, but it it kinda became a disaster as you moved aft from there -- the proportions seem totally out of whack. My Google powers have failed me, as I haven't been able to dig up anything on the kit. Now I'm just curious. Feel free to weigh in with your own comments.
click above for more images of the M1Stang "Miastang"
One could argue that the Mazda Miata has become our generation's Pontiac Fiero. We've seen the Miata become the kit car du jour in the form of a BMW Z3 and Aston Martin, but this conversion may take the cake. Though we have dubbed this car the Miastang, it's real name is the M1Stang. Carscoop reports that the man behind this Miata-based Mustang replica is one Bill Carnes, who will take your Zoom Zoom roadster and approximately $12,999 plus tax in exchange for his strange concoction. Clearly, the entire body of the Miata save the windshield is replaced with all steel body panels that nicely mimic the Mustang of old. Unfortunately, the $13k base price doesn't include painting or updating the decidedly un-Mustang interior, but the conversion can be performed on any Miata from 1990-2005. Some may call it an abomination, but we think it's pretty amusing and actually a fairly faithful recreation.
We recently reported how SEMA had helped get new kit and custom car registration legislation passed in Virginia. Well, the razorbacks didn't want their Southern rivals to get too far ahead and recently passed a similar bill of their own. Arkansas made changes to their vehicle titling and registration classifications for street rods and created a new class for custom vehicles too. The bill was recently signed into law by Governor Mike Beebe after being approved by the Arkansas State Legislature. Arkansas now defines a street rod as "an altered vehicle manufactured before 1949" and a custom as "an altered vehicle at least 25 years old and manufactured after 1948." And like the Virginia law, kit cars and replicars will get tagged as being the same model year as the car they aim to replicate. So a freshly built '32 Ford would be a 1932 Ford, and a new Cobra would be a 1960's car on the books.
Arkansas' new law also allows non-original materials to be used, allocates special license plates for this class of vehicles, and lets builders use blue dot taillights. Street rods and customs will also be exempt from many of the standard equipment requirements and emissions controls. Things like catalysts and seatbelts will only have to meet period requirements. As is the case in Virginia as well, the kits and customs that are titled and registered this way will have mileage restrictions, but they tend to be limited use vehicles anyways.
Beginning on July 1, kit/replica/component car buyers in Virginia will be able to title their vehicles in a different way. It seems the Virginia General Assembly has approved a new law allowing these vehicles to be registered as whatever model year the replica represents. The big advantage there lies in the fact that owners will be getting around those knuckle- and wallet-busting safety and emissions requirements for newly-built cars. This means Virginia will be joining Washington, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana and Rhode Island as states with similar titling laws on the books.
But lest you think this gives you carte blanche to build your own backyard burner and terrorize the local citizenry, know that there are some restrictions. First of all, the law defines a replica as "a vehicle not fully constructed by a licensed manufacturer but either constructed or assembled from components." Secondly, as a gesture of good will between thankful hobbyists and concerned officials, "replica vehicles titled under this law will be limited to no more than 5,000 miles per year as shown by the vehicle's odometer." So it has to be a true kit car, not a tuner, and you have to keep your driving down to about 100 miles per weekend or 400 miles a month.
In particular this will help manufacturers of cars like the Shelby Cobra kits we see all over the place. In fact, the Cobra clubs in Virginia were instrumental in getting this bill passed. Being heavily involved in the industry, the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) was also part of the process. SEMA has actually been at the forefront in encouraging states to pass this kind of legislation. They are also working on similar initiatives in Florida, Arkansas, New York, Massachusetts and Nevada.
Avanti, the originators of the "continuation" model concept, are facing a potential setback in their planned re-emergence. There were plans in the works to unveil a car at the Chicago Auto Show, but that's been put on hold. It appears that Avanti CEO Michael Kelly has been charged with being a dastardly gentleman. At issue is Kelly's involvement in a real estate Ponzi scheme. The FBI paid Mr. Kelly a visit two days after Christmas and placed him in custody, where he awaits arraignment on mail fraud.
You've spent the past couple of years and untold thousands of dollars turning your late-model Corvette into what you REALLY wanted but couldn't quite afford, a Lamborghini. The car has all the outrageously over-the-top styling you could ever hope for with the bulletproof Chevy small block giving more than adequate performance while offering much better reliability and durability. The interior has been customized to match, as much as practical, that of the Italian supercar as well. The one thing you've always dreaded, however, was hearing an admirer ask you to pop the hood.
The dress-up kits that have been offered in the past were either fiberglass or steel, neither of which could match the look of aluminum. Being messy and hard to work with didn't help much either. Well, thanks to Lambostuff, you're one step closer to having a no-excuses authentic-looking Lambo of your very own. They have just released and chronicled the installation of a new dummy engine kit. The kit is made of high-impact plastic, using some of the genuine Lambo molds where possible. A full accessory pack of spark plugs, wires, injectors and hoses are also available to complete the look.
Although none of the kits are a straight bolt-on proposition, the step-by-step photo gallery and instructions found here, should help make it a fairly simple process. The main intake package starts at $595 with everything else optional. Real salvaged Lamborghini parts can be used or you can stick with a partial LS1 stock setup if you don't expect many of the onlookers to actually count the plugs or exhaust pipes. Either way, it sounds like a must-have kit for the person who has already begun the process and a nice way to get your car in on the Halloween holiday.
Most kit cars we come across are near faithful representations of their muse. Unfortunately, there's always something a little off about the design that doesn't quite match up with the way we remember the original, and nearly always they're only skin deep, offering up merely the appearance of authenticity with the substance of something much lesser. Superformance, the producers of the best Cobra and Cobra Daytona Coupes replicas in the business, builds something a little more than a "kit car". All of its products are complete factory manufactured rollers minus an engine and transmission. This allows the company to bust a fat right around complex emissions and safety regulations by classifying their products as kit cars, though obviously they're so much more.
One of Superformance's current products is its most ambitious ever: a GT40 so realistic and faithful to the original that it's currently being evaluated for historic racing eligibility. What you're looking at is not a modern tube-frame chassis shrink wrapped in a fiberglass body; the Superformance GT40 MkII has a super rigid steel monocoque chassis that's covered in an all-steel body, just like the original MKIIs that made Enzo weep. Nearly everything is just like the original, right down to the "Gurney bump" in the roof. Of course, concessions were made in some areas in the interests of durability, weight savings and safety, but 90% of the parts are interchangeable with the original GT40 MkII, which is amazing. Most notable differences from the source car include the addition of air conditioning and more modern brakes, along with the fact it comes from the factory as LHD instead of RHD. Since it comes without an engine and transmission, you can drop in any engine that fits, but Superformance recommends a ROUSH 427 motor producing 530 horsepower.
The Superformance GT40 MkII looks as good today as it did back then, although it doesn't hurt being photographed by the excellent snapper, Drew Philips, of Fast-Autos.net. Check out the read link to see a full gallery of shots and read Drew's writeup after driving the GT40 MkII on the street.
The Cyclone is a full on kit car produced by a German company that is inspired by the Lamborghini Murcielago. Perhaps "inspired" is the wrong word. One has to wonder if Lamborghini and its parent company VW/Audi are drafting a cease and desist letter as we speak. The Cyclone even mimics the Murcielago right down to the extendable air inlets ahead of the rear wheels. The ironic part is that the Cyclone is powered by a trio of Audi engines. The mid-engine German sportscar can be ordered with an Audi 330-hp, 4.2-liter V8; 355-hp, 4.2-liter V8; and 445-hp, 6.0-liter W12. Pricing ranges from €74,800 for the less powerful 4.2-liter V8 version all the way up to €88,800 for the Cyclone W12. Any takers?
The leg-sizzling chrome sidepipes are, thankfully, still there, as are the Vette-like rear haunches and the 500-hp Roush V8 planned for the prototype.
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