By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

With the exception of the Shelby Cobra—which was kind of like a kit car anyway—replicas have never really appealed to me. The way I see it, the cool factor of driving something like a Lamborghini or a Ferrari is going to be completely lost when you have to tell people it isn’t real, and most gearheads are going to be able to spot a fake from 50 blogs away. So I was totally ready to mock this F430 Scuderia Project—until I figured out that the dude wasn’t using a kit, but making the molds and panels himself. That’s not to say I think this looks like an F430—the proportions are completely off—and even if it did, the MR2′s engine note would give it away immediately. But there was obviously a lot of work put in here, and the odds that the owner will be able to find a buyer who has the fabrication skills necessary to finish this are about as good as his being able to afford an actual Cavallino. You can read the original ad here. More pics after the jump.

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By John Naderi

StreetFire.net

Back in early Nineties I was a valet parking attendant at the Beverly Hills Hotel. It was a pretty cool gig for a car guy and one guest in particular favored me for my ability to navigate his cars over the hotel’s rather nasty speed bumps sans chin spoiler scruffage. Skills I honed in another life as a mini truck owner (don’t laugh, it was the Eighties). Said guest’s name was Lucio Nicolodi and he was a baller of the highest order. His Diablo had plates that read “CUINHLL” but my most hellish experience involved a drive in his other car.

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