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| A tad ugly, but effective |
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| Ah, now it looks better |
How many of you would love to own a Ferrari? You don’t need to answer, since you are reading this, you are, as I am, a total car nut. And how many of you do own a Ferrari? If you do, this probably isn’t a text for you. This is a text made for those who want a poor man’s Ferrari, a Ferrari replica. A car that will bear those dashing Ferrari looks, and still remain affordable. That’s what DNA kits can give you.
The DNA Automotive has two kits in their arsenal - the 3Sixty and 4Thirty. you’ve guessed it, the 3Sixty is a 360 Modena replica, and the 4Thirty is a F430 replica. And they both use an inexpensive car as a donor - a last-gen Toyota MR2.
The small roadster is well known for it’s good handling abilities, and the great small two-seater mid engined roadster dynamics. Not that much for it’s dashing good looks, though. It is kind of an ugly duckling this one. Huge fun on the inside, not so fun when you look at it. A perfect donor.
The DNA kits are known to be easy to fit. When I say easy, I don’t really imply you won’t have to cut anything - sure you will, and those wheels will still need spacers and reworked lower arms. Fitting all to the car will be a bit complicated for the inexperienced, but for a seasoned builder, it will be a cinch. The cutting really is brought to a minimum (a bit of door chopping and trimming), and the realism of the kit is pretty amazing - the proportions are quite astonishing. Also, they do offer replica steering wheels and seats, replica wheels (you can put on the original Ferrari ones, but that will cost you the ouch amount), and you will have to source your own badges. The brakes can remain standard, and there is option of putting in fake brake inserts (invisible from far away, not that pretty when you take a closer look - or see them spinning with a car at slower speeds). If done in a good finish, with matching roof and interior colors, most people will be fooled that you drive a real Ferrari.
Of course, there are bad sides. The one that bugs me the most is the engine bay - both 360 and F430 have glass covers that show off that beautiful V8. Here though, you can either leave it painted in the body color, or put a sticker on it. You can’t really fabricate any kind of a fake cover. Everything can be done in theory, but not in practice. Toyota has a small engine, structural beam and a small boot behind it. Ferrari is longer and doesn’t. Faking this is just not an option.
The other thing that you can’t fake is the performance and the engine sound. It’s hard and very expensive to squeeze out more than 200bhp in this particular car, and no matter what you do with the exhaust, it will still be a small flat four.
On the looks front though, it is pretty unbeatable. You can get more realistic replicas, but it would involve more work and more money. There are some replicas that even involve more work, and still don’t look this good. With all the panels fitting great, the bumpers made as separate pieces and not the part of the moulded slab of plastic, the rather correct proportions, you won’t be able to notice much differences from the most angles. Sure, the windscreen is taller, but unless you park it next to the real Ferrari, most people will never spot any differences. It’s not a real Ferrari, it’s a replica, and a darn good one too.
The DNA Automotive has two kits in their arsenal - the 3Sixty and 4Thirty. you’ve guessed it, the 3Sixty is a 360 Modena replica, and the 4Thirty is a F430 replica. And they both use an inexpensive car as a donor - a last-gen Toyota MR2.
The small roadster is well known for it’s good handling abilities, and the great small two-seater mid engined roadster dynamics. Not that much for it’s dashing good looks, though. It is kind of an ugly duckling this one. Huge fun on the inside, not so fun when you look at it. A perfect donor.
The DNA kits are known to be easy to fit. When I say easy, I don’t really imply you won’t have to cut anything - sure you will, and those wheels will still need spacers and reworked lower arms. Fitting all to the car will be a bit complicated for the inexperienced, but for a seasoned builder, it will be a cinch. The cutting really is brought to a minimum (a bit of door chopping and trimming), and the realism of the kit is pretty amazing - the proportions are quite astonishing. Also, they do offer replica steering wheels and seats, replica wheels (you can put on the original Ferrari ones, but that will cost you the ouch amount), and you will have to source your own badges. The brakes can remain standard, and there is option of putting in fake brake inserts (invisible from far away, not that pretty when you take a closer look - or see them spinning with a car at slower speeds). If done in a good finish, with matching roof and interior colors, most people will be fooled that you drive a real Ferrari.
Of course, there are bad sides. The one that bugs me the most is the engine bay - both 360 and F430 have glass covers that show off that beautiful V8. Here though, you can either leave it painted in the body color, or put a sticker on it. You can’t really fabricate any kind of a fake cover. Everything can be done in theory, but not in practice. Toyota has a small engine, structural beam and a small boot behind it. Ferrari is longer and doesn’t. Faking this is just not an option.
The other thing that you can’t fake is the performance and the engine sound. It’s hard and very expensive to squeeze out more than 200bhp in this particular car, and no matter what you do with the exhaust, it will still be a small flat four.
On the looks front though, it is pretty unbeatable. You can get more realistic replicas, but it would involve more work and more money. There are some replicas that even involve more work, and still don’t look this good. With all the panels fitting great, the bumpers made as separate pieces and not the part of the moulded slab of plastic, the rather correct proportions, you won’t be able to notice much differences from the most angles. Sure, the windscreen is taller, but unless you park it next to the real Ferrari, most people will never spot any differences. It’s not a real Ferrari, it’s a replica, and a darn good one too.
Ferrari F430 Scuderia for sale made by DNA: http://dna-automotive.com
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