This replica might fool everyone from afar but the nerdyest enthusiast, but it doesn’t come cheap
Photos: eBay
Bad replica supercars are pathetic and funny at the same time – they’re always a little (or a lot) out of whack, on tiny wheels, and still have the entire dashboard of a Toyota MR2, albeit with a Ferrari sticker on the steering wheel. Most are hideous and very badly executed, like a surgeon reattaching your arm upside down. From a distance it might look like you, but up close it is clear that something is wrong.
Wait, you could say Is this McLaren F1 LM that I see in front of me not a McLaren product? Occasional CT staff member and eBay perennial sleuther Lewis Kingston came across this F1 replica that was on sale in the Czech Republic and we were a bit shocked at the quality of the presentation. There’s a Porsche Boxster under the orange paint, and it’s hard to tell that it’s not the original. There is clearly a lot of work involved. It even has a central driving position!
Well, that’s one way to get people to pay more than £ 50,000 for an old automatic Porsche Boxster.https: //t.co/1oeP2qm2E0 pic.twitter.com/OHIDGyDfyW
– Lewis Kingston (@theseoldcars) July 11, 2021
There are just a few details you would notice if this were parked side by side with the original. It has a pair of universal LED running lights with the turn signals on the real one, and the rear side sill panels are unlikely to be riveted on at the McLaren factory. The real car also has a splinter.
On closer inspection, we wouldn’t expect the exhausts to stick out next to the taillights, nor those taillights. But we’ve played the difference between this replica and a real one, and if you don’t have a replacement F1 LM to compare it looks like the real deal.
And unlike most replicas, this one has at least some performance to match its looks. All driving parts have been left alone so that he still has the full Boxster underpinning. This is probably why the Porsche dials are still there. So it won’t be a limited-edition 90s Hypercar Rapid, but it will still be fast enough to give the impression that this could be something special.
We were told the car is fully ready to drive and has a hydraulic nose lift feature to get it over speed bumps.
The seller has set the auction starting price at £ 51,000 (although no bids have been placed and the reserve has not been met at the time of writing). Probably because it’s a lot of money for an old Boxster, even one that looks like a supercar. For a potential owner, there is only one thing to watch out for – the conversion is not registered so this must be done or a police officer could stop you because your McLaren’s license plate should be on a Porsche.
What do you think of this McLaren F1 replica? Pole position or starting place?
The post This surprisingly well-made, Boxster-based McLaren F1 replica even has a central driving position first appeared on monter-une-startup.
