Would you want to own this car?

[Pingu]

Yep. Wrong audience. Members of a forum for BMW Zed enthusiasts being asked if they like the idea of destroying a perfectly good Z3 to make a kit car. But away from the forum I'm sure the majority of people in the street would agree your car is a beauty.

I must confess that, even though I'm well into a rebody myself, even I'd struggle with the idea of taking spanners to a perfectly good 3 Litre Z3 to make a ferrari look-a-like.

My excuse, for my car, is that it's a 1.9 nearing the end of its life. Even just replacing a few Z3 parts exceeds the value of the car. But bolting on a pile of GRP panels - which really isn't that far from sticking fibreglass sills on an old zed - just kinda makes sense to get another 20 years out of a car that I've already had for 20 years and grown attached to.

It also justifies the refresh you will have given the "chassis" to keep the car going.

I'm spending about a thousand every winter refreshing the M. I wouldn't be doing it to a Z3 1.9, but I would if it were a Fauxrarri 1.9.

 

[Pingu]

I think I asked the wrong question to the wrong audience TBH.

I think it's the right question, but to the wrong audience.

I think the audience who would give the most positive answer are car lovers who are not car enthusiasts. They are a very portion of the Venn diagram.

Most people who go to car shows would be positive, as most are drivers, not fixers, of cars.

Most of the general public don't even know if their car has a dipstick, but they know what they like - and most will like what they see.

 

[Z Victor 1]

'Wrong audience' . Not just this site, anybody who knows about cars. It looks fantastic so the ordinary man/woman who likes cars would say yes, but anybody more knowledgable will consider the cost, value, practicality etc. Just can't get away from that. These cars are there because someone wanted to build them.Some like this one, are superbly finished replicas. Love to see them, but...

 

[Pond]

'Wrong audience' . Not just this site, anybody who knows about cars. It looks fantastic so the ordinary man/woman who likes cars would say yes, but anybody more knowledgable will consider the cost, value, practicality etc. Just can't get away from that. These cars are there because someone wanted to build them.Some like this one, are superbly finished replicas. Love to see them, but...

They are a very niche market, of course. They are 'fake' and a kind of 'kit car' which many many instantly dislike (I am not a fan of kit cars strangely). Added to that they are not cheap to buy as a built car; probably the most expensive 'kit car' out there. Even more than a really good Cobra replica, which have always been pricey.

There are, however, people who just couldn't build one even if they wanted to but like them and have the money. Just not many.

As I said earlier, a car like mine is not really a car anymore, just an ornament with an MOT (to me at least). To want to own one you really need to love them and have quite deep pockets as they are expensive to buy (not to own though).

The original question was "would you want to own this car", not "do you want to buy it"? They are very different questions IMO.

The reason I asked the question in the first place was to get a more subjective view, as I am completely biased. I adore it because it is so pretty (which is the only reason I wanted to build it in the first place). I have an indoor cover for the car, but keep taking it off as I can't stop looking at it!

 

[Ianmc]

I wouldn't want to own a fake Rolex watch, but some do. Or put M badges on a non M engined BMW, but some do.
So whilst acknowledging the time and money expended, I wouldn't want to own this car. Sorry.

 

[Jam03]

The good thing is that you have a very good replica of a car that is basically unobtainable for most people. Even as a replica, it is rare. I think the fact that Ferrari don’t like them means that the replicas are sometimes not well received, unlike GT40 and Cobras, which I think people just always assume are replicas and generally don’t have a problem appreciating.

 

[Jam03]

I saw this on Instagram recently. It’s a very good replica from the look of it. The cool thing is that it can actually be driven without worrying too much.