More amusingly are the replicas that are built at such a great expense (read that as approaching the cost of buying a genuine RS to begin with) and then end up being put up for sale at completion of the build. Mainly because when they tell their insurers what they've done, then actually seem somewhat surprised that their insurance is now the same price as that of the genuine RS itself.

Saw it happen on one of the RS forums a few years back as the car got built at equal if not greater expense of a Mk1 FRS albeit with a ST170 engine + heavy engine mods, got it's mag feature, and then got broken for parts at a fairly substantial loss as the young lad who built it forgot that once it was all done, the insurance was no longer based on a 1.4 engined 3door focus, but was now classed as a heavily modified ST170 engined Mk1 Focus RS lookalike.

Same also goes for some of the Escort "Cosworth" replicas that exist out there built out of 1.3lx shells, etc. That said there are far less of them around nowadays as the company that made the replica kits tha were popular all those years ago no longer exists.

That said, there is nothing wrong with a replica of the cars so long as it's done properly. Sadly a lot of them don't always end up as a decent finish and look rather poor/obvious when near to the real thing.

Very well put...