Yes, it's a Supra underneath...
There can't be many cars in the world that are more regularly copied than an AC Cobra - or possibly a Ferrari, courtesy of the countless MR2s that have been turned into 'Ferraroyotas' - but the Shelby Mustang GT500 from
has got to be right up there.
Ever since Nicolas Cage went jumping traffic jams a decade ago there have been plenty of people keen to recreate the iconic 'Eleanor', some using actual Ford Mustangs, but many using all manner of bizarre donor vehicles. And it's two of these automotive mutants that have caught the PH eye recently.
...and no, it really doesn't look right
First up is this, the 'Moto Supra' (right). It's been designed by a group of students at Saitama university in Japan and is currently - er, how can we put this politely? - astonishing the crowds at the tuning-centric Tokyo Auto Salon. As the name rather implies, beneath the bizarre attempt at recreating the GT500 'Eleanor' lies a Mk4 Toyota Supra - complete with a two-too-few-cylinders Toyota motor. Oh. Dear.
Closer to home, a certain well-known internet auction site is displaying this rather more convincing-looking GT500 rep. We reckon this one could even fool a few people, but we wouldn't recommend taking it to a Mustang owners club meet.
More like it (even with Sierra undercrackers)
Astonishingly, this particular kit starts off using a Ford Sierra Sapphire or hatch as a donor vehicle, but it also beats the 'Moto Supra' by offering the possibility of dropping a V8 into the engine bay.
It's still got Sierra bits underneath, however. If you're going to 'do an Eleanor', we reckon the best way is to start with a '67 fastback Mustang in the first place - as with this impressively faithful recreation. But then that'll set you back £69k...