DIY 250GTO: Time For Tea?
New Zealander's homebrew GTO somewhat more impressive than 'that' fibreglass Zonda
Now, we wouldn't want to launch into a bitter tirade on the clearly unfair global distribution of skills, and on why some folk seem to have received a rather harder hit from the talent stick than the rest of us. The fact of the matter is though that the other man's grass really is greener if we're talking about Rod Tempero's grass, which can be found on his chicken farm in Oamaru, a seaside town on New Zealand's South Island. For it is here that Mr Tempero creates replicas of great classic cars. Not your average replicas, mind, but real, rootin' tootin', honest-to-goodness masterpieces.
An exaggeration? You won't think so after watching the story of this 250 GTO, a four-year tour de force condensed into seven and a bit minutes.
As PHers know, there's always a ready discussion to be had on the quality of replicas, and specifically those relating to more recent Italian supercars. There's no need to go down that lumpy route here, partly because we've been there and done that, but mainly because there can surely be no quibbling about the da Vinci-like expertise on display here.
According to Tempero, very little machining was involved. For him and his massive team of three (him included), it's an 'eye and touch' process that starts with sheets of aluminium, an English wheel, a rack of body hammers and dollies, some Ferrari books and a same-size blackboard rendition of the car's form, and ends up four years later with the astonishing creation you see before you now.
We don't know how much the lucky owner paid for it, or indeed what Ferrari thinks about his works, but to be honest, with workmanship like this who cares? The commercial opposition to homages is arguable here as this model hasn't been a factory offering for 50 years. Judging by the video, chances are that the fit and finish of Tempero's car will be somewhat finer than those of the original.
If there is a god, Rod Tempero has clearly been abundantly blessed by he/she/it. He isn't perfect however. His rustic website is glitchy and typo-ridden, and you could mount a strong argument against blunting the majesty of the GTO's mechanical soundtrack with redundant muzak. Even then, some might say that that these amateurish aspects only add to the authenticity and charm.
king awful.
http://rodtempero.com/rod-tempero-manufactured-car...
OMFG. Not "Want!" More like "Need!"
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