A man couldn't wait for a Mercedes SLR supercar (right) – or he maybe couldn't stretch to the £313,465 price tag. So he bought a Mercedes Benz 500 SEC with damage at the front and back, and built one himself.
With help from friends and neighbours, within two years Krakau-based Pole Robert Furtak had stripped the 500 completely, and shortened the wheelbase by 29 centimetres. All in the garage at his home.
Apparently, half-way through the project, Mercedes got wind of it and sent envoys to take a look. So impressed were they that they even offered him cash for it, but he wouldn't sell.
In the end, he produced a car housing a Mercedes-Benz 5-litre V8 with 265bhp at 4,800rpm and torque of 317 lb-ft at 4,000rpm. It sits on double wishbone suspension with a wheelbase of 2.55m and weighs 1,600Kg. Performance is said to be 0-62mph in 7.2 seconds and a maximum speed of 147mph.
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