I have a friend who is, shall we say, somewhat on the snobby side. She insists that anything pretending to be something it's not is 'infra dig'. Fake wood flooring? Absolutely awful - it simply has to be authentic, darling. I often hear exactly the same view expressed about replicas of classic cars. OK, I do agree that, given the choice, of course you'd take the real thing.
But if you don't have the pockets to afford whatever you want, replicas can be brilliant. Let's face it, replicas exist for one reason, because the real thing is prohibitively expensive.
Cobra one of the most popular replicas
I had a timely reminder of just how good replicas can be at last weekend's Goodwood Revival. Superlative replicas were everywhere - and very often it was impossible to tell they were replicas. For instance, I charge you to differentiate a genuine SS100 from Suffolk Sports Cars' amazing replica.
Indeed, I'd argue that many replicas are actually better than the originals. Using new and upgraded parts makes them more usable and more reliable. In contrast to the originals, which are all too often simply cocooned away to protect their ever-increasing value, you'll have no qualms about driving and enjoying your replica.
Well when real ones are c.£12m...
Increasingly accurate, high-quality replicas are now becoming highly desirable in their own right.
Easily the world's most replicated car has to be the AC Cobra. With a current value of around £1m for a Shelby 427, it's no surprise that the 'fake snake' market continues to boom.
£79,995 buys you an utterly gorgeous Contemporary Classic Cobra which does a pretty fine job of looking like the real thing. Most Cobra 'replicas' don't, but that's often deliberately so. Take the Dax with its removable hardtop and updated details, which is far less authentic-looking but undoubtedly a stunning machine in its own right.
The Ford GT40 is a car that's easy to get wrong when it comes to replication, but this GTD example looks good to me. At £65K it's not cheap, but compared to the real thing (circa £5m), it's a great demonstration of how replicas can democratise iconic cars.
Beautiful, if not exactly authentic
Jaguar replicas in general don't do it for me, but the XKSS is a totally different proposition. The
RAM SS
is one of the better-known ones, and again its £70K asking price is a tiny fraction of the original (currently as much as £12 million).
Foreman's P4 is another convincing evocation of the Ferrari 330/P4. Despite the "correct dashboard layout" I'm not sure the cockpit is terribly authentic in this example (I note the Racetech electronic dials and 'Tributo Ferrari' badges from an Abarth 500!). Nor is the 'crate' Chevrolet 5.7-litre V8 engine exactly P4 spec, but it should sound purposeful with its four-barrel carb. With a mere 400 miles since being finished in 2011, it looks fair value at £57,500.
And, despite the Morris Marina engine, I do quite like Teal's Bugatti Type 35 replica. But what's my perfect replica? Either one of the super-rare Jaguar XJ13 replicas built by Proteus, or a hand-crafted copy of the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale. Neither of which is easy to find...
And when replicas go wrong
Replicas do have a dark side. For every brilliant replica, there are loads that are all wrong - incorrectly-engined, badly-built shams. If you can't create a convincing replica, what's the point? To illustrate this, I've pictured a couple of my favourite disasters.
Even when they're not based on a Toyota MR2 or Pontiac Fiero (which they normally are), replicas of modern Ferraris and Lambos really smack of desperation. Likewise, AC Cobra replicas with four-cylinder engines (yes, they do exist).
And I really don't see the point of replicas where you can buy the real thing for the pretty much the same price - we're looking at you, Aston Martin DB9 and non-Lightweight Jaguar E-Type.
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