Replica of your dream car – yay or nay?

Visiting JHW classics got us thinking.

Jane has an amazing collection of cars – including a very special GT40 replica – the GTD 40. It’s a replica which makes all the right noises, has all the right parts, and looks exactly like an original. And it’s not cheap. We’re not impolite enough to ask the value of that vehicle, especially as it has a sentimental connection for Jane due to a meeting with Jackie Oliver, as revealed in the video. But it’s a high-spec tasty performance car which turns heads and oozes race pedigree.

So is there a stigma attached to driving such a car?

My personal feelings on this are that, as long as you’re not duping anybody, you should feel proud of your car. Like Jane, if it’s a GTD, call it a GTD, not a Ford. Other GT40 replicas are available of course, and all tend to be well engineered and faithful. It’s the same with 356 replicas – which I’d do anything to own one day because I can’t afford a real Porsche 356 and I’d be happy to tell people I own a ‘Chesil’ or whatever and not act like Joey Tribbiani waving around Porsche paraphernalia. If I could tweak it to look like an Outlaw version then all the better – even with a wheezy Beetle engine. And at least then I wouldn’t be lambasted for ruining a real 356.

This is quite different from taking a middle of the range sports car from Toyota or Pontiac or similar and sticking a body kit on it to make it look a bit like a Ferrari. And then sticking Ferrari badges all over it. And putting an expensive (or expensive-looking) replica watch on for the obligatory Instagram image at the wheel of your MR2/Fiero/406 coupé with a prancing horse on the Momo steering wheel. To me that seems like buying and making a point of owning a phone case for the iPhone X even though you’ve got a 3 year old iPhone 5.

A bespoke, handcrafted replica is a flattering nod to the original – take the ASM R1 we featured recently for example. You wouldn’t tell people you were driving an Aston Martin. You’d be proud to drive the hand-built ASM. Or, maybe, you would be the type to pretend it was real, but you’d be living a lie. Be proud of the car you have, a homage to a car that you desire. Don’t pretend you’ve got the real thing and I’ll respect you. But try and make people think you’re something you’re not, just comes across as a bit desperate.

I know a lot of people out there will disagree on two counts – one that replicas should exist at all – and others will disagree because they love their Toyota-engined Lambo rep. But that’s fine. It’s why we all drive different cars and like different TV shows and foods. And sexual partners.

If we all shared the same tastes in cars, bikes, people and cultures, we’d all be the same – and Influx wouldn’t exist.

Let me know what you think in the comments below.