There’s nothing new about Ferrari fakes. They’ve been around for decades, most famously appearing on screen in cult 1980s movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Fast forward almost 40 years and people are still lusting after, and building replicas of the 250 GT California Spider Ferris borrowed from Cameron’s dad.
And when you consider that an original can cost as much as $20 million in its most desirable closed-headlight spec, it’s no wonder. Especially when BMW Z3s are so cheap and there were (until a few years ago) kits like DNA Automotive’s 2Fifty Cal available to make the transformation less complicated.
But the problem with these builds is that getting the body right is only part of the transformation. You’re never going to fool a 250 expert, but to have any hope of fooling anybody you need to get the wheels right, and junk the BMW dashboard, door cards, and seats. It’s an expensive, time-consuming business, but it’s a process the owner of the red 250 rep you see here went through in the course of a three-year build.
Related: Replica Ferrari Used In “Ferris Bueller” Crash Scene Sells For $337,000
The Florida-based owner even went to the trouble of replacing the stock BMW motor. Okay, so he didn’t drop in a Ferrari V12, but a 7.0-liter LS7 V8 out of a Corvette Z06 gives the former Z3 a serious 500 hp (507 PS) kick and promises decent reliability. He also detailed the interior so that it looks at first glance like the real deal, yet still offers power seats and air conditioning.
We’ve seen these replicas many times before, but what really caught our attention on this Bring-a-Trailer listing is that the owner filmed his tribute side by side with the real thing to highlight just how close it comes. It doesn’t take long to spot some giveaways as to which is the new car: most obviously the wheel offset looks wrong on the modern car’s wires, it has quarter windows in its longer doors that the oldie doesn’t have, and the modern windshield is too sturdy and not upright enough. Inside, we can see BMW heater vents and seatbelts, and a digital odometer.
But this is no $1 million toolroom replica, it’s a BMW Z3 wearing a fiberglass frock and when you remind yourself of that fact it’s impossible not to be impressed by what this owner has achieved. Plus, with almost twice the power of an original 280 hp 250 Spider, the Z3 build would eat the original in a straight line, and in any other dynamic test.
The quality of this build means it might well end up changing hands for the kind of money that would buy a real Ferrari (though not necessarily a very desirable one, and certainly not a Spider), and for many people that doesn’t make sense. There are so many bad Ferrari fakes out there that the whole genus has been a four-wheel punchline for years. But this build is a great reminder that when someone goes all-in on a replica project they really can end up with something that looks almost as good as the real thing… but for $20 million less.
You can check out the fake 250 in the gallery below, and see the auction listing here.
