GT40 public attention

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
I would have said more accurately "driven by dollars."

It's not the same thing. Plenty of people in the USA are not financially 'savvy' including the entire US Administration it would seem. :lipsrsealed:

Hard to argue that assessment
 

Pat Buckley

GT40s Supporter
Sorry to interrupt....

I don't like the attention the car gets, I don't like answering questions from strangers.

I will not drive it to get gas - I feel trapped while it fills up and have to respond to ( usually) idiots. I have some fuel jugs that I take to the station and bring the fuel home.

Driving on the road is also a pain in the ass as it seems like when people look at the car they also turn toward it - so I can't enjoy just driving along minding my own business!

I can only imagine what it must be like to be a recognizable personality.

Back to your "is it real" tortured discussion. If only Evan Harris had one.
 
Sorry to interrupt....

I don't like the attention the car gets, I don't like answering questions from strangers.

I will not drive it to get gas - I feel trapped while it fills up and have to respond to ( usually) idiots. I have some fuel jugs that I take to the station and bring the fuel home.

Driving on the road is also a pain in the ass as it seems like when people look at the car they also turn toward it - so I can't enjoy just driving along minding my own business!

I can only imagine what it must be like to be a recognizable personality.

Back to your "is it real" tortured discussion. If only Evan Harris had one.

Thisx100.

I understand why some of those celebrities act like jackasses - the first little bit of attention is interesting (because its like the whole world is watching you), but after a while it gets tiring and you want to be left alone.

No i do not want to talk to you. No i do not want to hear your stories. No i do not care that you are a car guy. No i do not care at all about you. Leave me alone.

I too fill up at home just to make sure i don't have to talk to people. At lights i look straight ahead and ignore others. I used to like posting about my cars online, now i don't because i got tired of random strangers thinking i am a museum that they can constantly pester to visit.

probably the nail in the coffin for me was once when i went out for a drive and some guy followed me home, up my driveway and was all like 'OMG YOUR CAR IS SO COOL! OMG YOUR COLLECTION IS INSANE, CAN I TAKE PICTURES????'. I'm sure somebody will point out that that's the extreme, and not everybody is like that, but there are enough out there that I've had it with people.
 
Interesting and entertaining reading here!

I think mood has everything to do with driving these cars. I have to be "in the mood" to deal with spectators when I take out either the GT40 or the Cobra. They both attract pretty much the same crowd I think. Hard to say which is the more popular. There are days that I may well be in Mumma's Subaru and no one even ventures a glance. Other times it is impossible to stop anywhere without the hoards with cameras and questions. When I am out in either I am typically prepared and happy to answer any questions and wait for the cameras to finish. I have even taken time to sit little kids in both cars for Mom and/or Dad to take their picture. Love the looks on their faces and it is a good feeling to share that opportunity with them. Future enthusiasts!

I had my Cobra at SAAC33 on display with a good friend that was set up as a vendor. This nice young couple asked if they could sit in the car for pictures. I helped them both in and out of the car, even snapped pics for them. They went on their way and my brother and I went to the lunch stand for a bite to eat. When we returned, there was literally a line of people of all shapes and sizes having their way with my car. I was horrified to find a slightly more that stout woman that has sufficiently jammed herself into my brand new 15" comp seat. The crowd was rather mused, the lady badly embarrassed. All I could do is protect my fragile windshield while her mortified husband pried her out of the seat. I look back on it now with a bit of a grin. But the ripped seat cover on the comp shell really had me fuming at the time. Lesson learned I guess...

The best comment I have heard yet... Father telling his inquisitive young son as they were pondering over my GT40 at a car show... "It's a gull wing Lotus".
 
Sorry to interrupt....

I don't like the attention the car gets, I don't like answering questions from strangers.

I will not drive it to get gas - I feel trapped while it fills up and have to respond to ( usually) idiots. I have some fuel jugs that I take to the station and bring the fuel home.

Driving on the road is also a pain in the ass as it seems like when people look at the car they also turn toward it - so I can't enjoy just driving along minding my own business!

I can only imagine what it must be like to be a recognizable personality.

Back to your "is it real" tortured discussion. If only Evan Harris had one.

Pat, you old curmudgeon, you make me laugh.
 
My two pennyworth - if you drive a car like this then expect attention, it's that sort of car. If you don't want attention then try using a trailer to take your car to a track then trailer it back. Or buy a Mundano. Personally I am happy to talk to people at any time and often have kids and parents sat in the car. not being a cobra there is a certain element of security with the doors closed and I have never seen anyone trying to get into it without me being there and giving the OK. As for "Gullwing Lotus" yes I do get a lot of that and also the "Is it real?" I always tell the truth and that it is a replica - not a kit, as there was no donor vehicle involved; this is the distinction I make to define kit and replica. The only worry I have is people coming alongside on the motorway to take pictures and almost running into the car in front of them. I point out that they are in danger and they drop back with a thank you wave - no harm done. Basically you should expect attention and let's face it, if you'd never had one wouldn't you want to talk to the owner when you saw one?
 
I am not going to read every posting but I will throw a spanner in the works that you can all use. Peter Sutcliffes GT40P/1009 was supply to him part completed so he could save paying Purchase Tax on the Car? This by definition was a Kit car (supplied in parts) but not a replica!!! A number of other original GT40 were supplied in this way!!! I do not own one Kit/ Replica but are pretty much envious of those that do I am afraid curiosity comes with the territory. I was in Wimbourne in the town square on holiday when around the corner came a car that stopped everyone in its tracks. A replica of the Duke of Hazards "General Lee" bright Orange Doge Charger with silk ribbon being used as a wedding car. "Curiosity Killed the Cat"
Regards Allan
 

Pat Buckley

GT40s Supporter
My two pennyworth - if you drive a car like this then expect attention, it's that sort of car. If you don't want attention then try using a trailer to take your car to a track then trailer it back. Or buy a Mundano. Personally I am happy to talk to people at any time and often have kids and parents sat in the car. not being a cobra there is a certain element of security with the doors closed and I have never seen anyone trying to get into it without me being there and giving the OK. As for "Gullwing Lotus" yes I do get a lot of that and also the "Is it real?" I always tell the truth and that it is a replica - not a kit, as there was no donor vehicle involved; this is the distinction I make to define kit and replica. The only worry I have is people coming alongside on the motorway to take pictures and almost running into the car in front of them. I point out that they are in danger and they drop back with a thank you wave - no harm done. Basically you should expect attention and let's face it, if you'd never had one wouldn't you want to talk to the owner when you saw one?

You would have to be pretty clueless not to expect attention when driving any kind of unusual car - but thanks for pointing that out to us. Expecting it and liking it are two different things.

When I see some sort of unusual car I look at the car. I don't yak at the owner.

Many times I have been in close proximity to famous actors and sports figures and I make it a point to not bother them. I think it is called class.

I have for sure let little boys (or Hooters girls) sit in my car at a show - that is why the car is there, after all! But when I am minding my own business I expect the same of others.
 

Charlie Farley

Supporter
Pat & Alex,

I'm with you. Totally.
Back in about 87, i was on the London Underground, at the moment i can't recall the name of the station, but i believe it is the deepest and thus has lifts.
Was very early morning. Entered the lift and waited for the doors to shut.
Another guy, albeit it very tall, walked in. Just the two of us on the journey to the surface. John Cleese. Head buried in paperwork he was carrying. Like to think it was a script. I got the impression he wasn't really reading it, just using it as a foil to stop unwanted attention.So you give the bloke a break.
You can look, but there is no excuse for poking and prodding...guess that's what tv culture these days encourages.
 
I think despite owning a car that brings such attention, doesn't necessarily mean that was the owners intentions for owning the car. And at the same time, the owner can't drive something so radical and not expect people to be drawn to it.

Some similarities to celebrities I guess. Goes with the territory.
 

Doug S.

The protoplasm may be 72, but the spirit is 32!
Lifetime Supporter
So, one question:

What would be the best response to the question: Is it a real one? / Is it a kit car?

"It's neither, it is a replica. It is better engineered than the originals, will generally perform better, and last longer."

This would be a very accurate response for most of us, who source our parts from a variety of sources. IMHO the reason the general public associates "kit car" with Mustangs is the FFR products...most people who ask me about the Cobra think a "kit car" is a pile of parts that includes everything needed to make a drivable car, sans fluids. They are almost always surprised to find out how long they take to assemble and parts acquisition never enters the general public's minds b/c they think it all came in one box.

Cheers!!

Doug
 

Pete McCluskey.

Lifetime Supporter
I often get asked "is it a real one" depending on my mood the answer is. "I wish"or " no I have hypnotised you and it is really a Prius".
 

Larry L.

Lifetime Supporter
What are you taking about now Larry? What legal classification are you referring to and be specific? Cite your source. In no point of the process was my SPF ever deemed or referred to as a "kit car" except by knucklehead FGT owners who are just mad it gets far more attention than their old man cruisemobiles. Like I said, debating this with an ex-FGT owner is like pounding sand.

Okay, terse one, 'splain to us the reason SPFs are shipped here sans engine and tranny if it's not because of these regs? Why else can't they be shipped/bought fully assembled and 'turn key'?
 
Okay, terse one, 'splain to us the reason SPFs are shipped here sans engine and tranny if it's not because of these regs? Why else can't they be shipped/bought fully assembled and 'turn key'?

I think what the terse one is referring to is that SPFs are not imported to the United States under any regulations that specifically mention the words "kit car". They are imported under a regulation that states a body coming in without a drivetrain is not a vehicle, it's just a part. Part importation is not regulated by the EPA the same way as vehicles. There is a requirement under the EPA rules that the manufacturer of the body "part" not be involved in the manufacture of the drivetrain. Which is why installers in the United States are completely separate entities from SPF.

So, yes, it's absolutely to get around the regulations. But not because they are considered or labeled as "kit cars" related to those regulations.

The EPA seems to generally consider a kit car as a car using a new body and old drivetrain.

While the definition of "kit car" can vary greatly, and the quality of product resulting from said "kit cars" can be spectacularly good, I think when most causal observers try to label our cars as "kit cars" they are generally trying to label it as being less than what it really is. The causal "kit car" label is trying to say it's just a Fiero with a cool looking fiberglass body. The Superformance is not that. And while great products like the RCR are maybe not quite as faithful a reproduction, they are also far from what the causal observer is intending with their "kit car" label. So it's not so much whether the label "kit car" is technically accurate or not, it's the fact that when most causal observers are using the term they have not a clue what they are talking about.

- Jeff
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
A detailed and well worded explanation. Now get ready to bang your head on the wall as the "car-less" one comes back and tries to dissect your explanation into it really meaning it's a kit car lol. Love ya pockets
 
I had my Cobra at SAAC33 on display with a good friend that was set up as a vendor. This nice young couple asked if they could sit in the car for pictures. I helped them both in and out of the car, even snapped pics for them. They went on their way and my brother and I went to the lunch stand for a bite to eat. When we returned, there was literally a line of people of all shapes and sizes having their way with my car. I was horrified to find a slightly more that stout woman that has sufficiently jammed herself into my brand new 15" comp seat. The crowd was rather mused, the lady badly embarrassed. All I could do is protect my fragile windshield while her mortified husband pried her out of the seat. I look back on it now with a bit of a grin. But the ripped seat cover on the comp shell really had me fuming at the time. Lesson learned I guess...

Oh, how I sympathise with you.

I do not usually do shows as it is bad enough at race meetings, but at one event several years ago I had the 917 on display. Turned my back for a minute while talking to someone, only to find on looking back that a father was letting his little son crawl up the front and onto the windscreen !!!!!!!!
I went berserk with the father, who disappeared rather quickly with a few expletives rapidly being fired off at him.

At LeMans I caught a German red handed taking my filler cap who was promptly reminded about them losing two world wars and that he was about to become another casualty !!!

On the 40 and 917 I have also had people peeling off stickers and taking the valve caps.
 

Mike

Lifetime Supporter
I wonder if the folks who suggest that since you own a car like these you should expect it and just get over it, came back to find their valve stem caps missing, a fat lady wedged in the drivers seat, and someone crawling up the windscreen, would feel a bit differently then :)
 
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