Fine Sports Cars in NZ

My first post. Had the pleasure of looking at two CAV GT 40s yesterday in San Diego and was very impressed. Build quality was very high. Also ran across the Fine Sports Car company on the web. They claim they've made several GT-40s from "Original Drawings". Anybody know anything about them? [url="http://www.finesportscar.com/GT40.html<A HREF="]Fine" TARGET=_blank>http://www.finesportscar.com/GT40.htmlFine Sports Car Company</A>

[ChrisL]

Malcolm,
There is a manufacturer in NZ - if you can call it that - who make nut-and-bolt replicas (correct to the last nut and bolt) of which there are at least 2 in Aus which I have seen. I understand that the person who builds them is a one man show and does it for fun. He was somehow involved in the Carrol Shelby Cobra LeMans effort. I beleive that he has also built several other replicas - such as a Cobra which is now recognised by Carrol Shelby as an original due to its acuracy - and some LeMans Jags.

[Ron Rowse]

Dear Malcolm

There was a company in New Zealand building
Beautiful copies.

They Built 6 cars that have been sold all over the world.

They had a web site called.www.titan.co.nz/gt40

The owners name is Mr Frank Wigg.

Well the link didn't work. Theses guys have a website at: www.finesportscar.com/GT40.html

[jimbo]

I tried to contact Fine Sports Car several times, left messages, no answer. Also emails; same results, or the lack thereof. I think most of the cars they've "built" were actually Safir GT40 MK V cars which they completed, putting engines in otherwise finished vehicles. I do not think they have built anything from scratch and I do not believe they build either chassis or bodies.
Jim R [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

I e-mailed them on Friday, got a response today. If you belive there web-site, they do some incredible work. I just asked them for a copy of the Road and Track article. If I get it, I will post it.

This is what they sent me:

Fine Sports Cars Ô


WORLD’S LEADER IN REMANUFACTURED SPORTS RACING CARS
(858)625-3838 _______________________________________
Mail: Box 13066, La Jolla, California 92039 E-mail: FineCar@aol.com Fax (858) 558-1616

CALIFORNIA'S PREMIER DEALER IN THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF ONLY THE
FINEST REMANUFACTURED SPORTS RACING CARS, AND INVESTMENT AUTOMOBILES


* * * CURRENT INVENTORY * * *

1959 FERRARI 250 TESTA ROSSA, This automobile is a superb all-aluminum remanufacture of the legendary 1959 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa built from original factory drawings. This car was constructed over a period of two years using all correct and authentic Ferrari parts. It is fitted with a completely fresh 128F Ferrari V-12 built by two of America's most respected Ferrari specialists, Bob Wallace, and Ted Wenz (all receipts on hand). Faithfully depicts the Dan Gurney/Phil Hill Sebring factory team car and is generally regarded as the best of all the 250TR's. It carries the original I.D. plate and chassis from the donor car (#3661) from which it was constructed and can be driven on the street, or raced in vintage events. Considered by many to be the most beautiful Ferrari ever built. Only three original cars built by the factory in 1959, and are currently valued at well over $3,000,000.

1957 FERRARI 250 TESTA ROSSA, (S/N 2411) mechanically identical to the above automobile but rebodied with the “pontoon” body style. December Delivery.

PORSCHE 917K, identical to Steve McQueen’s LeMans movie car. Constructed to exacting specifications, and painted in the correct Gulf Porsche colors. Choice of engines. Blue/Orange, November Delivery.

FERRARI 196SP PROTOTYPE, this car is all-alloy, and was hand crafted in Italy. Totally correct and authentic from the fully independent rear end, to the Colotti limited slip differential. Red/Black

FERRARI 330 P/4 PROTOTYPE, totally correct and authentic all-alloy remanufactured sports racing car, Ferrari 4-cam V-12. Identical to Ferrari factory team car #23. January 2002 delivery.


(1)


FERRARI BARCHETTA TIPO 212, beautifully constructed, all-alloy, V-12. Vintage race history, driven by Stirling Moss in vintage events. Blackhawk Classic Winner. Immediate Delivery. Red/Black.

MASERATI 450S SPORTS RACING CAR, all-alloy, 4-cam V-8. Tubular frame. Totally correct and authentic using original Maserati parts. Spectacular automobile. Red/Black. Immediate Delivery.

427 A.C. COBRA (AUTOKRAFT), one of only two factory built 427's, side oiler w/alloy heads, side exhaust pipes, and original black interior. ONLY 85 miles from new. Immaculate. Black/Black. (SOLD)

427 FORD GT40 MK II, LeMans specifications. Identical to Ken Miles Daytona 24-hour winner. Blue/White. November 2001 Delivery.

ASTON MARTIN DBR2, identical to the factory team cars. All-alloy, tubular frame. Vintage race history. Metallic Green. Immediate Delivery.

JAGUAR XJ13, all-alloy construction, full monocoque as per the original factory car. Rear mounted V-12 with transaxle. Jaguar most beautiful car. Only one original car was built by the factory in 1967. British Racing Green. Race ready. January 2002 Delivery.

ASTON MARTIN DB 2/4 MK III TICKFORD COUPE, extremely rare and desirable Aston Martin with a documented history. One of the very few LHD Tickford Fixed Head Coupes built. Comes with books, tools, and original build sheet. Documented on Page 150 of "Aston Martin and Lagonda" by Michael Frostick. Restored to show condition.

1965 D-JAGUAR (SHORT NOSE), A correct and authentic rebody of Jaguar's finest racing car. Virtually indistinguishable from the original LeMans specification team cars. The polished all-alloy body is the finest we have ever seen and is authentic to the smallest detail. British Racing Green. Vintage racing and street legal. Immediate Delivery.

McLAREN 8F (Can-Am), remanufactured to authentic and correct specifications, including original factory 8F Can-Am bodywork with Aluminum honeycomb monocoque. Virtually identical to the factory Gulf McLaren 8F team cars. Perfect for vintage racing or racing collection. Extensive British race history. (SOLD)


(2)

1963 FERRARI 250GT SWB, remanufactured and correctly modified to SWB specifications using all original Ferrari components. The all-alloy body is beautifully hand crafted and correct in every detail. Red/Black

1990 FERRARI 308 IMSA GT, Huffaker built S/N 001. The ultimate professional Ferrari 308 tube frame race car. (SOLD)

1977 FERRARI 308/288GTO CONVERSION, professionally built from the ground up on low mileage Ferrari 308 chassis and done with attention paid to the smallest detail. Car is in show condition. Red/Black.

1974 JAGUAR V-12 ROADSTER, low mileage two-owner car with both tops. 4-speed with wire wheels. Last one delivered to the U.S. November, 1974. Very desirable automobile. Brown/Parchment.

1972 LAMBORGHINI JARAMA V-12, beautiful condition with very low mileage, knock-off wheels, Bronze/Tan.

1974 MASERATI BORA, 4.9 liter, red with white interior, only 8,000 original, one-owner miles. (SOLD)

1973 LAMBORGHINI JARAMA V-12, 5-speed w/knock-off wheels, 42,000 original miles. Beautiful condition, rare twin sunroofs. Red/Tan.

1971 MASERATI GHIBLI SS, 4.9 liter, 5-speed with knock-off wheels. Diamond silver with black interior. Immaculate.

1960 FERRARI 250GT (MODENA) CALIFORNIA SPYDER, Ford V-8, Webers, 5-speed. 2900 original miles. Immaculate. Red/Tan.

1967 MGB ROADSTER, RHD, British racing green, tan interior. Pebble Beach show condition. Probably non finer in California.

1978 FERRARI 400A, like new, metallic blue with tan interior. Completely fresh engine.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL (858) 625-3838

Fax (858) 558-1616, e-mail: FineCar@aol.com

www.finesportscar.com


Fine Sports CarsÔ e-mail: FineCar@aol.com


WORLD’S LEADER IN REMANUFACTIRED SPORTS RACING CARS (858)625-3838
________________________________________
Mail: Box 13066, La Jolla, California 92039 Fax (858) 558-1616


PRICE LIST

1959 FERRARI 250TR TESTA ROSSA - Red $ 245,000

1957 FERRARI 250 TESTA ROSSA (Pontoon) $ 256,000

PORSCHE 917K (GULF PORSCHE) $ POA

FERRARI 330 P/4 PROTOTYPE $ 238,000

FERRARI 196SP PROTOTYPE $ 165,000

FERRARI BARCHETTA TIPO 212 $ 225,000

ASTON MARTIN DBR2 - Green Mist $ 190,000

ASTON MARTIN DB3S - BRG $ 196,000

427 A.C. AUTOKRAFT COBRA - Black $ 165,000

1962 FERRARI 250GT SWB - Red/Black $ 195,500

1957 ASTON MARTIN DB 2/4 MK III $ 89,900
(TICKFORD COUPE)

1978 FERRARI 400A - Blue/Tan $ 36,000


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

427 FORD GT40 MK II - Blue/White $ 167,500

1967 JAGUAR XJ13 - BRG $ 192,500

1971 MASERATI GHIBLI SS - Silver $ 45,000




1952 FERRARI BARCHETTA TIPO 212 - Red $ 175,000 (Sold)

1977 FERRARI 308/288GTO Conversion - Red $ 58,000

1990 FERRARI IMSA 308GT - Red (SOLD) $ 92,500

1957 MASERATI 450S - Red (Remanufactured) $ 186,500

MC LAREN 8F (Can-Am) - McLaren Orange $ 94,500 (Sold)

1972 LAMBORGHINI JARAMA V-12 - Bronze $ 32,000

1973 LAMBORGHINI JARAMA V-12 - Red $ 34,500

1974 JAGUAR V-12 ROADSTER - Sable $ 42,500

1967 MASERATI MISTRAL - Red $ 25,000

1974 MASERATI 4.9 BORA - Red $ 44,000

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

MASERATI GHLIBL 4.9SS - Silver $ 45,000

JAGUAR D-TYPE (Remanufactured) - Yellow $ 135,000

1973 LAMBORGHINI JARAMA (TARGA TOP) $ 37,500

1960 FERRARI 250GT (MODENA) CA SPYDER $ 48,500

1960 CADILLAC CONVERTIBLE $ 28,000

Please visit our Website at:
www.finesportscar.com

I wonder if those prices are in NZ dollars or US. If they're NZ that 427 is a deal.

Guys:

Open your eyes, these guys are in California, not NZ.


Jeff

[Bill Bayard]

Malcolm,

Fine Sports Cars' phone # has a California area code. I think you guys are looking at two different companies altogether. Prices
would be in USD. Still, $167,500 for an EXACT
copy of a MKII isn't all bad, considering
that ERA's can run well over $100K.

Bill

I guess I wasn't clear enough. The factory is in NZ. The company has representation in CA. Same company.

Malcom:

Do you know this for a fact? It sounds correct to me because when I e-mailed them, I asked if I could come visit (in California)this Sping and got no response. I also asked them for a copy of the June of 2000 article in Road and Track about themselves and got this tiny little thing that could not be read. I talked to somebody else on the Cobra Club forum and they had nothing but praise. I am going to ask this person if he knew that the cars are actually being made in NZ. Nothing wrong with NZ, I'm just trying to understand. Talk about a deal, how about the Ferrari 330 P4 for $238K. A real one (only 3 made) last sold for about $5 million. Does anybody have a June of 200 Road and Track that they can scan?

Thanks:


Jeff

Jeff, about a year ago I stumbled onto the website and while I was in Southern Cal I gave them a call so I could come visit the "factory". The guy at the other end of the CA phone number said that the factory was in NZ and that he was just a represntative. Never pursued it any further, and until recently I had lost the web address. I was just curious as to the construction of the GT40s, ie monoque, or space frame, if the 427s used top loaders etc.

Hi All,

I've just checked my 2002 copy of the New Zealand Classic Car trade directory which lists all manufacturers of classic/kit cars in N.Z. No listing for Fine Sports Cars. I also checked the NZ yellow pages. No listing again, so I'm at a loss as to who they are. I know Frank Wigg exists and did build at least one moncoque some years ago but I don't know how many others he built or what he's up to now. One of the very nice replicas currently in Australia was built by Classic Car Developments who are building my moncoque chassis.

[jimbo]

If you look near the end of David Hodge's GT40 book there is a listing that includes the SAfir MK V cars, by individual chassis number. Two of them were sold to Fine Sports Car Co., and evidently finished by them and resold. They must be doing nice work, but they sure don't return phone calls or emails very often.

[Clay Wagner]

Perhaps this e-mail will answer some of your questions.

"HI
Yes we have a car available it is the blue car featured on the web site.
We built a run of six of these cars of which the blue car featured is the
last one. We have kept the car for the last 4 years ourselves and now have
the car up for sale. It has only travelled 1850 miles since new. We have
only used the car for shows and the odd demonstration.Also we take the car
out on the odd day to keep it in running condition as it is stored most of
the time. The other five cars now are located in Australia with one in the
Channel Islands in the UK.
We set out to build these cars as close as we could to the original GT40
having access to an original car to get the specs etc. We have used some
modern compoenents such as brakes, shock absorbers and engine compoenents.
The current engine is a 302 Ford windsor with edlebrook alloy heads, st st
valves and forged pistons, 4bbl Holley carb. This engine has dyno'd out to
310 HP at the rear wheels but it behaves very nicely on the road.(even in
city traffic)
We have had the car on the race track for testing and have seen speeds up
to 165 mph. It would go faster but we needed a longer straight before we
got to the hairpin !!!
The gearbox is ZF 5 speed which was brand new when we built the car.It has
the heavy duty case built for the BMW M1. The gearbox was supplied and
built by Roy Buttford of Pantera Specialist in California.
The wheels, suspension uprights are cast alloy made for the car.
The chassis is of monocoque construction as per the original cars but we
had to redesign the chassis for hand fabrication as the original had alot
of pressings and manufactured compoenents. Also we had to comply which the
modern safety design and crash standards to get the cars approved for use
on the road.
Visually the chassis is very close but it does differ in the construction
for the above reasons. As for spare parts we can supply any parts unique to
the car if required how ever none of the 5 previous owners to date have
required any.
If you are aware of the English Safir Engineering GT40's then our car is of
similar constuction and we have been told by well informed people that our
car is off a higher standard and quality.
As for the price of the car we are negotiable at $70000-00 US ex Auckland
New Zealand.
Also we are quite happy to ship the car less the engine if you wish and
drop the price accordingly.
As for shipping the car we can make arrangements at reasonable prices.
If you are still interested in the car we can take more detailed pictures
and send them to you.
If you have any further questions or need more specific details please do
not hesitate to contact me.
Regards
Frank Wigg"

[ January 16, 2002: Message edited by: GT-40 Freak ]

Very interesting! Thanks for tracking them down. $70K seems a good deal depending on the car's construction. Funny these guys are so hard to find.

[jimbo]

The website address that worked for me is: www.titan.co.nz/gt40/. The car for sale is Guardsman blue, with stripes. Looks like Fran Kress' car. From what you can see is the photos, the workmanship is of a very high standard and the car looks very good indeed. Interestingly, the seats appear to be separate, adjustable items, so the chassis is nonoriginal in that sense- the original ones had the seating areas welded in, I think, and the wheel and pedals were adjustable.
$70,000 US for a running monocoque car is a DEAL, if you ask me. That's not going o last long.

[Clay Wagner]

For those that are interested, I just recieved Fine Sports Cars formal info packet by FedEx today, it appears to be from the US representative in CA though. It contains some more interesting detailed pics of the Mono chassis and interior, I will get someone in my office to scan this and I will post the pics when I get a chance. Very good deal indeed for 70k (including engine (289) with very low miles)however a right hand driver though....are these more difficult in a Mono chassis to convert to left hand drive? Seriously considering importing this beauty.