This is the car with two big turbos and a heavy Ricardo transaxle hanging off the back? I'm sure it is very fast but probably quite ill mannered.
I will repeat what I have said before in 'short form'.
:laugh:
1) I knew the guy who bought this car originally. He rode in my MkII and said... I need one of these! But his goal was to have 1000HP. He got it in spades. He brought it by my house one night to look at it. It was late, so I didn't drive it. They had major problems dynoing the car. It wouldn't stick to the dyno rollers. It made something like 1183HP (going by memory here, so I could be off a few HP). The owner told me if he got on the throttle hard in second gear, the chassis would twist so much the passenger door would come open. It's a Keith Craft 427 engine, by the way. Don't know the engine details.
2) The car has a lot of major modifications done to it. The Ricardo did not fit, so the back end of the car was modified accordingly. You can see that the rear clip frame is modified as is the back part of the car.
3) The engine and transmission had to be mounted higher than normal so the Ricardo cleared.
4) The Ricardo and the turbos and the intercoolers and the piping, etc. all add a LOT of weight to the rear of the car. It took both of us (we both weigh over 200lbs) pulling on my quick jack to get the back end of the car off the ground. I thought the jack arms were going to break... By the way, did I mention that this car is HEAVY at the back?
5) The previous owner told me the reason the insurance company totaled it was because the monocoque was tweaked on the left rear corner and the right front. It was January in Dallas and he hit some ice. The car spun and both ends were hit when he went offroading. Nobody was hurt. The police told him he was lucky.
I have not seen the car since the accident, but that's what the owner told me. The decision by the insurance company was apparently made after pursuing the option of replacing the monocoque with a new one.
6) It has all kinds of other stuff on it. Electric mirrors, iPod docking station and fancy stereo system, GPS (screen retracts into the dash when not in use), leather seats which were modified to the owner's taste, all new gauges, paddle shift, an ice cannister to assist the intercoolers, those nice blue headlights that everyone seems to like these days, etc. etc. etc.
I honestly think the original owner was kinda' glad to see it go. It was WAY more expensive than he thought it would be to do all that custom work and when it was finished, I believe he was a little disappointed with all the little 'features' of the car that it ended up having. Doors opening when you didn't want them to, lack of traction, weight in the back made it handle poorly, etc. etc. In other words, even more impractical than a 'normal' GT40.
Just passing on what I know. In its current state, I'm sure it will drive down the road. Would I buy it? Not really, knowing what I know.
For parts, maybe.... but not at the price they were asking for.
If you wanted to do it right, a new chassis would be the first thing I'd look into. The engine would be detuned or the chassis would have to be strengthened. If you wanted it to handle decently, the Ricardo's extra weight would have to go. You'd want to lower the engine and transaxle back down.
Why spend all that money unless you just want to make it a show queen. I drive my cars....
Well, just my opinion....
FWIW,
Kirby