New/old replica, Broadleiy, what?

[Seymour Snerd]

Anyone heard of this replica GT40?

GT40 North America is Awarded Sony Gran Turismo 4 Award for ``Best Domestic Automobile'' at Las Vegas SEMA Trade Show

There's one for sale on ebay: Ford : Ford GT Ford : Ford GT | eBay

Just curious because by now I though I knew about all of the different pretenders to the throne of GT40 clonesmanship, especially one who is the offspring of Eric Broadley.

Note: the chassis pictures don't support the assertion that it's an accurate replica.

Inquiring minds want to know, but they don't expect to be happy with the answer....

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Its a very long story and it starts with the GTNZ cars originally built by Phil Ware and then the company was purchased by Dave Harvey and after that it involved a group in the Indianapolis area with Andrew Broadley and then and then and then....

I know a guy that purchased two and bailed on both projects...I just received an email from a GT NA owner looking for a windshield yesterday actually...

 

[Erich]

There's one for sale on ebay: Ford : Ford GT Ford : Ford GT | eBay

...and best of all it has a " 485hp Rouche Engine" :laugh:

...referred to as a "485 HP built by ROUSCH" a little further down.

Somebody should let them know how to spell or look up "Roush"!

One other thing I've noticed how the rear wheels are totally off-center in the opening of the clam shell - "not pretty" in my opinion:

 

[Seymour Snerd]

One other thing I've noticed how the rear wheels are totally off-center in the opening of the clam shell

Oh ouch. Maybe they shift forward if you accelerate hard enough. :huh:

This is the same Andrew Broadley now COO and Tech. Dir at Viper Motorcycles.... It's interesting there is no mention of GT40NA on his linked-in profile:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/andrew-broadley/6/602/88a

Or did GT40NA get subtracted by 39 down to GT1 Motorsport?

 

[Chris]

I believe the body panels on these cars were carbon fiber? I think I almost purchased some damaged parts from one of these on Ebay. It was a guy in Indianopolis who wasn't too sure of their origin. I think he had a red nose and a blue tail both with significant crash damage. So I guess at least two of these cars were driven hard.

 

[Alain Vanhollebeke]

Hey guys, I know,,,it has been a loong time since I've been here.....
I was doing a little surfing tonight and noticed this thread and thought I would add a link to what I think is the final nail in the GT40NA story.
Here is a story on Bob Hancher,,,who apparantly finally got caught and exposed for what he really is....
The Hawk Eye

 

[Scott Calabro]

Every time I read an article like this I'm glad to have bought, built, driven & owned a car from a manufacturer that has been in business since 1984.

 

[Mark]

There certainly is mileage in that, Scott.

 

[Scott Calabro]

True.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Imagine that- the man's house caught fire. Astonishing. Poor fellow.

 

[Mark]

Coincidence is an amazing thing!

 

[Mike Drew]

It's a sad truism that the kit car industry seems to attract so many bottom feeders. For every legitimate business that develops and markets a good product (and stands behind it), there seem to be legions of scumbags and flim-flammers who go after suckers that can't resist the notion of getting a product for less than it should reasonably cost.

Then there is the third category--companies run by sincere, well-intentioned dreamers who have a fundamentally flawed business plan, usually dependent upon achieving great sales success immediately in order to make the venture commercially viable. They genuinely believe in themselves, and their product, and they absolutely want to make their customers happy. But not enough people are willing to invest in the product, expenses remain fixed (high), and soon they are underwater and sinking fast, leaving those customers who did express faith in them, stuck and out of luck. :cry:

Even well-established companies can fall on hard times. Contemporary was arguably (along with ERA) the nation's leading Cobra replica manufacturer in the '80s and early '90s, with many hundreds of cars built. I bought a used Contemporary, and the rear suspension fell apart shortly afterwards (I later learned mine was one of a handful that were equipped with suspension bits that had been incorrectly manufactured by a subcontractor). The owner of Contemporary was willing to work with me, although he was incredibly slow to respond. He agreed to supply the necessary parts plus the $$$ needed to repair the minor body damage that resulted. The parts showed up (after almost a year), but by the time the car was fixed, Contemporary had disappeared into the ether and I was left with a $5000 bill. :thumbsdown:

 

[Jack]

You nailed it Mike!
A few years ago I had written a really superior business plan for this sort of endeavor. It addressed every tenent of small manufacturing and showed exactly how to ramp production, dollar numbers required for each activity in the process, etc.

Very large amounts of money are needed for advertising and marketing as well as
sufficient funds to see a company through at least one full year without profit.

Big dangers exist when engineering "types" with no business experience run on enthusiasm rather than knowledge. In all, a difficult business.

 

[Cliff Beer]

It's the same with a lot of exotic cars....lambos, ferraris, etc.

I've owned a few ferraris and there's ALWAYS some story...usually involving bankruptcy, questionable transfer/title, fraud/theft, offshore owners, bank repo, etc....it goes on and on. It's so predictable.

I have two (old) f-cars in the garage. One was bought from a dealership selling it on behalf of the US Bankruptcy Court in Seattle in connection with the prior owner's criminal conviction (and imprisonment) for major SEC fraud. The other was a DEA-seized car from Florida which was then subsequently stolen and driven around Europe for a while before being brought back to the US.

This kind of bad behavior isn't limited to the kit car industry.

ps. through my own little bit of research I found out that the SEC convict later ended up as a school board president in Hawaii, with his wife (also implicated in the SEC scam) as the president of the local horticultural society. You just never know who you're dealing with.