Some say that it is cursed, that it caused a business to fail, and proved too controversial even for eBay. But now, in an exclusive engagement on Nice Price or Crack Pipe, comes. . . the Delirious 250 GT-Faux.
What is it with Tampa Florida and cars pretending to be something they're not? Is it the oppressive humidity? Are people there still smarting over the Buc's woeful '76-'77 season? Whatever the reason, yesterday's cross-dressing Bee-Emm-Waaaaa? Miata proved too wild a fetish for most, a fact attested to by its 74% Crack Pipe vote. And today we have yet another Tampa transvestite, only this one comes with a Hollywood pedigree.
Beloved Canadian comedian, John Candy once made a movie called Planes, Trains & Automobiles, and while today's Datsun-based 250 GTO represents none of the transportation options in that movie, it did have a supporting roll in another Candy flick, 1991's Delirious. That film's premise of a soap opera writer who becomes a character in his own show after a bump on the head is pretty wacky, but it's not as crazy as going up against the Italians in an intellectual property rights lawsuit, which is just what this car's creator, Tom McBurnie did when he was building Daytona Spider replicas (including three for Miami Vice), and it nearly cost him his business. He still sells seashells at the seashore Porsche replicas, but has given up selling any kind of phony baloney pony. In the ad, the seller claims that Ferrari also sued McBurnie for this car following its silver screen appearance, and that the House of Enzo forced eBay to pull the car's auction a week ago. Whether any of that is true is questionable, but what the hell, it'd make a good movie.
Despite the corporate intrigue, here it is today on the Tampa Craigslist, home to everything that's something else. And while this seems to be a very unique proposition considering its heritage, there does exist another car just like this from that same movie, and there's a black one floating out there that Tom Cruise drove in the opening segment of Vanilla Sky - and yes, that's two and a half hours I'd like to get back. As you might have noticed on Top Gear a few weeks back, Cruise is a damn fine driver, and his Faux-T-O sported three pedals and a stick. John Candy, on the other hand, was built for comfort not speed, and hence the foundation Z here was a 3-speed slusher. If that doesn't seem very Ferrari GTO-like, then the SOHC 2.8-litre six will feel even less so.
But that body! You can still see the Z in the cant of the b-pillar and the less aggressively curved windscreen, but it's got enough of the GTO styling cues that it could pass for Russo on the road. Just make sure that road doesn't end at the Concorso Italiano, or you may end up lying next to a gun, but sans a cannoli. And along those lines, the car's seller is obviously accepting cash only, and offers no warranty of either the car not breaking down, nor Ferrari's goons not breaking your legs. Mama mia!
John Candy wouldn't have had that fear, as even a goodfella knows he was a funny guy. Sadly, John's not with us anymore, but if you're his biggest fan, well first, you should probably go on a diet, but after that you might want a reminder of the rotund Canadian comedian, one that's also a reminder of a great Italian automobile. In order for anyone to do so however, they'll need to come up with the money, which in this case is $22,500. What's your take on that price for this Faux-rari that was once driven by a funnyman? Do you think you'd take that $22,500 seriously? Or, for that price, would it be the seller laughing all the way to the bank?
You decide!
Tampa Craigslist or go here if Ferrari's lawyers show up.
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