What happens when a game gets so popular that the company that created it wants to make a life-sized replica of one of its most iconic cars? It gets built by West Coast Customs, given to a middle-aged mom, then put on eBay. Twice. And you can now buy it, proving that lightning doesn't just strike once.
This brand new Bravado Banshee was originally a 2006 Dodge Viper. It currently has 7,500 miles on it, and had three previous owners. While it does have the stock 500+ horsepower V10 drivetrain, nearly every single panel on the car is custom-made to resemble the in-game car. As you can see, the attention to detail is staggering, with every detail painstakingly recreated and sculpted from what I'm guessing is fiberglass, since the Viper's original bodywork was made from the same material.
The reason for selling again? Just as the first time, the car is too high-maintenance, as would be the case in any completely custom project like this. The battery is found by removing lots of panels, and enormous Hifonics subwoofers take up all the precious rear cargo space, making this an A to A car, at the very most. However, at the time of writing, the bidding is up to the mid-$50k range, seriously cheap when you consider that the commissioned car took almost $200,000 to build.
Should you buy it? That depends on how much you'd want a one-off replica of one of the most iconic cars in one of the most iconic games ever made. I'm not sure how much it would actually be worth, but in a strictly technical sense, it's a crazy bargain and it's a definite candidate for a growing collection. Just make sure no one steals it from you, because, y'know...
Tavarish is the founder of APiDA Online and writes about buying and selling cool cars on the internet. He owns the world's cheapest Mercedes S-Class, a graffiti-bombed Lexus, and he's the only Jalopnik author that has never driven a Miata. He also has a real name that he didn't feel was journalist-y enough so he used a pen name and this was the best he could do.
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