Compelling Ford GT replica fails to sell for $120k

The first-gen Ford GT came out in mid-2000s and was inspired by the legendary GT40 racecar from the 1960s. Limited production and steep pricing ensured that many replicas were born in its wake, this Superlite GT-R included.

Although the less experienced Ford fans may struggle to tell the imitation from the original, it is a completely different car. It rides on a custom chassis and wears a bespoke glass-fiber plastic body. A closer look reveals that the fenders are a tad too wide to be OEM, and the whole rear end looks different, especially the sparse quad-fin diffuser. The whole still looks sporty and stylish with a blue finish and a black, red-rimmed racing stripe running from the hood to the trunk.

A 5.2-liter Ford Performance V8 drives the rear wheels with 588 PS (580 hp / 432 kW) through a six-speed manual transmission. The original had around 80 horsepower (60 kilowatts) more than that, but it’s still a solid figure.

A peek inside reveals bucket seats clad in leather, a carbon-fiber dashboard, an Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, and cheap Kenwood audio. The fit and finish all around look amateurish, with visible stitching defects and the like, but still passable for a replica.

This Superlite GT-R had 2,735 kilometers (1,700 miles) on the odo by the time it went up on sale earlier this week. The bidding had slowly climbed to $120,000, but the seller felt it wasn't good enough and opted out.