We're not sure concourse judges would appreciate this Chevy V8-powered '60s Ferrari GTE.
There's nothing that classic car collectors seem to hate more than unoriginal. And if you're into raining on people's parades, bringing this highly modified V8-swapped vintage Ferrari to Pebble Beach might be a genius idea.
This car, a real, original 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE, According to the seller, the body was donated from a GTE being converted to a GTO. So now that you've got lovely Ferrari body, what do you do with it? Purists would keep it around to sell to someone that has all the underpinnings of a 1963 GTE, but needs a new body for it. But if you aren't committed to keeping it in the Ferrari family, you might as well throw everything you have lying around at it and create something vastly different than what it started as, right? After all, there are no rules when it comes to hot rodding. In this case, you can take the body from one of the most elegant and dignified Ferraris and make it very, very naughty.
According to the owner, this car's original 250-series engine was used as a donor for a 250 GTO replica build, leaving the shell without an engine. After three years and $150,000 of restoration and customization, the car was brought back to life as a Chevy V8-powered hot rod, with a Tremec six-speed, a custom Art Morrison suspension, adjustable coil-overs, a Ford 9-inch rear end, and some seriously sweet velocity stacks.
Considering the average market value for a normal 250 GTE is hovering just under $400,000, we think this is a pretty good deal. Plus, you get to see the look on all those collector's faces after you roll by with that V8 rumble.
Aside from the giant blower sticking out of the front, it doesn't look that bad. The build quality seems to be excellent, for one thing. Don't hate it just because it's not a real.