Should this have been done to a first-gen Acura NSX?
Remember years ago when we laughed at obviously fake Ferraris based on the Fiero platform? Man, those were the days.
The thing is, it’s getting harder to spot a fake supercar. We recently published an article on a fake Ferrari being sold on eBay, and the only dead giveaway was the wheelbase. And you had to look very carefully to spot the difference.
Now somebody’s gone and built a fake Lamborghini Diablo GT, and it’s just as hard to tell whether it’s fake or the real deal.
But this fake Diablo is hiding an even bigger secret. Underneath it’s a first-generation Acura NSX. As in the first NSX, partially developed by Ayrton Senna, and not the newer hybrid NSX.
At least the owner went for something a little more special than the average Lamborghini Diablo. This replica is based on the Diablo GT, of which just 80 were made. The 6.0-liter V12 from the GT produced 549 hp and was later used in the even more exclusive Lamborghini Diablo VT 6.0 SE.
The car looks identical to the GT, right down to the fixed headlights instead of the pop-up kind. Even the roof-mounted air-intake, spoiler, and scissor doors are correct. Unlike the Ferrari mentioned earlier, the dimensions are spot-on. This Diablo might be the best replica we’ve ever seen.
It’s bound to be more reliable, as the fake GT still uses the same 3.0-liter 270-hp V6 from the donor car. The seller sees this as a plus point, which might convince you to hand over the $175,000 asking price.
“While other Lamborghini owners are draining their bank accounts to pay for repairs, you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank when you get your parts at a local auto parts store or online for a fraction of the price,” the seller wrote in the eBay posting.
While the outside is compelling, the fake Diablo GT falls flat once you step inside. The owner tried to include a Lamborghini and Diablo badge or two, but it’s pretty clear that it’s an NSX.
The fake steering wheel does look nice, but the instrument cluster and its Japanese origins are hard to hide.
Still, the fake Diablo GT represents a massive saving over the real deal. The last time a Diablo GT sold at auction, it went for nearly $950,000. On the flipside, mint first-generation NSXs are currently going for $200k, so the owner would have been better off just leaving it alone.
eBay
eBay
