This Homemade Ferrari 488 GTB Took Just 60 Days To Build

Few people can afford to buy a Ferrari, but there are alternative options. Aftermarket companies can build replicas of famous Ferraris, but some are more accurate than others. For example, a Pontiac Fierro was recently converted into a fake Ferrari F40. It’s currently for sale for $25,000, and while Ferrari aficionados will instantly be able to tell it apart from the real thing, it’s significantly cheaper than a rare authentic F40.

A group of Vietnamese enthusiasts at NHET TV take a different approach, however. Since they can’t afford to buy their favorite exotic supercars, they build their own on a budget using motorcycle engines and cardboard body panels. Last year, the team built a Bugatti Chiron cardboard replica that cost a fraction of the real car. The result was crude, but you can’t help but admire their dedication and ingenuity.

For their latest project, the team has built a replica of the Ferrari 488 GTB, and it’s a significant step up in quality from the cardboard Chiron. Unlike the Chiron, the body panels are made from fiberglass and composite glue and the car was built on a steel frame. The body was painted in red and the fake home-built Ferrari even has working lights.

While the team has done a respectable job of replicating the 488 GTB’s sharp styling considering the restrictions, it can’t match the performance of the real model. Whereas the real 488 GTB is powered by a 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8, this fake version features an air-cooled engine from a water pump bought from a local farmer activated by a pull cord in the back or a button in the cockpit.

Inside, there’s room for two people. Admittedly, the interior looks cruder than the exterior with its wooden dashboard. The team has also added a gear shifter and a sound system. In a video, we get to see the homemade Ferrari 488 GTB get taken for its first test drive. It’s not road legal, but this didn’t stop the team from taking it for a spin on the road, where it attracted a lot of attention from bystanders.

NHET TV claims its creation can reach a top speed of 60 km/h (37.2 mph), but judging from how fast it was being driven in the video it could easily be overtaken by a bicycle. The grating sound it makes won’t send shivers down your spine like a Ferrari, either. Still, this creation is undeniably impressive considering this DIY Ferrari supercar took just 60 days to build on a tiny budget of $1,000.