Lightning McQueen ‘Ford GT’ Kit Car Brings Reel Life to Real Life
Motivated by a Volkswagen Beetle engine, this ‘Ford GT’ makes kids smile, but it won’t be racing for the checkered flag any time soon.
Way back in 2006, Pixar gave us car fans one of the coolest franchises ever shown on the silver screen, Cars. The exploits of Lightning McQueen as he makes his mark as a legendary racer captured the hearts of young and old alike through the main trilogy, from young upstart in the first film, to wise veteran in 2017’s Cars 3. It also helped that a lot of Pixar’s animators and designers, along with director John Lasseter, were huge car fans themselves; the studio is known for holding in-house car shows featuring all sorts of cool vintage and exotic rides.
This “Ford GT” would have a hard time fitting in, though. We happened upon this kit car, based on a 1967 Volkswagen Beetle on ClassicCars.com the other day, and it’s definitely a curious bit of fun.
According to the seller, the Lightning McQueen ‘Ford GT’ is based on a Fiberfab Avenger GT kit, itself meant to be a replica of the famed GT40. The front clip of the replica includes air intake grills from a Camaro SS, items McQueen himself never had.
Inside, instead of McQueen’s eyes, brain, and whatever else may be inside him, we find a pair of racing buckets with harnesses to keep everyone together, plus a smaller pair in the rear for any little ones who might want to go for a ride in their favorite hero.
Outback isn’t the GT40’s 427 cu in V8, but the Beetle’s 1600 cc flat-four, which made 50 horsepower in its day. While that’s definitely not “lightning” fast, the seller says he’s used the ‘Ford GT’ for pace laps at Irwindale Speedway in Irwindale, California, likely upon the Hoosier slicks his replica wears in the ad.
This ‘Ford GT’ may not look anything like a GT40 or Lightning McQueen (or go as fast as either), but it does have character. After all, without the stickers (which the seller says are removable), the clone of the beloved Cars star would simply be another Beetle-based kit car. Of course, the $50,000 price tag is another matter; we’d drop a zero, to start.
Photos: ClassicCars.com
