Famous Ferrari-Powered Ford Seeks New Owner
Super-Cool SEMA Star Flips the Script on Traditional ’32 Ford Hot Rodder with Italian Power. And Now It’s Up for Grabs!
Hot-rodding culture has been around far longer than most of us have been alive, and it gets harder and harder to truly impress the crowds with something wild and different. Over the years builders have been trying to push the envelope by creating something that had never been seen before. But, when was the last time you saw something that really blew your socks off? Anyone can put a small-block Chevy in a 1932 low-boy roadster, but it truly takes an outside-the-box thinker to turbocharge a Ferrari engine and put it in a fender-less high-boy coupe.
That is exactly what the forward-thinking car enthusiasts at Alan Lee Designs and Vintage Flats did to build the famous Ford-Ferrari hybrid hot-rod that first wowed us at SEMA in 2015. After stealing the spotlight at the auto show, the wild ride soon started appearing on hot rod sites and in ads, garnering a huge fan base of car enthusiasts.
Fast forward to today and the coveted car is now on the market, currently stopping traffic on Melrose Avenue from its post in the front window of West Hollywood’s MP Classics. The classic cars specialists are on the hunt for an appreciative driver with enough passion and respect — and, of course, big bucks — to give this one-of-a-kind ride a suitable home.
Now, we don’t have the big bucks, but we certainly have the passion and respect, so, intrigued, we dialed up the Ford-Ferrari’s selling agent, MP Classics in Los Angeles, for some more details.
Reports reveal that the build started in 2015, for a prospective ride date of 2016. So, in essence, this one-of-a-kind vehicle was strategically built over the course of a full year.
“Yes, it did take a year to finish for a SEMA show, and further work is to be completed,” confirms a rep from MP Classics to Ford Truck Enthusiasts. “A buyer would get six hours of artist time to finish it to their needs and a further 90 days to complete.”
‘This is the rich man’s rat rod. Someone who understands the work in this car
would buy it anytime for any price.’
The ad says the engine in question is a 1989 3-liter Ferrari V8, but Ferrari did not build a 3-liter in 1989. It’s possible it is a 1979 3-liter, or could be a 3.2 liter from ’89. In either case, it’s been completely rebuilt with 9.1:1 compression pistons to be able to handle a whole lot of boost from a pair of Turbonetics snails. The seller says the engine still revs freely up to 8,500 rpm, and produces an estimated 950 horsepower. A set of custom-built stainless steel headers pushes the exhaust up to the turbos where it exits without any further muffling, meaning this is bound to be one extremely loud beast. If there is one thing a Ferrari V8 does better than a Ford V8, it’s that glorious high-rpm sound.
Everything appears to be well-assembled from quality components, featuring hot-rod staples like Dakota Digital gauges, a full roll cage, bucket seats with five-point harnesses, and a Tremec six-speed manual transmission. The stuff you don’t expect to see on a hot rod, however, are the twin Mishimoto intercoolers, an AEM engine control computer, KW coilovers, and custom application 15-inch disc brakes with four-piston calipers hidden behind original aluminum drums.
If this wild machine does, in fact, have nearly 1,000 horsepower on tap, it’s sure to be a handful. Even with a set of wide slicks at each corner, the fiberglass body makes this a definitive lightweight. The pictures in the ad do not show the turbochargers hooked up to either the intercoolers or the throttle bodies, and there is no driveshaft shown either. We’re cautiously optimistic that this is ready to roll for the $250,000 asking price.
“This is the rich man’s rat rod,” says MP Classics. “Someone who understands the work in this car would buy it anytime for any price.” We completely agree. And in any case, we hope whoever ends up buying this car comes back to us with verified dyno sheets and a wild quarter-mile time. Who wants to accept the challenge?
