Nutter Face-Off: 1988 Bentley Mulsanne 675hp V8 vs 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Spyder Kit Car
Another face-off so soon? Didn’t DT just do a face-off? Yes, but those were cars that were remotely affordable and possibly a good deal — but this next face-off is firmly in the realm of the insane. With that in mind, what If you had $40k to spend on a used car with a Chevy V8 engine, would you get — a 1988 Bentley Mulsanne 675 horsepower Supercharged V8 for $39,900…or this 1962 Ferrari GTO kit car offered for $29,900 buy-it-now here on eBay
with a few hours to go.
First up, let’s take a look at this crazy looking Bentley which tosses aside the normal air of sophistication for a brutal Chevy 502 cubic inch big block V8 that is supercharged to produce 675 horsepower. Interestingly enough, Bentley cut its teeth with racing cars early in the 1920s and 1930s with multiple 1st place finishes at LeMans, but went on suspended hiatus until it return to sports car racing in 2001. It won’t win any awards for fuel economy, but this thing should provide an excellent value in smiles per mile.
The next car in this competition is a kit car that uses a basic Datsun 240Z chassis and turns the volume up to 11 with a Chevrolet 350 cubic inch V8 and manual gearbox. It does a pretty good job of looking like a Ferrari compared to many kits, and the Z chassis isn’t a bad place to start for handling. With cheap Corvette power it could very well go and turn better than a real 250 GTO for a fraction of the cost.
So what do you get? The Mulsannegrenade or the GTain’t? Comments below. Got a hot tip on an oddball car? Send it here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Hmmm… decisions decisions.
Well, if I was a betting man (and I would have to be to get involved in this game) it sounds like the Bentley might be more sorted out.
As for the "faux-rari", my fears are based on things like this, from the description: "The donar (sic) vehicle is a Datsun 240 Z with the cheap v6 engine removed". Sure glad he got rid of that cheap V6….
~ glad he got rid of that cheap V6….'?
He kept that —- rare!
I personally like the Bentley a lot, I just wouldn't like the looks I would get for driving a Bentley.
We've got an old woman around here, looking back on her 70s I'm sure, looks like Beethoven.
She's got two recent (that is, Audi-platform) Bentleys in her garage.
Have no idea what her connection is, maybe she's part of the local dealer's family or something.
"We've got an old woman around here, looking back on her 70s I'm sure, looks like Beethoven." … Dude, that's the funniest thing I've read on this site in months. Thanks for the laugh, seriously. Beethoven. BEETHOVEN! I'm picturing it now. Hahaha HAHAHA!
The Bentley is worth consideration if you're able to smog it where you are, though I'm thinking it'd be a much nicer car with an LS9 and 6L90 transmission, or even an LSA.
The Fauxrrari I wouldn't touch with YOUR dork, as the old line goes.
Im going full Sheikh and picking the Bentley.
The Other thing look about as real as Pam Anderson's boobs.
The Bentley is fo-reals yo. Who knows what engine it came with? Who cares? It don't matter 'cause 675hp trumps whatever it was. Jeeves will be smokin' every mustang at the light yo and it has a backseat to get laid in. If a Bentley don't get you laid you're hangin with the wrong crowd playa. The keen eyed ho be able to see the Datsun dash and know you're just playin' The Bentley is a Bentley.
Drive the z through a plateglass window and give me the bentley…ms daisy has never got her loco tacos this fast.
I'm going with the Bentley as well, just so I can pull up next to people in Chrysler 300s.
"Of course your Chrysler 300 looks like a Bentley….until a Bentley pulls up"
The Bentley, easily. The link has gone so I can't see what the rest of the conversion and condition are like, but still…
The Datsun is wrong. A 240Z is a great looking car just as it is. You start putting plastic bits on it to make it resemble something else, and it ends up not looking as good as a 240Z and not looking as good as a 250GTO.