I mean, I guess you could say it's a piece of automotive/SEMA history?
Photography courtesy Wescley Da Silveira/Facebook
The most controversial build from SEMA last year? This “Lamborghini-swapped” NA Miata–and now it’s hit Facebook Marketplace with an asking price of $40,000.
What made this Miata a lightning rod of heated discussion? What’s under the hood. It was purported to have a Lamborghini V10 under the hood. What it actually had, though, was a Chevrolet LT V8, with a Lamborghini V10 intake manifold atop of it.
What was the source of the confusion?
“When I put in the application with SEMA, I explained everything,” car owner Jefferson Marcal told Road & Track. “It is a V8 from a Corvette, not a V10. However, I am from Brazil, and my English is so-so. I had a problem with communication, you know? I say to the guys, ‘It’s a Lamborghini intake,’ however they may not understand because I don’t speak English 100%.”
With SEMA now months ago, maybe the internet has cooled off a bit from this build so the new owner can lay low. Or maybe it’s an opportunity for a new owner to stir the pot once again, for an asking price more than a brand-new Miata.
I mean, I guess you could say it's a piece of automotive/SEMA history?
Going to have to sort out some headlights to get it road legal.
dean1484 said:Going to have to sort out some headlights to get it road legal.
Just get the turbos hot enough before driving.
So, funny story: A dude I autocross with used to own that very car. (He owned it before all of the crazy work, but he says that’s his old chassis.)
Maybe, the turbos flip up with the headlights underneath?
I'm always amazed how people stuff giant engines in cars and then leave itty bity wheels and tires under them.
In reply to VolvoHeretic :
Nothing about that car makes me think that driving is it's primary function.
I was at SEMA that year and knew nothing about that car. Obviously, I saw it and went to look. It took all of about 5 seconds to get the idea things were not right. After 30 seconds you just started laughing. It wasn't just bad, it was WTF! levels of low effort dressing up to look badass. Sorta like when people paint "Dunlop" over the "General Altimax" lettering on their tires.
I heard later that it was removed from the show. Pushed out obviously as there was no way it could actually run.
My main takeaway from SEMA that year, particularly the car show portion is that the builds were not "aspirational", they were more "cautionary" It really made me want to walk away from car culture in general.
In reply to Trent :
That makes sense, going to SEMA seems like dumpster-diving in the all-hat-no-cattle, attention-seeking, more-money-than-sense segment of automotive culture, on the opposite corner of the graph from the GRM Challenge. The cool part of automotive culture is a relatively small niche of it.
There are also two very different levels of SEMA cars. There are the outside cars where you basically just book a parking spot and bring...whatever. I assume, I've not been involved in that process. The quality level varies pretty dramatically. This is where you are more likely to find sketchiness. The Lambo Miata was obviously one of these.
Then there are the inside cars, which are given very scarce booth space and which are representing a company. They tend to be significantly higher quality and are the ones you tend to hear more about. This is what most people think of when they think of a SEMA car.
Meet the (inside) SEMA car I was working on this week.
What year did Lambos come with Chevy V-8's?
And "Team Hot Parts"? Takes the sketchiness level to "11"!
In my day you didn't brag about having hot parts, or the police would want to have a word.....
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