The Toyota MR2 has, quite literally, had a rather dubious accolade thrust upon its humble chassisover the years. Thanks to its affordability, pint size proportions and mid-engine layout, it has become the defacto foundation for backyard, wannabe millionaires to build ‘exotic’ replicas on. The simple fact of the matter is no one wants a replica of a Ford Mondeo, but you will need a mid-engined donor car if you want a Ferrari 430, 360, Enzo, Gumpert Apollo or Lamborghini Murcielago for example. The Toyota MR2 base has been responsible for all the aforementioned supercar replicas over the years.
In this specific case, credit must go to the creative Bulgarian owner, because we haven’t come across a Lamborghini replica before. The owner of this Murcielago, err, MR2, has based his very convincing looking creation on a second generation MR2 from 1992. Touted at the time as the ‘poor man’s Ferrari’ this guy thought it should be ‘poor man’s Lamborghini’ instead. When the MR2 debuted it produced around 115 kW from its 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder engine. Power was harnessed via a manual gearbox and sent to the driven rear wheels.
What this Bulgarian builder doesn’t therefore realise, is that he has made one of the most exciting Murcielagos ever. Manual transmission, rear-wheel drive, it’s just a shame it’s 310 kW down on the 425 kW of the original all-wheel drive Murcielago monster.. This particular car is said to have covered around 121 000 km and is on sale on eBay for €25 000 or approximately R275 000.
Unless this replica is perfectly proportioned, that’s an insane amount of money for a 20 year old Toyota. It’s clear though, that the the owner has lavished lots of time and effort on the project.
