If you visit an exotic car dealership, or browse the classifieds, it will quickly become apparent that a purebred exotic can be had for very little. A decent Porsche starts below $10,000, and a full restored Lamborghini Urraco can be had for about $20,000. Most kit car projects end up costing far more. This fact being known, most people will ask “Why Kit cars?”

Why Kit Cars

Most people are not buying kit cars because they want a cheap copy, at least not people buying classic original designs (like the Nova/Sterling on the top right). Here are a few reasons to buy a kit car:

  • Unique looks — generally far more exotic than any name brand exotic. To make this clear, how many exotics have gull-wing doors? How many kit cars do?
  • Extremely rare — far more so than any but the most exotic exotics. If you buy a Porsche 911 and live in a major metropolis, you’ll see a few others every day. If you buy an Aztec 7 you’ll probably never see another one, except perhaps at a kit car show.
  • Supports independent automobile designer instead of a big company. The car you own will not be watered down for sales appeal but a true, no-holds-barred piece of automotive art.
  • Easy and inexpensive to maintain because of older domestic parts. This is the argument for replicas — getting a rare Italian exotic tuned can cost nearly $10,000 and maintenance costs approach $1/mile. Build on domestic components and your costs are no higher than any locally built car.
  • Can be built to your tastes without affecting the value. With a kit car you get the car you want.
  • Building it is a labor of love, plus you’ll understand how the car works when you’re done.
  • Most are capable as daily drivers.
  • Due to light weight they usually have good gas mileage, and an excellent power-to-weight ratio.
  • You get to meet other kit car owners — everyone has great stories, and is very down-to-earth, unlike snooty owners of name-brand exotics. A Ferrari owner looks down on a Pantera because it’s a mutt. Imagine what they think of a kit car!

So why kit cars? As you can see there are many reasons why! Now there is a flip side to all of this. You can read about the many reasons NOT to buy a kit car HERE!